UPDATE: According to a correction from the Pensacola News-Journal, the deputy is accused of sending the victim a photo of a cake that had the message, "Sorry I Tased you," written in frosting. The photo was accompanied by a text that said the deputy wanted to give the victim the cake. The photo of the cake has circulated online since 2014, according to Buzzfeed, and started as a joke between two law enforcement officials.
Read the original story below.
A Florida woman filed a suit in federal court recently against a former Escambia County deputy that she said hit her in the chest and neck with a stun gun and tried to apologize by baking her a cake.
Stephanie Byron filed the suit in federal court against former deputy Michael Wohlers in connection to an alleged incident that took place in June 2015 where she said that Wohlers "used excessive force against (her), violated her civil rights, committed battery against her; and caused her hardships, including physical injuries, monetary loss, medical expenses, humiliation and mental anguish," the Pensacola News Journal reports.
According to the suit, after his patrol shift, Wohlers was visiting Byron at an apartment complex she worked at and “used his apparent law enforcement authority to intimidate, harass and threaten (her) about her personal life.”
The News Journal added that because Wohlers didn’t like how she responded to his displays, he became “increasingly aggressive” toward Byron and her co-workers.
He also took Byron’s sweet tea and refused to give it back, discharging his stun gun at her chest and throat when she approached him in an attempt the get the drink back, the suit alleges. It added that she fell to the ground and Wohlers jumped on her “kneeing her in the chest” and “forcefully removed the Taser prods.”
The News Journal reports Wohlers attempted to apologize to Byron for the incident by making her a cake and sending her an image of through a text message that had the phrase, “Sorry I Tased You,” written on it. Wohlers declined to comment, and his attorney denied the allegations in the suit, the News Journal added.
He resigned from the Sheriff’s Office in July 2015 following an investigation for misconduct, and Sheriff David Morgan told the News Journal that Wohlers “was not engaged in an official or approved activity at the time of the incident.”
The Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission reviewed the case and announced Monday that they were putting Wohlers on a one-year probation from serving at any law enforcement agency in Florida, according to the News Journal.
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