Covenant News Wire Service

Pinellas Park Police Shoot Schiavo Protester With Taser

Cops Shoot Schiavo Protester With Taser

Baptist Bible College Professor Arrested At Schiavo Hospice

A professor at a Bible college near Scranton, Pa., was arrested Tuesday as he tried to storm into the hospice caring for Terri Schiavo.

Dow Pursley, 56, was shot with a Taser stun gun and tackled to the ground by officers before he reached the door, Pinellas Park police said. He became the 47th protester arrested.

Pursley, who is on the faculty of the Baptist Bible College & Seminary in Clarks Summit, Pa., had two bottles of water with him, police said. He was charged with attempted burglary and resisting arrest.

Baptist Bible College officials said in a written statement that Pursley was not acting on the school's behalf and had traveled to Florida on his personal time.

"He is a dedicated man with strong beliefs and God-given convictions," the statement said.

Pursley is the clinical director of counseling programs for the theological college's graduate school. He also helps oversee a campus clinic that offers psychological counseling based on biblical teaching.

Baptist Bible College spokesman Mark Robbins said that while the college "believes in the sanctity of life," it has not taken an official position on the Schiavo case.

Doctors said that Schiavo, 41, would probably die within a week or two after the tube was removed on March 18. She suffered catastrophic brain damage in 1990 when her heart stopped for several minutes because of a chemical imbalance.


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Posted by Editor at March 30, 2005 11:38 AM