Thursday, May 07, 2009

Former Officer Jack Comeaux Accused of Choking Teen Unconscious

The former Rosebud police officer accused of choking a teenage boy to unconsciousness during a traffic stop has been released from the Falls County Jail on $5,000 bail.

Jack Comeaux, 61, was arrested Tuesday on a charge of aggravated assault by a public servant in connection with the Jan. 17 incident. He posted bail the same day.

Texas Rangers had confirmed in March that an investigation was under way into Comeaux’s actions at the traffic stop.

Rosebud Police Chief Tim Wells had said that at 12:30 a.m. Jan. 17, Comeaux responded to a call for backup from a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who had encountered a truck with a blown tire north of Rosebud. The truck’s occupants told the trooper they had been assaulted during a fight earlier in the night, Wells had said.

Comeaux ordered the 17-year-old driver to remove his hands from his pockets, and the teen refused. Wells said the officer then choked him into unconsciousness. Comeaux later told Wells that he believed the teen had a gun in his pocket, Wells said.

The DPS trooper’s dashboard camera recorded the exchange.

Comeaux resigned from the department after the incident.

Comeaux told the Tribune-Herald that the video didn’t begin recording early enough to capture the teen’s growing belligerence.

Comeaux insisted the teen was not hurt, that he never lost consciousness and that the hold he used to pin the teen against the vehicle was a tactical restraint that applied no pressure to the teen’s neck.
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http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/44528747.html

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