Amboy Man Gets $50,000 in Excessive Force Case

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) — A 56-year-old Amboy man was awarded $50,000 after a federal jury decided a Lee County sheriff's deputy used excessive force against him during a 2009 seizure.

Deputy Andrew Tarr and his former partner, William Roberts, were sent to perform a welfare check after police received a phone call about a suicidal man, the Dixon Telegraph reported.

When they arrived at Wilson Burnell's home, he tried to barricade himself inside, according to the officers. Burnell also took Tarr's pepper spray and tried to disarm Roberts of his stun gun, they said.

Both officers faced claims of excessive force after Roberts shot Burnell with his stun gun five times and Tarr hit him in the head with a metal flashlight. Roberts was found not liable.

A federal jury determined Tarr used excessive force against Burnell. He will receive $10,000 in damages and about $40,000 in attorney's fees.

Both Tarr and Roberts are still employed at the sheriff's department, Sheriff John Varga said Monday.