The former acting police chief of Concrete is facing misdemeanor charges in connection with accusations that he used a Taser to shock his dog and his 15-year-old brother-in-law.
Chris Roff, 28, was charged May 31 with reckless endangerment and animal cruelty in Skagit County District Court. The former Cape Horn resident is now living on Camano Island.
Roff also may have interfered in Skagit County sheriff's deputies' investigation into statutory rape allegations made against his 26-year-old brother Jabin Roff, according to an affidavit filed in district court.
Chris Roff is scheduled to appear in court next on July 5.
Court documents don't specify if the Tasers used in the alleged incidents were department issue or not.
Police use Tasers as a non-lethal means of subduing combative suspects.
In the affidavit filed in Roff's case, the muscle spasms are described as a "full body Charlie-horse."
The teenage victim told deputies that Chris Roff and his now-26-year-old brother Jabin, who also was an officer at the time, taped electrical leads to him and shocked him, according to the affidavit. The teen told investigators he had been pressured into agreeing to be shocked.
The teen then tried to remove the wires, but before he could, Roff shocked him again, according to the affidavit. The boy's 17-year-old sister, who was present at the time, corroborated the teen's statements.
Two other men told deputies that in August 2004, they witnessed Chris Roff shocking his dog at his Cape Horn home, according to the affidavit.
The sheriff's office completed its investigation of both brothers in early September and sent separate affidavits to the prosecutor's office.
In March, the prosecutor's office asked the deputies to revise the affidavits. The investigating officers revised the affidavits and returned them to the prosecutors within the month.
On May 31, deputy prosecutor Katherine Wetmore filed charges against Chris Roff.
The Town Council in the community of about 785 decided in late August 2004 to disband the town's small police force, putting Chris Roff out of a job. The county Sheriff's Office now patrols Concrete.
Roff is scheduled to appear in court next on July 5. Case UpdatesFormer acting Concrete Police Chief Chris Roff has been acquitted of animal cruelty charges stemming from accusations that he used his police-issue Taser on his dog.
Roff told Skagit County District Court Commissioner Linford Smith that he used the Taser, which emits an electrical charge, to discipline the dog for digging in the garden.
When issuing his judgment Thursday, Smith told Roff that he had a "bad gut reaction" to the former officer's actions. But Smith ruled that prosecutors hadn't proven Roff acted with intent to cause the dog "substantial pain" or that the animal suffered "substantial pain," which is neither defined by the statute or in case law.
Prosecutors dropped a separate charge of reckless endangerment on the day of trial, saying they didn't think they could make the case. The charge stemmed from accusations that Roff also fired a Taser at a teenager, who is his relative by marriage.
Roff was the acting Concrete police chief in August 2004 when he was accused of shocking his dog. He lost his job in late August when the town disbanded its police department and contracted with the Skagit County Sheriff's Office for law enforcement services.
Roff testified that he used an electric fence to try and keep his dog from straying to a neighbor's home and from digging in his flower bed. When the incident occurred, he was demonstrating the Taser to acquaintances and saw his dog digging in the garden, he said.
There was differing testimony on the dog's reaction. One person said the dog almost went into convulsions. Roff and another man said it yelped, ran around the yard and returned to Roff.
Skagit County Sheriff's Deputy Bart Moody, who trains officers on how to use Tasers, testified that he had been shocked before and that it caused him substantial pain.
Roff's defense lawyer, Roy Howson, questioned the definition of "substantial pain," saying that rodeo cowboys inflict pain on animals that is not illegal.
Roff, who has moved to Camano Island and works for an electrician, could not be reached for comment. Howson said Roff no longer owns the dog and that it ran away after Roff and his family left Concrete.
Deputy prosecutor Katie Wetmore said Tasers, when used properly, are safe and effective tools to control dangerous suspects, but she is very concerned when a police officer uses them inappropriately.
"I still maintain this is an improper use of a weapon," Wetmore said. "The court felt it didn't meet the elements." | Source: Skagit Valley Herald - Sept 17, 2005
Update posted on Sep 19, 2005 - 10:37AM |
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