Worker at school accused of Tasing 13-year-old boy
Marilyn Robinson, Special to the News
Published February 16, 2006 at midnight
Denver prosecutors have charged a worker in an after-school program at Horace Mann Middle School with second-degree assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly Tasing a student.
Shaun Ellis, 24, had worked at the school since September but was dismissed after the Jan. 11 incident, according to Denver Public Schools officials.
Ellis is accused of using a Taser stun gun three times on a 13- year-old boy who had been accused of tripping a girl in a hallway, said Lynn Kimbrough of the Denver District Attorney's Office.
"It felt like a thousand bee stings at once," the boy told investigators.
A letter from the principal sent to parents Jan. 18 said two students accused the employee of inappropriate behavior. The charges, announced Wednesday, involve only one victim.
Officials said Ellis ran the teen court, part of a neighborhood center program at the school at 4130 Navajo St. The program offers classes ranging from cooking and chess to cheerleading and computers.
According to a police affidavit, Ellis called the boy out of class the afternoon of Jan. 11 and took him to the empty auditorium. The boy told police that Ellis had him sit down, then Tased him in the neck and attempted to Tase him and punch him in the left arm and stomach.
He told Ellis to stop and Ellis then Tased him on the right arm before returning him to the classroom, the boy told police.
The incident was reported to police the next day. Ellis was dismissed after an internal investigation, DPS spokesman Mark Stevens said.
It was unclear why Ellis brought a Taser to school.
According to the affidavit, Ellis told his boss that he knew his actions were "extreme" and he didn't know the Taser would leave a mark. Police found the Taser at his home, the affidavit said.
Ellis did not return a phone call seeking comment Wednesday.
He was released on $5,000 bail after his arrest Friday. He is due in court March 1 to be advised of the charges, Kimbrough said.
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