BY RACHEL DOVE
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — A standoff involving law enforcement ended in Inez after an officer used a Taser on the subject. The suspect, Taylor Wallis, a 55-year-old Inez resident, faces several charges.

The events transpired Tuesday evening at Wallis’s home on Spruce Pine Road when the Martin County Sheriff’s Office received reports of Wallis brandishing a firearm and threatening his sister. Deputy J.C. Kirk was the first to respond just before 5 p.m.

Upon reaching the scene, Deputy Kirk observed Wallis standing behind the open window of his mobile home, his hands suspiciously hidden under the windowpane. The officer held Wallis at gunpoint as he approached the window.

Despite commands from the deputy to show his hands and step outside, Wallis remained non-compliant. Left with little choice, Deputy Kirk resorted to deploying his Taser through the window, targeting Wallis’s chest and stomach. However, Wallis managed to remove the Taser prongs from his body.

The situation escalated further when Wallis, at one point during the altercation, emerged from his home, jerked off his clothing and indecently exposed himself to children across the street.

With backup arriving soon after, officers entered the residence to find Wallis’s loaded rifle within his immediate reach.

Reflecting on the incident, Deputy Kirk commented, “He was definitely under the influence of alcohol during this incident. He was plastered. I hope he can get the help he needs.”

According to Kirk, Wallis did not restrain himself from hurling threats and expletives at his sister throughout the confrontation.

Wallis was arrested and transported to the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center in Paintsville after the standoff. He faces charges of first-degree terroristic threatening, menacing, resisting arrest and first-degree disorderly conduct.