Multiple Failed Taser Applications And A Dead Man

Taser fired. Taser fired. Taser fired. Suspect died:

A man who allegedly charged a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy several times at a San Fernando Valley subway station died after being stunned multiple times with a Taser, a sheriff's spokesman said today.

The Wednesday night incident was being investigated by the sheriff’s internal affairs bureau and the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

[Updated at 11:36 a.m.: The incident is also being investigated by the sheriff's homicide bureau and overseen by the office of independent review.]

It occurred at 8:18 p.m. on the mezzanine level of the North Hollywood Red Line station, said Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.

“The deputy asked him if he had a ticket," Whitmore said. "The man did not respond, so the deputy again asked him if he had a ticket. He asked a total of three times and the man did not respond."

The deputy took hold of the man's hands to stop and question him, Whitmore said. But the man broke free, raised his clenched fists and charged the deputy, attempting to hit him. The deputy stepped aside, and the man charged the deputy again, he said.

The deputy used his Taser on the man, who jumped up, and was Tasered again. The man charged again and was Tasered a third time. He kept trying to get up but finally fell to ground. A glass pipe used to smoke narcotics fell to the ground during the altercation, Whitmore said.

The crackpipe doesn't matter. If it has to, it only matters in that it indicates that a taser was applied multiple times to someone likely from an at-risk population. Tasers should be the last option if an officer suspects that someone is prone to cardiac issues (Go ahead, tell me how cops have no idea whether someone is high or not! Please.). Of course, if you're a taser fanboy, you're probably thrilled that the US is becoming a country aok with killing people in the streets for doing drugs.

I've said it before, if you're a cop and use a taser on someone you know, or suspect is a member of an at risk population (e.g., the elderly, the mentally ill, drugs users, etc.), you immediate lose your morally high "good guy" status.