Franklin County agrees to pay $40K over stun-gun use

COLUMBUS (AP) — An Ohio county will pay a total of $40,000 to two former inmates who were zapped with stun guns, in the first monetary settlements related to complaints that jailers routinely used the devices on nonthreatening inmates, including some who were disabled, pregnant or under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Franklin County commissioners in Columbus have signed off on the payments, months after the county agreed to a dramatic reduction in the use of stun guns at the county jail, including a virtual ban on using them on inmates who are handcuffed or restrained in some other way.

That settlement with the federal government followed a complaint from the U.S. Justice Department and a lawsuit that alleged jailers used the devices to punish prisoners for run-of-the-mill rule violations and to shock naked and restrained inmates. The county sheriff’s office denied any wrongdoing or constitutional violations.