A Black attorney who was tased in a courtroom was convicted of obstructing a peace officer, but he plans to appeal the conviction, Atlanta Black Star reports.
On January 10, 2019, Jaaye Person-Lynn entered a San Bernardino courtroom and attempted to make his way toward the clerk when Deputy Paul Barrie instructed him to the bailiff who then directed him toward a general seating area.
According to a San Bernardino County arrest report, Person-Lynn neglected orders from two deputies and threatened a bailiff causing Barrie to tase him with his stun gun and handcuff him.
Person-Lynn offers a different account of the incident. He claimed he informed Barrie he was an attorney and was reaching for his identification when he was pushed out of the way and got angry.
“You fucked up. You put your hands on me,” he could be heard saying in footage of the incident. “Deputy Barrie. I’m definitely coming after you. I promise you with everything I have, everything I’ve learned in law school, I’m definitely coming…”
“I’ve never been handled like that in a court setting,” Person-Lynn later told Atlanta Black Star. “The courtroom, as an attorney, should be a place that you’re protected. Everybody can step out of line, but I had not done anything to warrant him pushing me.”
Person-Lynn believes Barrie didn’t believe he was an attorney because he was wearing a dashiki, adding he never stepped to him and didn’t threaten to physically attack him either.
During a court appearance on Sept. 29, Person-Lynn was convicted of delaying or obstructing a peace officer in the discharge of his duties. He is seeking to appeal his conviction and sue Barrie and the sheriff’s office.
“I had the right to be there,” he said. “The people that say I just should’ve followed their commands … I had a job to do. I was working. I’m the one that got resisted, delayed and obstructed from my duties. So, it’s like what would you expect an attorney that’s charged with standing up for the rights of their clients to do? Just give up their own rights?”
Barrie’s actions were reviewed and justified by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.