Scandal Shuts Down Police Department

Mount Sterling Police Department Shut Down; Officer Accused Of Using Taser On 9-Year-Old Boy
The Huffington Post - March 12, 2012

A small-town Ohio police department was shut down Friday after a cop allegedly used a taser on a 9-year-old boy, and the police chief kept quiet about it. Details about the taser incident on Tuesday are few, but the Coshocton Tribune reported that the officer had been called to a Mount Sterling apartment where a child was refusing to go to school. At some point, the visit became hostile and the part-time officer allegedly used a taser to subdue the boy. The police chief is accused of hiding the incident from village leaders. City officials suspended Mount Sterling Police Chief Mike McCoy for three days, leaving the village without a police department. Meanwhile, the office's computers and weapons were seized, and state investigators are probing the incident, 10-TV reported. The county sheriff's office will take over police operations in the area until city officials determine what to do next. The closure isn't the first for the Mount Sterling police force. The village laid off all its officers except for the chief in September due to budget cuts, the station reported. It's yet unclear when the department will be reformed. Mount Sterling had a population of just under 2,000 in 2010, according to Census data.