After failing to appear for two court dates, Sept. 24 and Oct. 21, the Miller County Prosecutor's Office has issued a felony arrest warrant for Stacey Shertz, the 24-year-old who said a Lake Ozark police officer used “excessive force” against her during an Aug. 30 arrest.
Controversy started in early September as an electronic flyer circulated throughout the media with claims of police brutality. Shertz said in an interview that she contributed to the flyer.
She said Officer Jeff Skinner unnecessarily threw her to the floor of the police booking room, causing a bruised eye and swollen face. She produced a photograph of those injuries allegedly taken the day after her arrest.
Lake Ozark Police Chief Mark Maples produced the booking video for the media that showed a slightly different story than that which was given by Shertz.
The officer and Shertz were in plain view of the camera for much of the 40-minute video; however, there were times the two were in adjacent rooms and only audio could be discerned.
While on-screen, Shertz appeared uncooperative and refused to be handcuffed, causing a struggle that, during which, Skinner forcibly held her against the floor to restrain her.
Shertz has yet to file any formal complaints against the department or Skinner and the video has been turned over to the Miller County Prosecutor’s Office and it will not be released to the public until the court hearings have been concluded.
The arrest resulted her the current charges against her, including driving while intoxicated, failure to drive on right half of roadway, failure to maintain financial responsibility of car (no registration and/or proof of insurance) and operating a vehicle without a license three or more times, a felony offense.
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*Editor's Note: This story has been modified. The original story contained incorrect information indicating the Miller County Sheriff's Department issued the arrest warrant. However, it was the Miller County Prosecutor's Office that issued the warrant. We apologize for the confusion.
