A 13-year employee of the Illinois Champaign County Sheriff's Office has been charged with aggravated battery for inappropriately using a Taser device on an inmate.
Sgt. William Alan Myers, 36, of Pesotum, a correctional officer, was arrested last week on a warrant that also charged him with obstructing justice for lying to his supervisor about the circumstances of the incident, Sheriff Dan Walsh said.
Walsh said in a release that the aggravated battery charge alleges that Myers caused bodily harm to Ray Hsieh, 31, in that he "used a Taser device on the inmate outside the course of his official duties."
The obstructing justice charge alleges that he lied to Capt. James Young, supervisor of the jail, about the circumstances under which he used the Taser on Hsieh.
Hsieh has been in custody since Oct. 3 on charges of unlawful possession of stolen property and driving under suspension. He's being held in lieu of $16,000 bond.
Walsh applauded the "professionalism and integrity" of other correctional officers who brought the matter to Young's attention.
"They have been instrumental in the investigation," Walsh said.
Following his arrest Tuesday, Myers was taken to the Piatt County Jail in Monticello so as not to be in the same area as inmates he previously guarded. He posted $1,000 cash and was released.