Dec 2023. Blues Vol 39 No. 12

were within the boundaries of any
reasonable use of force policy.
Each Taser deployment was precipitated
by commands and force
warnings. Each Taser deployment
was to achieve a very specific action:
1. Get on the ground.
2. Roll onto stomach.
3. Put hands behind back.
Once Mr. Day complied - the use
of force stopped.
It seems that people have the
most trouble with the third Taser
deployment. However, the third Taser
deployment is the most justifiable
one. Here’s why:
• The situation was not safe until
Mr. Day was handcuffed. Therefore,
it was reasonable for Officer Kehoss
to try and achieve this.
• After the second Taser deployment,
Officer Kehoss holstered the
Taser. This speaks volumes on his
intent - that he did not plan on using
the Taser again.
• That changed when Mr. Day not
only refused to put his hands behind
his back but physically pulled his
right arm away from Officer Kehoss
during the handcuffing process.
• This is the textbook definition of
“active resistance”.
• Officer Kehoss gave clear commands
and several warnings that
the Taser would be utilized a third
time. Still, Mr. Day refused to comply.
• After the third Taser deployment
- Mr. Day complied and was handcuffed.
And no additional force was
utilized.
• This is evidence that the force
utilized by Officer Kehoss was only
to achieve a lawful objective and
was not excessive.
INVESTIGATION OF OFFICER
KEHOSS
The Naugatuck Chief of Police (C.
Colin McAllister) explained that a
supervisor reviewed the body camera
footage from this incident, had
“concerns”, and sent the video to
Waterbury State’s Attorney (Maureen
Platt). Ms. Platt also had “concerns”
about the conduct of Officer
Kehoss and forwarded the case to
the State Police to investigate. The
charges against Officer Kehoss stem
from the State Police investigation.
If the actions of Officer Kehoss
were truly criminal in nature the
Naugatuck police department
would have filed charges and not
passed it on because they were
unsure. Also, the State’s Attorney
would have filed charges against
Officer Kehoss if his actions were
truly criminal and her office would
have not passed the case for a third
opinion.
This case was shopped around
to three different agencies before
charges were filed. That speaks volumes
about the merits of this case.
MEDIA MALFEASANCE
In virtually every local and national
article that covered this case
- the personal history of Officer Kehoss
is criticized and exaggerated.
Every aspect of his personnel file
has been combed through and violations
of department policy from
years ago - are being connected to
this incident.
Those same journalists are not
very interested in the criminal history
of Jarrell Day.
I promise - the criminal history
of Mr. Day is far more extensive,
serious, violent, and relevant than
the past policy violations of Officer
Kehoss.
LANGUAGE
During the arrest Officer Kehoss
cursed and used foul language
towards Mr. Day. Here are some
examples:
“You are a fucking idiot, you know
that, you turned a larceny into a
felony.”
“Shut the fuck up!”
“Start fucking complying asshole!”
Alright. The language is not great.
The language is likely a violation of
department policy. That’s it. Give
Officer Kehoss his letter of reprimand
and we can all move on.
The double standard is astounding.
The media is far more concerned
with the cursing from an
officer instead of a violent crime
committed by an offender.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Every deployment of the Taser
from Officer Kehoss was in furtherance
to achieve the lawful objective
of arresting Mr. Day for a violent
felony. Each deployment of the
Taser was precipitated by commands
and a warning that force
would be utilized. Each deployment
of the Taser was while Mr. Day was
actively resisting arrest.
Officer Kehoss arrested a violent
felon without causing any injury.
The fact that he is facing criminal
charges should give all officers
pause and seriously think twice
about actively pursuing criminal
offenders.
The charges against Officer Kehoss
should be immediately dismissed
and he should be reinstated
back to full duty.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
David Carr has over eighteen
years experience as a police officer
in a large city and also (while
working the cop job) earned a
Master’s degree in Criminal Justice
and a Law Degree (J.D.). He
has been featured on the popular
Law Enforcement Today Radio
Show and podcasts such as
Courageous Leadership, Failure
to Stop, and On Being a Police
Officer. Find more informative
articles on his substack page
and join in on the conversation.
https://policelawnews.substack.
com/
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