Senior Sergeant Resigned After Using Excessive Force

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The senior sergeant at the Cass County Jail in Fargo recently resigned after an internal investigation found he used excessive force by pepper-spraying an inmate while the inmate was strapped to a restraint chair.

The Forum reports an internal affairs investigation into the March 18 incident concluded Sgt. Lyndon Worden used "inappropriate and unreasonable" force under the circumstances. Worden resigned by email on May 9, hours before a scheduled termination meeting with Sheriff Paul Laney.

Worden doesn't dispute what happened, but the 24-year veteran of the sheriff's office says he was targeted for dismissal because he had questioned the decision-making of Sheriff Paul Laney.

Laney calls that assertion a "cheap shot." He says Worden's actions "were completely out of line with the policies and procedures of the sheriff's office."