A woman says the head of security threatened her with a Taser gun inside the Greene County Courthouse. Sgt. Robert Green resigned on the same day an internal investigation started.

The woman, who used to work at the courthouse, says the man in charge of safety made her feel anything but before he resigned. Now the department is handling two investigations into one of its own -- criminal and internal.

The woman is now a legal assistant but used to work at the courthouse. She says she walked through security at the judicial facility on April 8. Her attorney, Greg Aleshire, says she “tried to joke with Sgt. Green but he didn't respond." Aleshire says instead of laughing, Green threatened his client. "She turned in time to see him leap out of his chair, pull his Taser from its holster and come toward her in an aggressive manner,” Aleshire says, adding that this was no joke.

"We don't know what provoked it,” he says. “He didn't have an appearance of a joking manner. He never said a word."

Green, who has been with the department for 19 years, resigned on the same day the department opened an internal investigation. Sheriff Jack Merritt says he decided to allow Green to resign.

"Robert Green is a very good friend," Merritt tells KSPR News.

The sheriff says Green was the type of employee who proudly wore a uniform on his day off. "It's heartbreaking,” Merritt says. “Someone who's dedicated their life to the department lost their career over this." The sheriff says even though he knew Green, he doesn't excuse his courthouse behavior: "It’s not anything to joke about all of our training would admonish anything like that."

Aleshire wants to know if the department is capable of screening one of its own in a criminal case. But Merritt says the outcome is not going to be affected by his knowledge and friendship with Green.

For now, the legal assistant will continue her role in the courthouse, working other people's cases instead of her own.

The prosecutor's office received the investigation report Tuesday afternoon. No charges have been filed. An assault charge could be filed in this case even though the officer never used the stun gun, because the woman felt threatened with bodily harm.


Timeline of Events:

April 8, 2008 - Taser incident occurred
April 9 - Witness contacted Sheriff Jack Merritt
April 10 - Alleged victim contacted Merritt and filed a formal complaint
April 11 - Department opened internal investigation, Green resigns
April 17 - Civil attorney contacts department requesting criminal investigation
April 29 - Department hands investigation over to Greene County prosecutor’s office