Schenectady Man Tasered After Being Stopped for Alleged Jaywalking

By Steven Cook
Daily Gazette
Jun. 10, 2015

SCHENECTADY — A city man is alleging Schenectady police used excessive force by pepper-spraying and Tasering him after he was accused of jaywalking last week in Mont Pleasant.

The incident was partially captured on video by bystanders, and one of the videos viewed by the executive director of the local New York Civil Liberties Union had the official calling for an investigation, saying it appeared police escalated the incident.

That video shows the man walking away from an officer, who appears to then pepper-spray him. The man appears to try to keep walking as the officer struggles with him. Two more officers then arrive and the man is Tasered. A second video appears to show police Tasering him while he is sitting on the ground with his hands in the air.

City Police Chief Brian Kilcullen said his department hadn’t received a formal complaint regarding the incident, but, he said, “we’ll look at everything.”

The June 3 incident centered around 22-year-old Shaquille Parker of Forest Road. Parker was pepper-sprayed and Tasered just after 2:15 p.m. that day in front of a house on Main Avenue, just east of Crane Street.

He was formally charged with felony second-degree assault, misdemeanor resisting arrest and violation-level disorderly conduct and marijuana possession. The assault charge relates to allegations Sgt. Dean DeMartino suffered minor injuries in the ensuing struggle.

Parker was accused of crossing Crane Street while traffic had the green light, obstructing a bus and cars. Kilcullen said officers were in the area that day to respond to constant “nuisance activities,” including people impeding traffic.

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