A Dallas County sheriff’s deputy is accused of using a Taser on a man while he was handcuffed in the back of a department vehicle, according to an arrest affidavit.
The incident took place on Oct. 7, according to the sheriff’s office, but wasn’t reported until last month.
Deputy Austin Palmer is accused of using a stun gun for 15-20 seconds on Jeremiah Ramos while the man was handcuffed in the back of the officer’s vehicle, the affidavit says.
The deputy then allegedly threatened to tase Ramos on the throat and the genitals if he spoke before they arrived at the jail. Ramos later told investigators that he was not aggressive or resisting arrest at the time, according to the affidavit.
The sheriff’s office announced Thursday that Palmer had been arrested on charges of assault causing bodily injury and official oppression, both class “A” misdemeanors.
“If you’re injured, then to me that is serious and especially at the hands of a public servant,” Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown said Friday.
During a news conference Friday morning, Brown explained the chain of events that led to the deputy's arrest, including that the law enforcement agency was investigating one of its own.
“Not only are we able to police ourselves, we will police ourselves,” Brown said.
A previous encounter
Before the alleged incident with the stun gun, Palmer and Deputy Phillip Koenig recorded another incident involving Ramos.
Koenig claims Ramos tried to run over Palmer while evading arrest Oct. 1, 2019, according to records referenced by the affidavit.
Koenig said he attempted to speak to Ramos, who was driving an F-150 pickup, through the window while the vehicle was in the driveway of a residence in the 7200 block of Wallace Street.
When the vehicle pulled onto the street, deputies ran toward their car while the truck sped toward them, according to department records. The deputies attempted to chase the vehicle but lost it.
At the time, deputies were trying to serve felony warrants on Ramos, the affidavit said.
In his written statement, Ramos denied trying to run over the deputy and said he hadn't seen either Koenig or Palmer before.
Court records show Ramos pleaded guilty to a felony evading arrest charge in connection with the October incident. Koenig was listed as the complainant, court records show.
He has been in jail since he was taken into custody on Oct. 7.
Arrest and tasing
Palmer and Koenig arrested Jeremiah Ramos on Oct. 7, 2019.
Ramos’ mother, Juanita Morales, submitted a complaint to the internal affairs division on Dec. 20, 2019, after receiving a letter from her son describing what happened during his arrest, the arrest affidavit said.
She told investigators that when the deputies arrived, they said, "Jeremiah, remember me"
"No," Ramos said, according to the affidavit.
"Whatever," they responded, according to the document.
In a written statement to internal affairs detectives, Ramos described an officer wearing glasses putting a Taser to his stomach and activating it for 15-20 seconds, according to the affidavit.
At the time of the tasing, Palmer was sitting in the front seat of the car and Keonig was sitting in the backseat beside Ramos, the report said. Ramos said in his written statement that Keonig did nothing to stop his colleague from using the Taser.
Ramos said the deputy threatened to tase him again — first putting the Taser to his throat and then to his genitals — if he spoke before they reached the jail, said the affidavit.
During the arrest, both responding deputies turned off their body-worn cameras before they put the suspect in the back seat of their car, according to documents.
Koenig’s body-worn camera was activated on Oct. 7, 2019, at 4:46 p.m. for 5 minutes and 48 seconds. Palmer’s Taser report indicated it was triggered for a timed event at 4:59 p.m., more than seven minutes after the camera’s recording ended, the affidavit said.
Visible injuries
While Ramos did not name the deputies, investigators determined he was describing Palmer.
When investigating detectives met with Ramos in person on Jan. 8, there were still four injuries visible on his side, which were photographed and recorded.
The department’s Taser instructor confirmed the injuries were consistent with marks left by a stun gun, the affidavit said.
Ramos said he didn’t report the incident to the medical department at the jail because the deputies were present and he was afraid something would happen to him, according to the affidavit.
Keonig completed the arrest report, department records show, and only wrote “arrested on warrant” for the narrative in his report. He also did not submit a supplemental report about the use of a Taser, which is required by the sheriff office’s code of conduct.
The deputy corroborated many of the details that Ramos wrote in his statement, saying Palmer had tased Ramos while the man was in handcuffs in the backseat, the affidavit says.
Keonig also told investigators that Ramos was calm and did not show any signs of aggression during the arrest, according to the affidavit.
When investigating detectives attempted to speak with Palmer, he invoked his rights and requested an attorney, the affidavit says.
Palmer was arrested Thursday but had been released after posting $1,500 bond by Friday morning, according to Brown. He remains on paid leave.