One hit from a Taser sends 50,000 volts of electricity coursing through the body. Oliver Rich, of Hatfield, sustained far more than that one night in 2010. Following a traffic stop in Greenfield, Rich was tased at least five times over the course of a few minutes.
The officers treated the weapons like “new toys,” he says.
In September of that year, Rich, now 36 and co-owner of Tea Guys in Whately, was driving near the Route 2 rotary in Greenfield when he saw two of his friends walking along the street around 8 p.m. He stopped his car and backed up along the Route 91 southbound ramp to give them a ride. A Greenfield officer in a cruiser spotted Rich’s move and pulled over. Officer Scott West told the friends to pile in Rich’s car and asked Rich for his license and registration. West, who is on military leave from the department and was unavailable for comment, discovered Rich’s license had expired. Read Full Article