Summit County deputies arrested a Basin resident who had reportedly threatened his roommate. In the process of extricating him from his apartment, officers tased the suspect.
The suspect, 55-year-old Jose Trinidad Patino-Perez, made his first appearance in Third District Court Monday.
Sheriff’s Lt. Andrew Wright said officers responded to an apartment complex near Kilby Road last Thursday morning, the 3rd. A tenant there was, without authorization, renting part of his unit to Patino.
The authorized tenant told deputies that Patino had been consuming a lot of alcohol in recent weeks. When he had words with Patino, the suspect threatened him with a mallet.
After deputies arrived, Patino at first wouldn’t open his bedroom door. He stepped out, but then tried to retreat back to his room. The report said there was a brief struggle and he had to be tased.
Lt. Wright said that deputies are trained on different levels of force—including sometimes just have an officer present. He said they weigh the risks in any situation while often they have to make decisions in a split second.
“Some people will say, well if you use a taser vs putting your hands on someone, doesn’t the taser seem a little bit more extreme? Actually, when a taser is used on a person they typically can experience less injury if any injury at all, having a taser deployed on them. Just because what the taser does is it actually effects the muscle. It kind of incapacitates someone so that they cannot move and we can gain compliance while the taser is in effect.”
He said it’s a very rare occurrence for deputies to use a taser.
“Our biggest thing that we try to do is gain compliance through giving orders and having a good conversation, communication skills with the person we’re interacting with. It’s one of those things that we have to hold ourselves accountable when we use any kind of tool. Of course we weigh all the risks associated with taking someone into custody and we want to do so safely.”
Patino-Perez was arrested on one Count of Aggravated Assault and for Interference with an Arresting Officer.
