Cop Tases an Innocent, Non-Violent, and Unarmed Senior Citizen in a Wheelchair

By Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Mar. 02, 2015

Pickens, SC — A Pickens County deputy has been fired after he deployed his taser into the stomach of a 65-year-old wheelchair-bound man.

Deputy Steven Ticknor claimed he needed to deploy the taser to prevent the man from interfering with the arrest of his son.

Sheriff Rick Clark told FOX Carolina that deputies responded with Pickens police to arrest 25-year-old Travis Mansell on Feb. 20. According to deputies, Mansell was wanted by police on several outstanding bench warrants.

Deputies said Mansell’s girlfriend denied that he was home. But officers saw him inside, so they entered the home and engaged in a conversation with him.

According to the sheriff’s office, Mansell said he would not go back to jail and they would “have to kill him.” Mansell’s 65-year-old father positioned himself between his son and officers, according to deputies. Parker Mansell Jr. was in a motorized wheelchair because of health complications.

Parker Mansell Jr. was in a motorized wheelchair because of health complications.

After trying to get Travis Mansell to surrender for about 15 to 20 minutes, deputies said they deployed a stun gun on him, which allowed them to take him into custody.

That’s when Deputy Steven Ticknor stunned Parker Mansell, saying he felt the need to deploy it on the father to prevent him from interfering with the arrest of his son, according to the sheriff’s office.

Apparently an unarmed, non-violent, senior citizen, in a wheelchair, is a threat to a cop; a cop who can actually use his legs, who’s wearing a bulletproof vest, sidearm, and with fellow cops as backup.

Clark says that deputy Ticknor’s actions on February 20 were inappropriate, and he was subsequently fired.

Ticknor was terminated Wednesday, Clark said. He said the sheriff’s office has asked SLED to conduct an external review of the incident.

Sadly enough cops assaulting people in wheelchairs is no uncommon. Already this year, we have reported on two stories of cops assaulting people confined to wheelchairs.

Deputy Raymond Ferrio, 47, was fired from the Pinella's County Police Department last month after pummeled a wheelchair-bound man so hard that he shattered his dentures.

Also last month, we interviewed the friends and family of Devaughn Frierson. Frierson was assaulted by SFPD officers who tried to throw the him and his wheelchair off of a sidewalk. The incident was captured on cell phone video.