Judge mulls Super Bowl taser case

Municipal Judge Frank Wittmann III will issue a ruling on Monday in a case involving a Waveland man who was arrested and tased at his home on Super Bowl Sunday after officers responded to an adjacent residence for a noise complaint.
David Marquar, 59, appeared in Waveland Municipal Court on Thursday.
Marquar was arrested on Feb. 7 and charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and disturbance of the peace.
Prosecutor Patricia Willis played the tape of the 911 call before to testimony began Thursday.
The caller on 911 said she was on Nicholson Avenue and could hear loud music coming from the Turner Street area. The caller said she drove around the neighborhood and pinpointed the noise coming from a party at 600 Turner Street.
Officer Chris Allen testified that about 7:19 p.m. he was called to 600 Turner Street in reference to the loud music complaint.
Allen said when he arrived at 600 Turner Street, he spoke to the home owner, Kendall Marquar, who agreed to turn the music and noise down.
Allen said he noticed a big white tent in the yard, which had speakers outside that were broadcasting the Super Bowl.
Once the music was turned down, Allen said, he heard a “loud ruckus” coming from behind the tent.
He discovered that Kendall Marquar’s father, David Marquar, was also having a Super Bowl party at his pool house, which was located adjacent to 600 Turner Street at 1100 Longo Street.
Allen said he was escorted to the pool house by another person at the party and when David Marquar was notified that the police were there and wanted the noise turned down, Marquar got irate.
“I observed Mr. Marquar bang the bar and say …. the police, I’m watching the Super Bowl,” Allen said.
Allen then said he left the pool room and called for another unit because there were about 45 to 50 people at the two parties.
Allen said he returned to the pool house again to try to get Marquar to turn the broadcast down and once again he refused.
“I observed him getting aggressive,” Allen said. “He was using profane language and telling me to get off his property.”
Allen said when he tried to arrest Marquar, he resisted and tried to go back into the crowd.
Allen said he tased Marquar and then placed him in handcuffs.
Marquar complained of chest pains and was taken to Hancock Medical Center.
While at the hospital, he was watching the remainder of the Super Bowl on a small television in the hospital room, officers said.
“He jumped up and down several times, yelling ‘Who Dat’,” Allen said.
Officer Clay Necaise testified that Marquar was dancing when the Saints won the game.
“He has the most indescribable dance you would ever see,” Necaise said. “At that point, he said he wanted to go back to his house because someone promised to go skinny dipping in his pool if the Saints won.”
Officers said Marquar told his son “My chest hurts a little, but I’m okay. I want another Crown and Diet Coke.”
Marquar’s Attorney Bobby Moak questioned what gave officers the right to go to a different address when the original call was at 600 Turner Street.
“It was your assumption that the music was too loud and not the caller’s,” Moak told Allen.
Allen said he was told that both the parties were connected to each other.
P.J. Mauffray, who was at Kendall Marquar’s house, said he was not aware that David Marquar was having a party.
“I did not know anything was going on at the pool house,” Mauffray said.
Other witnesses said officers were verbally abusive to Marquar and when the taser was deployed it created a volatile situation.
San Schoonmaker, who was in the pool house, testified that he did not hear what happened, but saw Marquar get tased.
“The officer came in the door and something was said, then he tased him,” Schoonmaker said.
Allen said after Marquar was tased, the entire group began to get aggressive towards officers.
Officer Henry Bouganim said the crowd was making physical threats towards the police as Marquar was being led to the patrol car.
“If we would have had more man-power, we could have arrested about 25 people,” he said.
Moak said it was the officers who escalated the situation.
“The taser did not do anything except incite the crowd,” Moak said.
Moak then began to ask why Allen had to use such force to arrest Marquar when Wittmann interjected into the conversation.
“He asked for it,” Wittmann said. “He (Marquar) was the one who incited it. Would you have rather the officer pick up a stick and whack him with it? Would that have done good? I don’t want to hear anything more about that (taser).
The three-and-a-half hour trial ended with no verdict.
Wittmann said he wanted to study the case more before rendering a decision.
He promised a verdict by Monday afternoon.
If convicted, Marquar faces possible fines and up to six months in jail, officials said.

BY Dwayne Bremer

The Sea Coast Echo