re: Tharold Simon explains his version of events leading to arrest

quote:

---

NFL draftee and former LSU defensive back Tharold Simon of Eunice dropped resistance when Taser “painted” by the officer arresting him late Thursday night, the second night he had encountered police.

According to his official statement, Detective Raymond Mott on Wednesday night had asked Simon to move his vehicle from the roadway at East Maple and South Beulah and he had apparently complied.

Simon and well-wishers were gathering in anticipation of the athlete being picked by a professional team

Compliance didn’t happen Thursday night, the report says.

“He stated something to the effect of ‘I own Eunice. I got millions ****. I’m gonna buy these projects and you are gonna be gone’” Mott alleges.

Mott continued, “I told him again to remove the vehicle from the roadway. He entered the vehicle and turned the radio up all the way, backed the vehicle in an aggressive manner causing the tires to lose traction and make a screeching noise. He pulled the vehicle into the driveway and sat there with the door open with the music still over the legal volume.

“I told him to turn the music down or I was going to issue him a citation for the violation and he said something to the effect of, ‘The mayor is on my side your write me a ticket and you’re gone.’”

Mott said he then called for a unit to bring him a citation book (not normally carried by a detective) and to assist him.

“I advised him (Simon) he was being placed under arrest for public intimidation for telling me he was gonna have me fired if I write him a ticket. I grabbed his arm to place him in hand restraints. He violently jerked his hand away from me and said ‘don’t touch me.’

“I signaled over the emergency radio for an addition unit to come to my location because the subject was resisting arrest. I then advised him he was under arrest again and painted him with my x-26 taser and ordered him to put his hands behind his back. He complied at this time.”

“Painting” with a Taser is sometimes done to convince a recalcitrant suspect to acquiesce to arrest before he or she is hit with a Taser jolt.

The summoned officer, Patrolman Chase Godeaux, arrived and took Simon to the police station, where he was charged with obstruction of a public passage, public intimidation, resisting an officer and unnecessary noise.

Because of football accomplishments, the arrest generated far more attention than a normal misdemeanor case.

Simon, who Police Chief Ronald Dies said Friday had voiced regret for his alleged behavior, was drafted Saturday in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. He previously was a defensive back at LSU, leaving after his junior year, and a standout athlete before that at Eunice High.

His agent, Peter Schaffer of Denver, Colo. told Gannett News Service that he would file an immediate civil rights action against Mott and the police department “for harassment and civil rights violations.”

Read more: EuniceToday.com - Seahawks Simon s encounter with detective was second in two nights alleged resistance stopped after Taser painting.

---