Yesterday, a story about the origins of a beautiful cake that read “Sorry I Tased You” went viral. It was debunked last night, but the truth remained elusive. Today, we bring you the real story behind the infamous cake. 
 
 The Pensacola News Journal, along with New York magazine and the New York Post, reported a Florida cop named Michael Wohlers allegedly tasered a civilian and allegedly baked the cake for the woman as an apology. Turns out he had only allegedly sent the woman a picture of the cake, which he’d apparently found online. So where did that photo come from? 
 
 Advertisement 
 
 Two Barnstable, Massachusetts police officers, Jay Maloney and Katie Ross, reached out to Gizmodo to explain the cake’s real origin story. Around 1:30AM on New Years Day in 2014, Maloney accidentally tased Ross when they responded to a father-son domestic dispute. 
 
 “I had been off of field training for a week (total rookie) and working my first overtime shift,” Ross explained to Gizmodo in an email. When the pair approached the house, they found the father and son fighting and tackled the son outside. According to Maloney, he was violent and resisting arrest. 
 
 “I go to assist by grabbing on to the male at the exact same time Maloney deployed his taser,” Ross told Gizmodo. “Taser probes enter my left hand and I had a two second ‘ride.’ I call it perfectly bad timing.” 
 
 X-rays of Ross’s tased hand 
 
 “The male was still resisting and Katie was able to tase him while she had taser prongs in her hand,” Maloney said. 
 
 
 
 Advertisement 
 
 Ross said she was out of work for a month after the tasing. Maloney felt extremely guilty about the incident, so when she got back to work, he presented her with the infamous cake. “My only option was to make her a cake,” Maloney said. 
 
 “The cake was not fully cooked,” Ross noted, “but it was the first cake he ever baked.” 
 
 It’s all in the past now, and both Ross and Maloney are confused about how their story became a viral hoax. 
 
 “Everyone wants to take credit for Maloney’s awesomeness,” Ross said. 
 
 Image of Ross’s tased hand 
 
 Gizmodo has looked into the authenticity of Ross and Maloney’s account. Both are listed as patrol officers on the Barnstable PD website. Additionally, Maloney posted a picture of the cake on his personal Facebook account, with comments from Barnstable residents: 
 
 
 
 Update 9/30/2016, 11:42AM: Here is the Pensacola News Journal’s update: ||||| Michael Wohlers, a former Escambia County deputy, is being sued by a Pensacola woman after allegedly discharging his stun gun into her chest without provocation. According to court documents, Wohlers attempted to apologize with a cake that said, "Sorry I Tased You." (Photo: Special to the News Journal) 
 
 UPDATE: This story has been updated to reflect new information that the former deputy is accused of sending the alleged victim a photo of a cake along with a text message stating he baked it for her and wanted to give it to her. 
 
 A local woman has filed a civil lawsuit against a former Escambia County deputy who allegedly discharged a stun gun into her chest and neck without provocation, tried to cover up the incident, then apologized by sending her a photo of an off-color cake. 
 
 The suit, filed in federal court by Stephanie Byron in May, also names Sheriff David Morgan in his official capacity as sheriff. The suit alleges Michael Wohlers used excessive force against Byron, violated her civil rights, committed battery against her and caused her hardships, including physical injuries, monetary loss, medical expenses, humiliation and mental anguish. 
 
 Wohlers' attorney denied the allegations in a written response to Byron's complaint. 
 
 The incident allegedly occurred in June 2015, when Wohlers finished his patrol shift and stopped to visit Byron at an apartment complex where she was employed. Documents from the Sheriff's Office and the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission say Wohlers discharged his stun gun during "horseplay" with Byron, but Byron and her attorney said Wednesday there was no "play" involved in the incident. 
 
 The suit alleges when Wohlers arrived at the apartment complex, he "used his apparent law enforcement authority to intimidate, harass, and threaten plaintiff ... about her personal life. Because Wohlers did not like how Plaintiff failed to respond to his show of authority, Wohlers became increasingly aggressive toward employees at the apartment complex’s office, including with Ms. Byron." 
 
 The complaint claims Wohlers took Byron's sweet tea from her and refused to give it back. When Byron approached Wohlers to retrieve the drink, he allegedly discharged the stun gun into her chest and throat. The complaint also alleges when Byron fell to the ground, Wohlers "jumped onto Ms. Byron, kneeing her in the chest" and "forcefully removed the Taser prods." 
 
 According to court documents, Wohlers later attempted to apologize to Byron by baking her a cake. Byron's attorney, Alistair McKenzie, clarified Friday that Wohlers sent Byron a text message stating that he baked her a cake and wanted to give it to her. The text message included a photo of a cake with the phrase, "Sorry I Tased You" written on it. 
 
 Wohlers has declined to comment on the case, but his attorney denied the allegations in a written response to the complaint. The response also asserts Wohlers is protected by "qualified immunity" — rights that can shield government officials from civil liability lawsuits if the official did not knowingly violate a citizen's rights while performing their duties. 
 
 The defense's response said that even if Byron's allegations were found to be truthful, Wohlers' actions "reflect, at worst, mere negligence." The defense claimed Wohlers did not act in "bad faith, or with malicious purpose, or in a manner exhibiting wanton and willful disregard of human rights, safety or property," making the Sheriff's Office, not Wohlers, the proper defendant in the lawsuit. 
 
 Morgan noted Tuesday that Wohlers was not engaged in an official or approved activity at the time of the incident. Wohlers resigned from the Sheriff's Office in July 2015 while under investigation for misconduct, and the ECSO reported Wohlers lied to a training officer about how his stun gun was discharged and later filed a false report about the incident. 
 
 On Monday, the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission announced it had reviewed the case and placed Wohlers on a one-year probationary period from serving at any law enforcement agency in Florida. 
 
 The lawsuit, which is separate from CJSTC review, is still pending in federal court. Byron is seeking compensatory damages, costs, expenses and reasonable attorney’s fees. 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://on.pnj.com/2dlWv27 ||||| PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida's woman's lawsuit says a deputy shot her with a stun gun, then apologized with a cake that said, "Sorry I Tased You" in blue frosting. 
 
 The cake didn't cut it for Stephanie Byron. She sued former Escambia County sheriff's deputy Michael Wohlers in May. 
 
 On Monday, the county's Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission announced it had reviewed the case and placed Wohlers on a one-year probationary period from serving at any law enforcement agency in Florida. 
 
 The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Pensacola, alleges Wohlers violated Byron's civil rights, committed battery against her and caused her hardships, including physical injuries, monetary loss, medical expenses, humiliation and mental anguish. 
 
 Wohlers' attorney wouldn't comment Thursday but denied the allegations in a court document. 
 
 The incident happened in June 2015 when Wohlers stopped by an apartment complex where Byron was working. 
 
 According to court documents, Wohlers was in his full uniform and "used his apparent law enforcement authority to intimidate, harass, and threaten" Byron about her personal life. The lawsuit says Wohlers took Byron's tea, and when she went to retrieve it he fired his stun gun at her. She said she was knocked to the floor and the court document says Wohlers "jumped onto Ms. Byron, kneeing her in the chest." He then removed the stun gun prods from her body and left. 
 
 The lawsuit also says Wohlers told his employer that he accidentally discharged his device into a pillow at his house. 
 
 Sometime after that, Wohlers baked Byron a cake. Byron's attorney entered a photo of the cake as an exhibit into the court file. 
 
 "The cake Wohlers baked provides his version of the encounter and clearly shows a person Wohlers firing the Taser at Ms. Byron. It also reads "Sorry I Tased You," the complaint reads. The cake depicts two stick figures in frosting, with one aiming something with black wires at the other. 
 
 Wohlers resigned from the sheriff's office in July 2015. . 
 
 Wohlers' attorney denied the allegations in a written response to the complaint. The response also said Wohlers is protected by "qualified immunity" — rights that can shield government officials from civil liability lawsuits if the official did not knowingly violate a citizen's rights while performing their duties. 
 
 Byron is seeking compensatory damages, costs, expenses and reasonable attorney's fees.
– Sometimes a cake just makes everything worse. The Pensacola News Journal reports a Florida woman is suing a sheriff's deputy she says shot her with a stun gun then attempted to make it right with a questionably frosted cake. The lawsuit claims that in June 2015, deputy Michael Wohlers left his shift and visited Stephanie Byron at the apartment complex where she worked. The lawsuit states Wohlers was upset about Byron's personal life and tried to "intimidate, harass, and threaten her." He took away her sweet tea then shot her with a stun gun in the chest and neck when she tried to get it back, the lawsuit claims. According to the AP, Wohler told his superior that he fired the stun gun into a pillow at his house. He also filed a false police report about it. The lawsuit claims Wohlers later tried to apologize to Byron by sending her a picture of a cake. (The News Journal originally reported he sent her the actual cake.) Frosting on the cake reads "Sorry I Tased You" and shows two stick figures, one apparently shooting something with wires at the other. It could be Wohlers' undoing. As the lawsuit notes: "The cake Wohlers baked...clearly shows...Wohlers firing the Taser at Ms. Byron." Wohlers has since changed his story, saying he fired the stun gun at Byron during a moment of "horseplay." Wohlers resigned from the sheriff's department last year while being investigated for misconduct. On Monday, he was banned from serving with any Florida law enforcement agency for one year. Byron is seeking monetary compensation for a violation of her civil rights, battery, and more. (While Wohlers allegedly claimed to have baked the cake, Gizmodo explains that it was actually given cop-to-cop after an accidental stun gun incident years ago.)