Tucumcari police chief placed on leave

TUCUMCARI, N.M. (AP) - Tucumcari's police chief has been placed on paid administrative leave after a stun-gun incident last week involving a teenage girl.

Tucumcari City Manager Bobbye Rose said the move to place police Chief Roger Hatcher on administrative leave was by "mutual agreement."

Hatcher said he shot stun gun darts at the 14-year-old girl on Thursday during a domestic dispute between the girl and her mother.

Hatcher said he found the girl in a city park, but when he tried to talk to her she ran into traffic without looking.

Hatcher said he used the stun gun because he didn't know where she might go and he had to stop her.

Hatcher said last week he had a "lawful reason" to use the weapon, which delivers a 50,000-volt electrical current designed to incapacitate a person.

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Information from: Clovis News Journal