Crime & Safety

Utica Police Shoot Woman with Taser Gun

A Shelby Township woman was shot by the Utica Police with a Taser gun.

A 36-year-old Shelby Township woman who was shot by a officer with a Taser gun while she was arrested two weeks ago was charged with assaulting, resisting and obstructing a police officer.

Tanisha Boyd was arraigned on the charges before Judge Douglas Shepherd in 41-A District Court on Oct. 17.

Police said they first made contact with Boyd on Oct. 13 after employees called and said they identified Boyd and her husband, Craig Harris, as being in the store earlier in the day when a laptop was stolen. The Best Buy loss prevention employees also told police the vehicle used in the crime was registered to Boyd.

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When police officers went to the couple’s Shelby Township home, Harris ran from the police, but Boyd came out of the home, according to a police report. Officers said Boyd, who had two outstanding warrants, was being uncooperative. She was not arrested, but her vehicle was impounded and taken to Utica Van Dyke Towing.

The police report states that later that day, an unidentified man called Best Buy and asked the Geek Squad Supervisor if charges would be dropped if a stolen computer was returned. Harris was later charged in the Best Buy theft.

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However, on Oct. 14, the Utica police were called to Utica Van Dyke Towing because Boyd, her husband and a third man had come to the business demanding Boyd’s vehicle be returned.

Police said when they arrived at the towing business, they found the three in a vehicle: the driver, Harris in the front seat and Boyd in the back with a child.

Harris exited the vehicle and gave the responding officers the stolen Best Buy laptop and said, “Here you go man, I was bringing it back,” the police report states.

Harris was arrested and Boyd was asked to step out of the vehicle. Police said she locked the doors and began screaming.

Officers were able to get the door open and pull Boyd out of the vehicle, but the police report states she dug her nails into the officer’s arms. That’s when the second officer shot Boyd with a Taser gun and arrested her.

Once at the Utica police station, she was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Boyd will return to court at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 31 for a preliminary examination.

The following arrest information was supplied by the Utica Police department. It does not indicate a conviction. For questions about this blotter, email Marina.Cracchiolo@patch.com.


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