COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- The FBI has been investigating whether a Richland County sheriff's deputy used excessive force when he shocked a suspect at least five times with a Taser electric stun gun.
The State of Columbia reported on Sunday that the FBI launched an investigation after the newspaper began examining the January arrest in August.
A spokesman for the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said the agency is reviewing the FBI's evidence in the case. Neither federal agency would discuss specifics of the case.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott his deputy used the Taser to force the suspect to spit out crack cocaine in his mouth. Lott said the man swallowed some of the drug and the deputy's action might have saved his life.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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