Preacher subdued with stun gun after struggle at church

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) - Police say they used a stun gun on a Massachusetts preacher because he was interfering in a child custody case.

Worcester police responded to the Cornerstone Baptist Church on Sunday night.

The Telegram & Gazette reports that when officers arrived, 55-year-old Joseph Rizzuti blocked them from speaking to a woman and slammed the door into officers as they followed him.

Police say they used the stun gun to gain control over Rizzuti during a struggle inside the church. He faces several charges including battery on a police officer and resisting arrest.

Rizzuti on the church’s Facebook page said after advising a church member to go home with her children if police were not detaining her, police turned their “rage” on him for “standing up for woman and child being bullied.”

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Information from: Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Mass.), http://www.telegram.com