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Police Chief Oly Ivy Arrested for Tasing Wife: Background, Mental Health Questioned

By Javier Lavagnino, Esq. on April 10, 2009 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

The AP reported on a police chief in a small Texas town whose actions have now raised questions about how he got his job in the first place. Oakwood Police Chief Oly Ivy was arrested on Monday for allegedly using a taser on his wife (some reports have instead described her as his live-in girlfriend, but that is sort of beside the point). He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and got fired the same night.

Laws on Tasers vary from state to state, sometimes at the local level as well, but people should be aware that they are considered deadly weapons in many states. For this reason, individuals who use Tasers without adequate justification risk serious legal consequences, even if they happen to be a police chief like Ivy.

Back to the topic of his job, however, a local news report indicates that perhaps more questions should have been asked before Ivy was hired in January of this year. City council members indicated that "it was the officer's knowledge, experience and sincerity that won them over" when he got the job. But maybe they should have run a thorough background check to discover, according to KBTX, court records showing that "in December of 2003, while Ivy was not employed by a police department, he was charged with domestic violence."

On the other hand, that case was eventually dismissed, and Ivy didn't have any record of being disciplined on the job (which was checked on). Ivy has now been ordered to undergo a psych exam as a condition to reducing his bond, which is currently set at $100,000. There are apparently conflicting opinions as to whether he constitutes a flight risk.

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