Cape man Tasered twice Wednesday after traffic stop

When Jamie A. Steel decided to make a stop early Wednesday morning, he choose the wrong spot.

Cape Girardeau police patrolman Mike Kidd spotted Steel's car at 1024 William St., a location where the owner has told police there shouldn't be anyone at 5:15 a.m. Following the car past West End Boulevard, Kidd sought to stop the car near Albert Street, with Steel finally pulling over in front of El Torero restaurant at 2120 William St., police spokesman Barry Hovis said.

"After the vehicle yielded, Steel exited the vehicle and began to scream and curse and question the reason why he was stopped," Kidd wrote in a sworn statement accompanying the five misdemeanor charges filed later in the day by the Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney's office.

Steel refused directions to return to his vehicle, so Kidd hit him with his Taser. "As officers approached, Steel backed away and they tased him," Hovis said. "Apparently this was ineffective."

Kidd attempted to handcuff Steel, who shoved Kidd and ran, taking refuge under a tractor trailer behind 300 Plaza Way, Kidd wrote in his statement.

Steel was found a few minutes later, Hovis said. He refused to come out from under the trailer, Hovis said.

Officers at the scene used their Tasers, which brought Steel out from under the truck. When Steel was searched, officers found a portion of a marijuana cigarette, Hovis said.

Steel, 37, of 925 William St., was charged with marijuana possession, driving while revoked, resisting arrest, assault on a law enforcement officer and trespassing. He was being held Wednesday evening at the Cape Girardeau County Jail with a $3,500 bond.

Four of the five charges are class A misdemeanors, punishable by up to a year each in the county jail.

The location where Kidd first saw Steel has a sign naming it as a "revival center." On May 6, Cape Girardeau police in their regular report of incidents reported that drugs and drug paraphernalia had been turned in as "found property."

The property is posted to ward off trespassers, Hovis said, and the owner has notified police that no one is supposed to be on the property.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126