Surrendered And Tased

I'll write this once. It doesn't matter what was going on before this tasing to the neck. The suspect had his hands on the hood of the car. He was not even in the infamous "aggressive stance" that people get tased for. He had surrendered.

The video:


As RawStory notes, Minneapolis is quite the town for tasing. They've removed guidelines for avoiding tasing of the head, neck, and genitals:

"They removed restrictions on more than one officer Tasering a person at a time, or intentionally using the Taser on the head, neck, face, or genitalia," wrote civil liberties advocate Dave Bicking. "They did this without consulting, or even notifying, the City Council or the [civilian review authority]. They said that they had just moved the policy to their training manuals. When we finally were able to look at a training manual, it was clear that almost all of the important provisions were gone, and officers were given much greater discretion."

Have we become such cowards in America - afraid of news-generated bogeymen around every corner - that we're willing to pay our taxes and happily surrender our liberties to agents of the law?

As If

As if there is any reasonable justification under the sky for tasing a TEN YEAR-OLD:

OZARK, Ark. — A police officer who used a stun gun on an unruly 10-year-old girl after he said her mother gave him permission has been suspended — not for using the Taser but for not having a video camera attached when he used it.

Mayor Vernon McDaniel said officer Dustin Bradshaw was suspended Wednesday for seven days with pay. McDaniel said the suspension is for not following department procedures because he didn't have the camera on.

McDaniel wants Arkansas State Police or the FBI to look into whether the use of the Taser was proper. The girl, who hasn't been identified, wasn't injured and is now at the Western Arkansas Youth Shelter in Cecil.

Police were called to the home Nov. 11 after the girl's mother couldn't get her to take a shower.

Bradshaw's report says the girl was "violently kicking and verbally combative" when Bradshaw tried to take her into custody, and she kicked him in the groin. He said he delivered "a very brief drive stun to her back."

"Her mother told me to tase her if I needed to," Bradshaw wrote.

Kim Brunell, a spokeswoman with the FBI in Little Rock, said her office neither confirms nor denies when it's involved an investigation and declined to comment Wednesday. State police have declined McDaniel's request to investigate.

Police Chief Jim Noggle said Wednesday that Tasers are a safe way to subdue people who are a danger to themselves or others.

"We didn't use the Taser to punish the child — just to bring the child under control so she wouldn't hurt herself or somebody else," Noggle said.

If the officer tried to forcefully put the girl in handcuffs, he could have accidentally broken her arm or leg, Noggle said.

He said a touch of the stun gun — "less than a second" — stopped the girl from being unruly, and she was handcuffed.

"She got up immediately and they put her in the patrol car," McDaniel said.

Noggle said the girl will face disorderly conduct charges as a juvenile in the incident.

The girl's father, Anthony Medlock, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that his daughter has emotional problems, but that she didn't have a weapon and shouldn't have been Tasered.

"My daughter does not deserve to be tased and be treated like an animal," said Medlock, who is divorced from the girl's mother and does not have custody.

Steve Tuttle, a spokesman for Taser International, said it's up to individual law enforcement agencies to decide when Taser use is appropriate.

In some cases, a Taser "presents the safer response to resistance compared with the alternatives such as fists, kicks, baton strikes, bean bag guns, chemical agents, or canine response," Tuttle said in a statement.

The police chief, who has been Tasered twice himself during training sessions, said his department has never had to use a stun gun on a child or elderly person before, but that in some instances, that could be necessary to ensure safety.

"We don't want to do things like this," Noggle said. "This is something we have to do. We're required to maintain order and keep the peace."

"Have to do"? "To keep the peace"? Really? Really? Is the world a scary place because of unruly ten year-olds? Really? WTF?

Please taser fanboys, come to the defense of these morons.

Taser Linked To Death

Not that we didn't know that already, but it's always affirming to see it in print:

A Taser that twice shocked Brian Cardall contributed to or caused heart irregularities in the 32-year-old man that led to his death on the side of southern Utah highway in June, the Utah Medical Examiner's Office has ruled.

Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Erik Christensen cited "ventricular fibrillation following conducted energy weapon deployment during a manic episode with psychotic features" as Cardall's cause of death.

The Salt Lake Tribune obtained a copy of the autopsy report Thursday from an attorney representing the Cardalls. The family chose to release the autopsy after Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap announced he will not prosecute the officer who deployed a Taser on Cardall.

Belnap said Hurricane police Officer Ken Thompson was justified in using a Taser on Cardall as the man suffered a manic episode June 9.

The Cardall family disagrees with Belnap's decision, said Karra Porter, who is advising the Cardalls on their legal options in the wake of Belnap's decision.

Christensen's report states that prongs from a Taser deployed by a Hurricane police officer struck Cardall over his heart. While Christensen acknowledged other factors could have contributed to Cardall's death, he pointed out several factors that indicate a Taser electrocuted a naked, unarmed Cardall.

"While it is generally acknowledged that [Taser] use is safe and represents an extremely low risk due to the electrical activity of the weapon, the circumstances in this case represent a combination of the factors that are believed to increase the risk of a potential electrical death," Christensen's report reads.

"These include the placement of the barbs over the cardiac axis, the penetration of the barbs deeply into a thin chest wall directly over the heart, absence of intervening clothing and more than one cycle of electrical stimulation.

"Additionally, the initial cardiac rhythm of ventricular fibrillation is consistent with findings seen in cases of electrocution," Christensen wrote.

The conclusion that the X-26 Taser, manufactured by Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Taser International, played a significant role in Cardall's death is a bold finding by Christensen.

While Taser International has claimed its products are not risk free, the company has publicly stated its products do not cause cardiac arrest. It has filed numerous lawsuits against medical examiners across the country who have cited Tasers as a cause of death.

Get that bolded bit? Note "placement of the barbs" and "consistent with findings seen in cases of electrocution.

More Post-Tasing Death

Another death following tasing in CA:

San Bernardino police say a 19-year-old man has died after officers used a Taser to subdue him at a board-and-care facility.

The department says in a news release the man died at a hospital early Saturday.

The release says the officers had been summoned to the facility to investigate a fight involving three people late Friday night.

The release says officers separated the trio but "one of the subjects became combative and a Taser was depolyed to control him."

The man was having trouble breathing, and police called paramedics. He was pronounced dead at a hospital about an hour later.

The man's name and cause of death have not been released.

And note that three news sources list the location where this occurred as a mental health facility.

One:

A 19-year-old man died late Friday after San Bernardino city police used a Taser on him at a residential mental health facility, authorities said.

Police were called to Orchid Court, 307 S. Arrowhead Ave. around 11:30 p.m. regarding a fight involving three subjects, according to a police statement.

Officers separated the three, but one of them became combative and a Taser was used, police said.

Officers called paramedics to treat the unidentified man. Paramedics started to examine the man, who had stopped breathing, police said.

The man was taken to a St. Bernardine Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, according to the San Bernardino County coroner's office.

Two:

A 19-year-old youth collapsed after being hit with an electric jolt. The incident occurred at Orchid Court, a half-way house for mentally-challenged men.

Police said the youth was wearing a gas mask and appeared agitated at the scene of a reported stabbing. Officers tried to subdue him with the Taser weapon. He became unresponsive and could not be revived at St. Bernardine’s Medical Center.

Three:

A 19-year-old man died late Friday after San Bernardino city police used a Taser on him at a residential mental health facility, authorities said.

Police were called to Orchid Court, 307 S. Arrowhead Ave., around 11:30 p.m. regarding a fight involving three people, according to a news release.

Officers separated the three, but one of them became combative and was "tased," police said.

Following standard procedure, officers called paramedics to treat the unidentified man. Paramedics started to examine the man, who stopped breathing, police said.

The man was taken to a St. Bernardine Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, according to the San Bernardino County coroner's office. An autopsy is pending to determine the cause of death.

Friday's fatality occurred at a residential mental health center listed as one of the partners of the county's Office of Behavioral Health. Orchid Court is a state-licensed assisted living facility. ...

San Bernardino officers are not instructed to use Tasers any differently on people suspected of mental illness or drug use, Lt. Gwendolyn Waters said.

It looks as if police have implemented another post-tasing death of a mentally ill person.

This Is How It Will Go

The author at Excited-Delirium, affectionately referred to here as Mr. E-D, notes that American media is widely ignoring Taser International's recommendation (or here) that people not aim Tasers at other peoples' chests.

Mr. E-D is, of course, correct. Even as taser horror stories pick up in Canada, Australia, and Europe, American PDs continue to add Tasers to their arsenals (see here for a fitting example), seemingly oblivious to problems with taser overuse, the manufacturer's chest recommendation, and the mounting number of successful large settlements against cities in cases involving tasers.

The sad short of the long is that while the rest of the world may become outraged over taser abuse, don't expect most of America to blink.

Part of the reason for this lies with our media. Reporting on police activity is widely absent from our news. It's sometimes there in the back pages, or occasionally on the front pages when a huge incident like the Sean Bell shooting happens. But, to the largest extent, here in America, the police always receive the benefit of the doubt starting with a lack of critical examination from the press. After that, we have a large contingent of police apologists ready to attack anyone wanting to exam law enforcement implementation. Our police are kept in a protected hero class.

Another aspect of America that makes any resistance to taser, and police brutality in general, difficult, is that we love to see minorities suffer. We have a long tradition of enjoying that. We are the home of Bull Connor and the show Cops.

So, to my international friends who find the lack of American attention to taser abuse shocking, I have sad little to offer. We're a nation of fat savages and don't change unless we're forced to.

Oh, and to my fellow Americans. I'll complain as much as I like, you can stick your "love it or leave it" up your arse.

The Suits Keep Paying

Another $100k+ settlement awarded for tasing:

A Spokane County reserve fund will pay some $112,000 to a man who was shocked three times with a Taser by a deputy during a traffic stop in 2005.

County commissioners approved a settlement this week with Spirit Creager, a painter who had sued the county for $5 million in 2006, saying he couldn't work or sleep for weeks after being jolted by sheriff's Deputy Chad Ruff.

The county's risk management reserve fund will also pay $25,000 to Creager's teenage son, who was in the truck shortly after midnight on Aug. 30, 2004, when it was stopped on Dartford Road. The son witnessed the altercation between Creager and deputies, causing emotional distress, according to the family's claim.

Don't Tase My Heart Bro

So says the manufacturer:

A company that makes Tasers has issued new guidelines to police who use their product.

Taser International maintains its devices are safe but is telling police to avoid aiming the weapon at a suspect's chest.

On Wednesday those new rules were passed onto Calgary police.

"We have released a new directive, relative to Taser targeting, to our members and this follows a training bulletin that Taser International released," says SSgt. Chris Butler from the Calgary Police Service.

The bulletin, which is posted on Taser International's website, includes a diagram showing the new target areas on a suspect's body.

The bulletin instructs police: "when possible, avoiding chest shots with ECDS avoids the controversy about whether ECD's do, or do not, affect the human heart."

(h/t Truth Not Tasers via Excited-delirium)

Given Taser International's diagram (the one above), let's hope that the cops using tasers are good shots.

Make no mistake, this is enormous news. So much for tasers being "safer than Tylenol". Imagine having been a fly on the wall in the room when Taser International's lawyers and executives discussed this one!

Dead For Running

A 38 year-old man is dead, post-tasing:

BRADENTON — A Bradenton man died at Manatee Memorial Hospital early today after he fled police and an officer used a Taser on him, according to a report by the Bradenton Police Department issued this morning.

Derrick Humbert, 38, refused to make a traffic stop at 12:18 a.m. when directed to do so by officers in the area of the 700 block of 27th Street East, according to the report prepared by Deputy Chief J.J. Lewis.

Humbert then fled on foot, running through several residential yards, the report said. One of the pursuing officers used his Taser, it said. A Taser is an electro-shock weapon that is used to slow or immobilize a suspect.

Police called emergency medical service workers to take Humbert to the hospital, where he died while being treated, the release said. The police department is conducting an investigation and awaiting autopsy results to determine the cause of death, the report said.

Police said they later determined that Humbert had an outstanding arrest warrant for possession of marijuana, the report said. The name of the officer was not released this morning.

The comments of the article are, per usual, pretty gross. Taser fanboys and police apologists (TFPAs) are fine with death, randomly doled out, being the punishment for being high or running from the cops. I'd be willing to bet that most TFPAs call themselves good Christians too.

Smelling Blood

From a legal news source:

Most recently, Sandra Brown settled a Taser suit against the city of Golden Valley. Police used a Taser on Brown while she was sitting in the passenger seat of her car talking on her cell phone to a 911 operator. Police had ordered her to hang up the phone.

St. Paul attorney Paul Applebaum represented Brown, who suffered no serious physical injury, but was traumatized by the incident and had to go on anti-anxiety medication.

The case settled last week for $200,000 without any admission of liability.

The settlement demonstrates that even when they do not involve death or major physical damages, a good Taser case is worth pursuing.

That's very interesting given the vast portions of profits Taser International already devotes to fending off legal threats:

On average, the Scottsdale, Arizona-based company spends about $4 million a year in litigation-related expenses -- more than its annual net profit in 2008.

I would be such a grouchy shareholder.

Shockingly Expensive

More tasers costing Joe taxpayer:

$200K in Golden Valley, Minnesota
$55K in Portland, Oregon

So Brave

PostBlog: Tasered While Black has much more on this heinous incident including a link to video of the arrest.

In Merced, CA, white cops tase a wheelchair-bound black man:

MERCED -- The Merced Police Department's Internal Affairs Division is investigating a complaint alleging that an officer twice used a Taser against an unarmed man with no legs in a wheelchair.

Gregory Williams, 40, a double-leg amputee, spent six days in jail on suspicion of domestic violence and resisting arrest after the Sept. 11 incident. Merced County District Attorney Larry Morse II said there wasn't enough evidence to file charges, however.

Williams, who was released from jail Friday, said he was violently manhandled and Tasered by police, even though he claims he never was physically aggressive toward the officers or resisted arrest.

Williams says he was publicly humiliated after his pants fell down during the incident. The officers allegedly left him outdoors in daylight, handcuffed on the pavement, nude below the waist. Williams said the arrest also left him with an injured shoulder, limiting his mobility in his wheelchair.

A handful of residents who live in Williams' apartment complex say they witnessed the incident and support Williams' charges. A short video clip, shot by a neighbor, shows Williams sitting on the pavement with his pants down, his hands cuffed behind his back.

Eddie Blaylock, a 38-year-old resident of the apartment complex, said he took notice after seeing "two cops trying to handcuff a guy in a wheelchair."

After seeing an officer pull out his Taser, Blaylock said he yelled, "Hey, you can't do that!" One of the officers threatened to Taser Blaylock if he "didn't step back," he said. Blaylock said he never saw Williams resist arrest or become violent.

And from another source:

And although the two lead arresting officers are white, and Williams is black, it remains unknown whether race was a factor in the incident. Those two officers remain on duty.

Lots of Death

From Modesto, CA:

An inmate at the Stanislaus County Jail in downtown Modesto died after jailers used a Taser to subdue him as he was being moved to another cell Wednesday afternoon, sheriff's officials reported Friday.

This is the third time in five months an inmate has died while in custody after law enforcement officials used Tasers to subdue the men. All three were being held at the sheriff's downtown Modesto jail when they died.

Authorities are still investigating the previous two deaths.

Add this to situations where tasers fail and ask yourself what reasonable cop would want to fire a taser.

Interesting Discussion

Pam has a post up about tasers in schools. There are some interesting discussions going on in the comments... lots of splitting hairs trying to defend tasers.

More Death

This time from Aurora, CO:

AURORA - The fugitive arrested by police officers on Sept. 3 after a struggle that included two shots from a taser, has died.

Aurora Police say Shane Ledbetter had run from officers last Thursday after providing false information about his identity. Police say Ledbetter violently resisted when they caught up with him and attempted to arrest him.

Police say that is when one officer used his taser to subdue and handcuff him near Mission Viejo Park.

Officers say Ledbetter then became unresponsive and they began CPR. Ledbetter was taken to a local hospital where he died on Sunday.

Do running from the cops and resisting arrest justify a randomly dispensed death sentence? That's the question that post-tasing deaths offer us.

A Shocking Realization

Is there a glimmer of hope that this might be part of a trend, or is it just one smart cop who's been paying attention? From Holyoke, MA:

HOLYOKE - Equipping officers with Taser electric-shock guns is unnecessary because Holyoke police already are well-equipped and trained, Police Chief Anthony R. Scott said.

Also, said Scott, responding on Monday to a request from the City Council that he look into Tasers, such devices can be troublesome in terms of costly lawsuits filed against municipalities that use them.

"I am not ready to see an individual on the six o'clock news bouncing around on the ground like a basketball with 50,000 volts of electricity being pumped into their body," Scott said, in a memo to council President Joseph M. McGiverin.

Scott, who said he has more than 43 years in law enforcement, said police have sufficient tools. Academy training includes "verbal judo," which consists of spoken persuasion to get a suspect to comply, and physical compliance techniques, he said.

Oh wait! Look at this. Another law enforcement officer who doesn't love tasers:

But not all local cops love them. "I'm just not sold on them yet as far as being a useful tool," Edgerton Police Chief Tom Klubertanz says.

Edgerton, which sits on the Dane and Rock county line has no plans to issue Tasers to officers. Cross Plains stands alone in Dane County in not issuing Tasers to its officers; its chief says they're too expensive.

Klubertanz simply doesn't like them. "Are they being overused by some departments because they have it?" he asks. "Do they get a thrill out of watching (suspects) get electrocuted? I don't know."

Some say that officers are trained to trivialize the extreme pain Tasers inflict, and Madison police videos of Taser incidents display what could be construed as a cavalier attitude toward their use.

Those paragraphs are from an article about tasers becoming the tool of choice for cops in Madison, WI. There, tasers are unabashedly and frequently used as compliance tools. The false pretense of tasers-replace-guns has been fully dropped.