COLUMBUS, Ohio — Last winter 10 Investigates exposed a pattern of questionable Taser deployment in Muskingum County, and now the county is paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle one such claim, 10 Investigates' Paul Aker reported on Thursday.

Tonya Morrison filed a lawsuit in federal court based on a claim that a jail guard used a Taser to torture her.

Morrison, who had no prior record, landed in jail after a barroom scuffle. She eventually pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and misdemeanor assault on a police officer, but Morrison claimed that long after she was detained, guards strapped her in a restraint chair and repeatedly shocked her with a Taser.

"I thought they were going to kill me," Morrison said. "I mean, I started to go into convulsions and foam at the mouth. I think I lost consciousness."

Last February, 10 Investigates uncovered a pattern of questionable Taser uses in Muskingum County.  There were lawsuits filed by inmates who claimed that guards deployed Tasers when they were loud and boisterous, but not necessarily a physical threat, Aker reported.

The county denied the accusations.

"For example, if you failed to follow an order I gave you, that doesn't meet the criteria for the use of the Taser," said Muskingum County Sheriff's Col. Bryan Hoover.

The county seemed prepared to go to court with that defense in Morrison's case, but Morrison's attorney said he found a last-minute witness who heard guards abusing his client, Aker reported.

The witness said she heard guards pull out a chair and put Morrison into it. The witness also said she heard Morrison being shocked multiple times while deputies laughed at her screams and pleas to stop, Aker reported.

Muskingum County did not admit fault in the case, but last week it settled with Morrison by agreeing to pay $375,000. An attorney representing the county said there was a settlement because it did not want to tie up numerous deputies with a trial.

Morrison said she was happy with the outcome.

"Somebody needs to be accountable for their actions," Morrison said.

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February 27, 2008: Tasers Used Under Questionable Circumstances

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