Firefighter on leave after brawl with WSP

A Spokane firefighter exonerated on child pornography charges two years ago is on paid leave again after an apparently violent confrontation with state troopers during a drunken driving arrest.

Lt. Todd Chism was jolted with a stun gun several times after troopers found him trying to drive his truck out of a ditch along Highway 291 about 2:45 a.m. Tuesday, said Bob Calkins, a Washington State Patrol spokesman.

Troopers performed field sobriety tests, but Chism “began to more actively resist,” which led troopers to use the Taser, Calkins said.

But the high-voltage jolts had “surprisingly minimal effect,” Calkins said.

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