Sitka police seek outside review of officers' use of stun gun on teen

The Sitka Police Department is seeking an outside review of an incident last year in which officers used a Taser on a high school student stripped to his underwear more than 10 times in a holding cell.

Video of the encounter, caught on surveillance cameras, has generated widespread attention -- and condemnation -- since it was posted to YouTube Thursday. Footage of three officers restraining Franklin Hoogendorn, then 18, has now been viewed more than 25,000 times.

The department's own review, conducted shortly after the incident happened on Sept. 6, 2014, but long before it became public, found that the officers hadn't violated policy but could have handled the situation differently.

For some in Sitka, that explanation hasn't been enough.

"My interest in (an outside review) would be to remove any hint of bias," Police Chief Sheldon Schmitt said Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the police chief met with Municipal Administrator Mark Gorman and agreed that the Alaska State Troopers should examine what happened.

"We notified them of the case and welcomed them to come down and do any further investigation," said Maegan Bosak, the city's head of planning and community development.

"People locally are calling for an external review of the incident," wrote Schmitt in a letter to AST Commissioner Gary Folger Tuesday. "I would request that AST take a look at the incident for criminal or other misconduct."

[Earlier coverage: Video surfaces showing Sitka police repeatedly using Taser on high school student]

The troopers' investigation arm can review officer-involved use-of-force cases.

It typically looks for evidence of misconduct that rises to the level of criminal, Schmitt said.

"The troopers are kind of the mothership" for small departments, Schmitt said.

The department is also looking at Russell Consulting, a private Soldotna firm that specializes in auditing police departments, including examining complaints of excessive use of force, which would focus more on liability and procedural aspects.

The firm is owned by Gregory Russell, a former Kotzebue police chief and Soldotna Police Department officer who has also worked as a trainer for the Alaska Police Standards Council.

The city of Sitka will pay for the review, Schmitt said.

Schmitt is the chairman of the Alaska Police Standards Board, which handles decertification for police officers found to have committed serious misconduct or crimes.

He said he'd recuse himself if the case ever made it there but found that scenario hard to imagine.

"It's unlikely in a situation like this -- it's usually criminal misconduct or conduct that shocks the conscience. Usually when we review those cases, they are people who've already been fired and are facing criminal charges. Anthony Rollins is a classic example."

In the immediate aftermath of the September 2014 incident, the department did ask questions about whether using a Taser on Hoogendorn was the right thing to do.

But it was more of an informal review -- with no paper documentation -- in which supervisors simply talked to the officers involved, Schmitt said.

One policy change did come out of the inquiry: Sitka officers were retrained to avoid "drive stunning" with Tasers.

In the video, former officer Jonathan Kelton can be seen pressing the Taser directly to the skin of Hoogendorn over and over. That's not the standard or recommended use for the electroshock weapon.

"Drive stun" mode doesn't launch the projectiles that deliver a shock to immobilize the target. It's meant to simply inflict pain.

In 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice advised against the technique, saying it "may have limited effectiveness and, when used repeatedly, may even exacerbate the situation by inducing rage in the subject."

"It's ineffective," Schmitt said.

On Tuesday, Schmitt said he had one of the officers involved in the incident, Sgt. Daniel Dozier, use a Taser on his own leg.

The city administrator, Mark Gorman, got a shock too.

"I've been tased before. But I've never been drive-stunned," Schmitt said. "I wanted to feel exactly what Mr. Hoogendorn felt when he was tased."

How did it feel?

"It hurt. I immediately rolled over and my leg jerked away. "

There was one big difference: The police chief received a single shock.