St. Clair County and officer sued for using taser on 11-year-old

Tammy S. Davis is suing St. Clair County and one of its law enforcement officers for using a taser on a 90-pound, 11-year-old boy during a domestic incident.

According to a complaint filed March 21 in St. Clair County Circuit Court, Sgt. William R. Kenny was called to intervene in an altercation between the boy and his parents on Nov. 5, 2006.

"That Sgt. Kenny observed the child hiding under the bed and attempted to pull him out by his feet," the complaint states. "Mr. Davis started kicking to resist being pulled from under the bed. Sgt. Kenny, in his attempt to subdue and detain the child began to handcuff him and was able to get one cuff on Mr. Davis' left wrist."

Seeking in excess of $200,000 in damages, Davis is represented by Jarrod P. Beasley of the Kuehn Law Firm in Belleville.

"That with the child only having one free arm and in full view of his parents, Sgt. Kenny then punched the minor in the face," the complaint states.

The suit claims that Kenny's actions resulted in harmful and offensive contact to Austin Davis and that Kenny used force "far in excess of that which was needed" to subdue the child.

According to the complaint, St. Clair County is negligent for hiring and retaining Sgt. Kenny "knowing that he was likely to violate the rights of his arrestees." The suit also claims the county failed to properly train, investigate, discipline, and/or fire Kenny for "such violations."