A man riding his bicycle one afternoon simply waved at a passing police cruiser; he was handcuffed and threatened with being tasered for his friendly gesture. The man turned out to be a youth pastor at Memorial Baptist Church and also an Evansville firefighter, he also knows the chief of police.

According to the report from the Courier Press, Evansville firefighter George Madison Jr. has now filed a formal complaint about an Evansville Police Department officer who he said stopped him during a bicycle ride Tuesday afternoon, threatened him with a stun gun and handcuffed him.

Madison 38, who also is youth pastor at Memorial Baptist Church, said the incident occurred about 3:30 p.m. on South Weinbach Avenue after he waved at officers in a patrol car as he was riding his bike.

The father of four said he feared for his safety during the stop by two officers on South Weinbach Avenue.



“The officer jumped out and says, ‘What are you doing throwing your hands up at us?’” Madison said. “He is talking to me as he is coming toward me. I tried to explain, but I couldn’t get a word in edgewise.”

He said the officer’s angry attitude made him feel angry and alone.

“It was like everything had disappeared, and I was there alone and I got scared,” he said.

“I remember looking down the barrel of a Taser, because he was gritting his teeth and saying, ‘Don’t make me pull this trigger,’” Madison said Wednesday afternoon.

Evansville Police Chief Bolin on Wednesday said Madison called him on Tuesday and related what had happened. Bolin said he told Madison the department would “look into it.”

The chief said Madison had met with the police department’s internal affairs division to file a formal complaint. Officers would investigate the complaint and make a recommendation to him, Bolin said.

Bolin said Wednesday he had not spoken with the officers involved and because of the internal investigation declined to identify them.

“I need to stay impartial until I hear both sides,” Bolin said.