GRANDVIEW, MO
A metro man and father of four found himself caught up in a case of mistaken identity after he was yanked off a community center basketball court and tasered by U.S. Marshals.
Surveillance video released on Friday shows Stuart Wright, 30, was playing basketball at the Grandview Community Center when U.S. Marshals, acting on a tip from an informant, surrounded him with guns drawn and hit him with a Taser.
"I just heard all this commotion and screaming, and as I turned I heard this gentleman screaming and he had a gun pointed at me," said Wright. "And as I put my hands up I guess he was screaming the gentleman's name who they were after, and I said my name is Stuart Wright, that's not my name and I heard pop,pop and I felt my body tense up, and I was on the ground."
Officials with the U.S. Marshals Office says that an informant told them that their suspect was at the community center playing basketball, wearing a jersey with the number 23 on the back and with braids in his hair. That description fit Wright, who happened to be given that particular shirt for the game.
"I honestly think it was poor planning and strategy, and I think somebody didn't do their homework," said Wright. "I think they were out of control."
Pip Dukes, who organizes the men's basketball league, says he was working the scoreboard when the U.S. Marshals entered the gym, telling him to stop the game.
"Those guys just bum rushed the gentleman, and it was maybe 8 of them and they had their guns out and where they approached him at it was a stand behind him full of kids," said Dukes. "I'm still disappointed because it was a stand full of kids."
The U.S. Marshals Office admitted that entering a crowded community center with guns drawn was not an ideal situation, but they said that the man they were looking for was armed and dangerous.
Officials with the agency said that they thought Wright, who works for the Wyandotte County Unified Government, was going to hit a deputy who had grabbed his arm. They say that's why he was tasered.
"It just humiliated me," said Wright, who says he hopes law enforcement will learn from the incident before they act in the future. "I was so embarrassed, honestly."
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Information & Video: http://www.fox4kc.com/news/wdaf-story-taser-mistake-marshals-041609,0,4275021.story
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