Taser experts testify on Day 3 of suspended Marlboro County sheriff’s federal trial

FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW) — Day 3 of the federal trial for suspended Marlboro County Sheriff Charles Lemon consisted of hours of testimonies, including from two Taser experts.

Lemon is on federal trial in Florence in an excessive use of force incident from May 2020 involving he and his former deputy, David Andrew Cook. Cook was allegedly instructed by Lemon to use a Taser on an inmate six times “without legal justification.”

Two master Taser instructors took the stand on Thursday. The first demonstrated how to use the Taser that Cook used at the county’s detention center. The instructor said Tasers record a daily event log, and Cook’s Taser showed 29 seconds of electricity used in less than four minutes.

The prosecution showed Cook’s body camera footage and the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office’s use of force policy. The second Taser instructor, who is also a use of force expert, discussed that policy.

The policy says if the subject is verbally noncompliant, the officer should respond with verbal commands. If the subject is passively resistant, whether they sit down or go limp, the officer should use their hands to escort the subject or cause nondeadly pain.

The instructor said based on the county’s policy and the body cam footage, Cook should have used his Taser on inmate Jarrel Johnson only the first time because Johnson was not handcuffed and lunged at Lemon.

But he said the other five times, Cook should not have used his Taser because Johnson was following the officers’ commands. Lemon was not Taser-certified at the time, but Cook was.

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Jackie LiBrizzi is a multimedia journalist at News13. Jackie is originally from Hamilton, New Jersey, and was raised in Piedmont, South Carolina. Jackie joined the News13 team in June 2023 after she graduated as a student-athlete from the University of South Carolina in May 2023. Follow Jackie on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook , or Instagram , and read more of her work he r e .

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Skylar Musick is a multimedia journalist at News13. Skylar is originally from Long Island, New York. She joined the News13 team in June 2024 after graduating from Villanova University in May 2024. Follow Skylar on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook , or Instagram , and read more of her work here .

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