In an eerily familiar scenario, a (former) Watonga police officer is himself in hot water with the law.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed in Blaine County, Jason Lynn Porter was arrested Dec. 21 in relation to a May incident.
The affidavit reads that a Blaine County officer initiated a vehicle pursuit that ran from Watonga to Geary. The driver of the suspect vehicle, named as Jason Looney, crashed the car and suffered injuries. He was transported by ambulance to Mercy Hospital Watonga for treatment. Deputy Michael Mangrum traveled with Looney and his body camera was activated to record the incident. Porter assisted Mangrum at the hospital, securing both wrists with handcuffs to the hospital bed rails. Looney’s ankles were strapped to the bed with hook and loop fasteners.
Looney resisted nurses’ attempts to insert a catheter, at which time Porter used a taser and ‘drive-stunned’ the patient. Mangrum left the room to report the taser deployment and while on the telephone with dispatch, audio was heard of Porter saying ‘taser, taser, taser’. When Mangrum returned to the room, Porter requested he inform dispatch of the second taser incident. On May 18, Blaine County Sheriff Travis Daughtery requested a full Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation into Porter’s conduct and alleged assault of a restrained detainee.
When questioned by OSBI agent Darren Atha, Looney was unable to recall many details of the hospital events, but showed Atha the bruises on his chest and neck. Atha photographed three areas of possible taser bruising.
Atha also interviewed Porter, who said he was involved in the vehicle pursuit of Looney. He indicated that Looney’s hospital restraints were loose and he attempted to grab or bite nurses and the sheriff’s deputy. Porter claimed he used pressure points and joint manipulation in an attempt to control the detainee but the attempts were unsuccessful. Porter said he thought there was no other available method to protect himself, the deputy and the hospital staff than use of the taser. The skin penetrating probes were not deployed. He said he drove stunned Looney for about three seconds in the upper pectoral area.
Porter was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a felony, as well as misdemeanor assault and battery. He was arrested Dec. 21 and released on $3000 bond. His initial appearance was Jan. 5 and a bond appearance is set for Feb. 1.
Meanwhile, Watonga Chief of Police Beth Massey said she was unable to comment on personnel matters and City Manager Karrie Little also had no comment.
Other entities had similar no-comment on Porter’s employment with them, but Daughtery said the officer was on the sheriff’s department when he took office, but he later let Porter go. This reporter also has first hand knowledge that Porter was employed for a time by the Geary Police Department in spite of its ‘no comment’ response.