The police officers who arrested a homeless veteran and used a stun gun on his service dog last fall won’t be charged with a crime, the Gaston County district attorney said.
On Oct. 13, Gastonia police officers confronted Joshua Rohrer, 38, for allegedly panhandling as he stood on a median. Body-worn camera footage released last month show officers asking for Rohrer’s ID before arresting him and using a stun gun on his dog, Sunshine.
District Attorney Travis Page announced during a Gastonia City Council meeting on Tuesday that Officer Cierra Brooks and former Officer Maurice Taylor would not be charged.
“Immediately after first reviewing this footage in 2021, I consulted with the state Bureau of investigation about a criminal investigation. I was of the opinion then, and remain of the opinion, that officers Brooks and Taylor committed no acts of criminal wrongdoing,” Page said in a statement provided to the City Council and The Charlotte Observer.
Brooks received a three-day disciplinary suspension without pay in January, and Taylor resigned in February, the Gaston Gazette reported.
Rohrer is a disabled veteran who served in the Army National Guard in Iraq, the Observer previously reported. He has post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a fundraising page set up for Rohrer.
Sunshine ran off after Taylor shocked her, the video shows. A few days later, a car struck and killed Sunshine.
On July 6, Rohrer’s panhandling and resisting arrest charges were dismissed, the Gazette reported. He was sentenced to two years of supervised probation after pleading guilty to an unrelated charge of driving while his license was revoked.
Rohrer said he won’t stop fighting for his rights.
“The statement from Gaston County DA Travis Page continues to exemplify the reason the citizens of Gaston County, of North Carolina, and of the nation continue to have grave concerns about policing and the justice system in our Country,” he said in a statement to the Observer.
He cited a North Carolina law that says harming a service animal is a felony.
“Sunshine did not bite officer Taylor and officer Taylor covered up his willfully malicious actions by lying about being bitten,” Rohrer said. “I will continue to work towards getting justice for Sunshine, and educating the public and Law Enforcement on Service Animal Laws and Access Rights.”
Body camera footage released
Bodycam video released in July shows that when asked for his identification, Rohrer provided his Veterans Affairs ID card. Taylor tells him again to show his state ID, according to the video.
When Rohrer raises the VA card again, the officers grab him and Taylor tells him: “Turn around, you’re being arrested.”
The officers hold Rohrer by his shoulder and a hand as he yells.
“Somebody help me! Why are you doing this?” he shouts as Brooks holds him against a patrol car.
Later in the video, Taylor uses a stun gun on Sunshine, as he tells Brooks: “It bit my foot, and I knew it was going to bite you. It bit my boot.”
The video does not clearly show whether Sunshine bit Taylor.
The City of Gastonia declined to comment on the DA’s decision.
“It’s already been reported that Officer Taylor resigned in February and Officer Brooks remains with GPD,” a city spokesperson told the Observer in an email.
Page, in his statement, said he believes the officers did not commit any criminal acts.
“I believe then, as I believe now, that the only criminal acts depicted in the body cam footage of October 13, 2021 were committed by Joshua Rohrer, who resisted, delayed, and obstructed the actions of officers Brooks and Taylor,” Page said.
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