Officers charged in stun gun death

OMAHA, Neb. — Two Omaha police officers will face assault charges in the death of a mentally ill man who was shocked with a stun gun a dozen times and repeatedly punched, even after he was on the ground, a Nebraska prosecutor said Wednesday.

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine made the announcement while revealing police video that captured the altercation officers Scotty Payne and Ryan McClarty had with 29-year-old Zachary Bearheels at an Omaha convenience store. Kleine said he wouldn’t file more serious charges against the officers because a coroner could not directly link their actions to the Oklahoma man’s death.

Police cruiser video shows Payne using a stun gun to shock Bearheels and McClarty punching Bearheels. Some of the blows came after Bearheels was on the ground and not resisting. Kleine said he would charge Payne with seconddegree assault, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. He said he’s charging McClarty with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison.

Bearheels, a Native American from Oklahoma, was lost in Omaha after being kicked off an interstate bus going from South Dakota to his home state, according to his family. Police were responding to a report of a man causing a disturbance who would not leave when they encountered Bearheels. Kleine said Bearheels “had committed no crimes.”

Police have said Bearheels was acting erratically and fought officers’ efforts to take him into custody. After the altercation, Bearheels was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.