By Jim Stanford and Martin Reed
Jackson Hole News&Guide
August 2, 2005
Authorities are facing allegations of excessive use of force after a sheriff’s deputy shot a streaker with an electric Taser gun Sunday during the Demolition Derby.
John Chase Rodgers, 21, of Jackson was shot in the back as he tried to elude authorities while running naked and carrying a fire extinguisher through the Teton County Fairgrounds. Hit with 50,000 volts of electricity, Rodgers flopped to the ground and was arrested for indecent exposure and interference with police.
Rodgers was one of two men who entered the arena before the final heat of the derby as a fire truck circled, spraying water on the dirt. The other man partially disrobed and danced in the spray of the fire truck.
Rodgers grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran from one side of the arena to the other as the crowd of about 3,500 cheered. When law enforcement and security approached, he turned and began running in the opposite direction before Teton County Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Stanyon pointed the Taser gun at Rodgers and fired two probes into his back.
Many in the crowd reacted with outrage, booing vociferously, hurling cups of beer into the arena and chanting obscenities as police led the naked man away in handcuffs.
Jackson resident Zac Rosser, who photographed the incident, said it was “absolutely” an excessive use of force by police, and he was offended.
“I’d rather have my daughter see a naked man than somebody getting shot,” Rosser said.
Teton County Sheriff Bob Zimmer defended the deputy’s use of the stun gun. Based on police reports, “I totally support the use of the Taser last night,” Zimmer said Monday.
Zimmer said the fire extinguisher Rodgers was carrying could have been used as a weapon. Deputy Stanyon said in his report that Rodgers looked like he was trying to remove the pin on the extinguisher during the chase, Zimmer said.
Also, Rodgers appeared as if he could have aimed the extinguisher at the officers when he stopped about 10 feet away and started turning around, Zimmer said.
“Anyone can speculate on what his intention was,” Zimmer said about Rodgers’ use of the extinguisher.
Among those upset in the crowd was Jackson attorney David DeFazio, who has agreed to defend Rodgers for free. “I thought it was excessive use of force,” DeFazio said. “I agreed to represent him pro bono on principle alone.”
Streaking has become an annual tradition at the derby, the closing event of the Teton County Fair. Authorities have tried to crack down on the practice in recent years, and last summer several people were cited and ordered to write letters of apology to the community.
Sheriff’s deputies received the stun guns in June and took training for their use.
Rodgers appeared in Jackson’s 9th Circuit Court on Monday for his initial appearance, during which he was released from jail on a personal recognizance bond and ordered to return Aug. 11.
