Another Post-Tasing Death And More Police Brutality

I read about two more taser related incidents this morning.

The first is from Taser of the Day. Another person is dead after being tased in CA.

The second is from Tasered While Black. Another CA man was tased in his home for brandishing a fly swatter.

I haven't coped the text from the sites; both are worth frequenting.

In other taser-related news, a report has concluded that excessive force was used by police when they tased two peaceful protesters in VT last year:

BRATTLEBORO — Brattleboro police officers used excessive force last year when they Tasered two peaceful protesters, who were protesting the possible development of a vacant lot into a truck stop, according to a report prepared by an independent consultant hired by the town.

The report, made public late Friday afternoon, was written by Gordon Black, a Bennington lawyer, who the town hired to evaluate the controversial July 24 arrest and Tasering of Jonathan Crowell, 32, and Samantha Kilmurray, 32, both of West Dummerston.

"The use of Tasers was, in my judgment, unwise and unreasonable under the circumstances," wrote Black, adding the police action was "hasty … unwise and unreasonable. While the officers were acting within the then-existing policy, the use of force by the officers was excessive."

He faulted the police for lack of patience in dealing with Crowell and Kilmurray, noting two of the officers, including one of the two officers who used a Taser, were on the scene for less than 20 minutes.

"This quick action fails to show appropriate patience and restraint in attempting to resolve the situation," he added. "There was no urgency to resolve the matter quickly … as the protesters were not obstructing traffic, impeding pedestrians or interfering to an adjacent business," he concluded.

But Black noted the town policy governing the use of force at the time of the incident was vague and needed further revision.

"The lack of a clear articulation of when the Taser device is authorized … unquestionably contributed to the incident," Black said in his 13-page report.

Isn't that nice: people being tased because of impatient cops. Down the scroll, the story has a good recap of what happened at the scene of the tasing.