Former Michigan Trooper Convicted of Manslaughter for Using TASER on Teen Riding ATV

A former Michigan state trooper was convicted of involuntary manslaughter Wednesday in the death of a Detroit teenager who crashed an all-terrain vehicle and died when he was shot with a Taser.

Mark Bessner fired the less-lethal weapon from the passenger seat of a patrol car while he and his partner chased 15-year-old Damon Grimes in August 2017, the Associated Press reports. State police officials condemned his conduct and agreed that criminal charges were appropriate.

Bessner, who quit the department after Grimes’ death, was charged with second-degree murder, but the jury opted for the lesser charge after deliberating for one day. He was immediately taken into custody to await his sentence on May 2. The maximum penalty is 15 years in prison.