It all goes here

No Tasers, No Rise in Police Injuries

2011-01-03T11:58:00.001-05:00

Some not so shocking reality:

No Tasers, no rise in Rockford police injuries - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Ouch!

2010-07-08T17:58:00.004-04:00

Yowza! That's gotta smart if you're a Taser Inc. shareholder going long:

Taser International (NASDAQ:TASR) is one of today's worst performing low-priced stocks, down 2.1% to $3.71 on 0.2x average daily volume. Approximately 321,000 shares have traded hands today vs. 30-day average volume of 1.3 million shares.

High volume often signals a change in trends. Shares of Taser International are currently trading below their 50-day moving average (MA) of $4.36 and below their 200-day MA of $5.05. ...

SmarTrend is bearish on shares of Taser International and our subscribers were alerted to sell on March 29, 2010 at $5.99. The stock has fallen 38.1% since the alert was issued.

$2e6 in Fort Worth

2010-05-14T14:01:00.006-04:00

Fort Worth is settling, for $2-million, a case in which a mentally ill man died after being tased for over 50 seconds. Per the standard operating procedure for most investigations of police activity in the US, the officer involved was cleared of wrongdoing and the city has not admitted liability. From the story:

FORT WORTH, TEXAS - The city of Fort Worth is offering $2 million to the family of a mentally ill man who died after being shocked by a Taser, even though the police officer involved has been cleared of wrongdoing.

Michael Patrick Jacobs, 24, died last year after being shocked for 54 seconds. The Tarrant County medical examiner's office ruled his death a homicide due to "application of conducted energy device." ...

In an effort to gain control, Cpl. Stephanie A. Phillips then shocked Jacobs twice with a city-issued Taser X26 Electronic Control Device, officials said. The first shock last for 49 seconds.

The second time for five seconds.

"The entire time I was yelling, 'You're killing my son; you're killing my son,'" his mother Charlotte Jacobs said.

The police officer who tased Jacobs, Stephanie Phillips, did not receive any discipline from the Fort Worth Police Department.

Fort Worth Police Chief Jeffery Halstead has defended Taser use, saying police shootings have dropped 30 percent in the eight years the city has used Tasers.

"The use of these devices provided a safer environment for officers dealing with possible violent situations," Halstead said last year.

The Jacobs family said this situation wasn't a violent one, and officers did not need to resort to using a Taser.

The $2 million offer could open up flood gates for other police tasing incidents. But the city of Fort Worth has not admitted liability in the case.

That's some expensive police work.

Firing Tasers At Kids On Bikes

2010-04-19T07:37:00.005-04:00

More BART cop action:

Sources familiar with the matter, however, told The Chronicle that a veteran sergeant in a moving patrol car fired his Taser several days ago at the 13-year-old boy, who was fleeing from an altercation at BART's Richmond Station on a bicycle.

The darts missed the boy, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. They said the sergeant, who has taught defensive tactics at BART, remained at work but had been removed from street duty.

This would be great police work if we lived in Grand Theft Auto.

Still Crazy

2010-04-01T14:47:00.003-04:00

I might be taking a break from writing about them, but law enforcement officials are still crazy with the tasers:

Indiana police say two officers have been placed on administrative suspension after they used a stun gun on an unruly child at a home day care.

A news release from the mayor's office and the Martinsville Police Department said the officers responded to reports of a 10-year-old who was out of control at Tender Teddies Day Care Tuesday night, reports WRTV in Indianapolis. ...
The department says that when the officers arrived the boy was out of control, hitting and kicking and refusing to listen to them.
The department says the officers used a stun gun and slapped the boy to subdue him.
The chief said the boy cried after being shocked on Tuesday but is now fine, WRTV reports.

Martinsville Police Chief Jon Davis said Thursday that he believes two of his officers could have avoided using the stun gun on the 94-pound boy.

That's so brave.

Tasing An 82-Year-Old

2009-12-10T07:19:00.002-05:00

I can understand why the driver called the cops, but can't figure why the cops couldn't handle an 82-year-old man:

Authorities have charged an 82-year-old man for punching a Chicago Transit Authority bus driver in a confrontation allegedly over a fare dispute that led to him being tasered by police.

Junming Kuang, of the 3000 block of South Wentworth Avenue, was charged with felony counts of resisting or obstructing a peace officer, aggravated battery of a government employee and a misdemeanor count of aggravated assault to a police officer, said Officer John Mirabelli, a Police News Affairs spokesman.

He is expected to appear at a bond hearing Wednesday.

Police say that Kuang tried to get on a CTA bus in the 2300 block of South Wentworth Avenue about 9:15 a.m. Monday and got into a dispute with the driver after his bus pass failed to register, police said.

Kuang began to punch the bus driver, and when police arrived on the scene, the man began to fight with them too, leading to officers Tasering him.

So, is it braver to tase a 10-year-old or an 82-year-old? Just askin.

Fire Up The Lawyers

2009-12-10T06:43:00.004-05:00

I'll admit that I don't know how these things go in Canada, but I know that here in the states, a statement like the following from a government sanctioned anything would have lawyers salivating. The RCMP have been slammed for their role in the death of Robert Dziekanski. From the inquiry's official report:

Finding
Prior to deploying the CEW, Constable Millington should have issued the required warning/challenge to Mr. Dziekanski as required by RCMP
Finding
Because no significant attempts were made by the RCMP members present to communicate with Mr. Dziekanski, to obtain clarification of information pertaining to Mr. Dziekanski's situation, or to communicate among themselves, deployment of the CEW by Constable Millington was premature and was not appropriate in the circumstances.
Finding
Constable Millington cycled the CEW multiple times against Mr. Dziekanski when those subsequent cycles were not known by him to be necessary for the control of Mr. Dziekanski.
Finding
The multiple cycles of the CEW against Mr. Dziekanski when no significant effort was made to determine the effect of the CEW on Mr. Dziekanski was an inappropriate use of the CEW.
Finding
Corporal Robinson did not adequately monitor Mr. Dziekanski's breathing and heart rate. policy, notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Dziekanski appeared not to understand the English language.

Not a lawyer here, and feel free to correct me, but the executive summary of the report linked above seems to clear the officers involved from prosecution. But, if this had happened in the States and we had been lucky enough to have a public inquiry (we would never be that lucky), I'd be willing to bet we'd see headlines in line with the following:

Man gets $100,000 in lawsuit

From that link:

WILKESBORO - A Wilkesboro police officer was dropped from a federal civil-rights lawsuit after a $100,000 settlement was reached with the plaintiff last month, town officials said yesterday.

Wilkesboro's insurance carrier will pay most of the money, with the town paying a $10,000 deductible.

The lawsuit alleges that Wilkes County law-enforcement officers had beaten Paul Douglas Absher of Boomer in 2007. Absher -- who was hospitalized for two weeks after his arrest on charges of assault on a law-enforcement officer and resisting an officer -- is seeking $20 million.

Wilkesboro Police Lt. Rocky Moore was dismissed from the lawsuit after mediation last month. In a response to the lawsuit, Moore said he used his Taser once on Absher, but did not beat him. The town's statement said that the settlement its insurance carrier made the settlement, and the council was not consulted.

"The Mayor and Town Council unanimously believe that Lieutenant Rocky L. Moore did nothing wrong in his actions on the occasion that resulted in this lawsuit," the statement said. It added that if the case had gone to trial "Lieutenant Rocky L. Moore would not have been found liable for any of his actions, in that all of his actions on this occasion were entirely proper and in accordance with good police procedure."

State law requires such settlements to be made public after a reasonable time period. The town council was told about it Monday in closed session; then it was announced in open session.

Three Wilkes County sheriff's deputies --Harper Hartley, Harold Martin and Gene Wyatt -- as well as Sheriff Dane Mastin and the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office remain as defendants in the lawsuit.

The suit contends that Absher was standing by a road waiting for his girlfriend when he was approached by a deputy, kicked, shocked at least 10 times with a Taser, and beaten with flashlights and batons -- an assault that continued after his hands were cuffed behind his back.

His skull was fractured, and he was hospitalized at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center for 14 days, five of them in a medically induced coma, the suit says.

A judge dismissed criminal charges against Absher this past summer after testimony that the county had lost part of a video at the jail intake. Absher claims that he was beaten there, too. The prosecutor has appealed the dismissal of the criminal charges to the N.C. Court of Appeals.

Absher's attorney, John Vermitsky of Winston-Salem, said yesterday that he expects the civil case against the remaining defendants to go to trial. "We think our client has a very strong case at trial," Vermitsky said.

I'm betting that Canadian tasers prove to be nearly as expensive as their American counterparts.

Another 10-Year-Old Tased

2009-12-05T10:51:00.003-05:00

In this week's cowardly police work corner, cops tase a 10-year-old boy, and their sheriff says it was justified:

PUEBLO, Colo. -- Sheriff's deputies who stunned with a Taser a 10-year-old child they said was "out of control" were justified in their use of force, the sheriff said Thursday.

The boy was Tasered by sheriff's deputies in Pueblo West on Monday, after officers were called to the boy's foster home on a report that he was destroying property and threatening a foster parent with a pipe and a stick. He had already thrown a landscaping timber at the foster father, the sheriff's office said.

The sheriff said Thursday that the deputies involved in the arrest did what they had to do. ...

"They followed all policies and procedures. This was appropriate use of the Taser device," said Capt. Jeff Teschner.

He said that the juvenile was not hurt when deputies took action.

The boy refused to throw down a 2-foot pipe he was holding when deputies cornered him outside, Teschner said.

The boy was booked into Pueblo Youth Center on suspicion of menacing with a deadly weapon. The foster parent said he intends to press charges against the boy.

The boy has a history of violence.

Teschner said his department's policy on the use of Tasers is not age specific."

More details, including the names of the officers involved come from this article:

Capt. Jeff Teschner, head of patrol at the Pueblo County Sheriff's Department, said Wednesday that the deputies involved were justified in their use of force.

"They followed all policies and procedures. This was appropriate use of the Taser device," Teschner said.

The boy did not sustain injuries in the 3:30 p.m. incident in the 300 block of West Morning Glory Drive, Teschner said.

Deputies Mark Myers and Randy Mondragon were sent to foster parent Daniel Biby's home to help with an "out of control juvenile" who was reportedly destroying property. Mondragon said the boy had threatened Biby with a pipe and a stick, and had thrown a landscape timber at Biby.

Mondragon said that when deputies arrived, the boy ran away from them holding a 2-foot-long pipe.

"This lad, we have a long history of (him) running away. I don't know what his entire psychological profile is, but obviously he has emotional distress," Teschner said.

The boy ran to a neighbor's yard where he cornered himself between a camper trailer, pontoon boat and a fence, Mondragon

said.

The boy ignored a deputy's commands to drop the pipe. "I'm not going to drop the pipe," the boy is quoted as saying in a report. ...

Teschner said that because of the tight quarters the boy was in, stunning the child with a Taser was a more effective way of arresting the youth rather than using pepper spray.

"They couldn't get close enough to deploy pepper spray without putting themselves in danger," Teschner said.

Myers deployed the Taser at the boy, who then dropped the pipe, and Mondragon arrested the boy.

Stop Taser Torture Today!

2009-12-04T08:31:00.007-05:00

Enough is enough is enough.

They're not less than lethal. They're less than or equal to lethal, at best. They're not gun replacements. They're replacements for good police practices. They're not reliable devices. They fail in the field regularly. In short, they are 'teh' suck.

For details, click on the big red button and explore the site's links.

Witness To A Tasing

2009-12-02T10:12:00.003-05:00

Daniel Buckner is dead after being tased 3-times:

Police say while they were trying to put Buckner in the van, he got combative with Erlanger and Hamilton County corrections officers. They wound up shocking him with a Taser. Once they subdued him, officers then loaded the 53-year-old into the van.
But when they got to Moccasin Bend, Buckner was unresponsive. Officers drove him back to Erlanger. He was pronounced dead.

"Y'all have to show me a camera, show my husband standing up there fighting with them before I believe them," Buckner says, fighting back tears.

His wife and children say at the time of the incident, Buckner was in a wheelchair, weak from weight loss and dehydration. They say they were told by Erlanger staff he'd fallen out of the wheelchair and onto the ground. And they say Erlanger administrators told them officers shocked him with the Taser three times, all while he was still on the ground. ...
Chattanooga police are now questioning the Erlanger and Hamilton County corrections officers involved in the incident. A department spokesperson says they'll be looking into how many times Buckner was shocked with the Taser and if it caused his death.

The investigation hinges on the medical examiner's autopsy which, as of Monday evening, was not yet complete.

Alice Buckner is hoping that report will give her family the answers they need.

"There was no cause for three Tasers," Buckner cries. "I wanna know why you had to do that three times to my husband. And him already sick and weak and coming out of that hospital like that?"

An account from an eyewitness, of course, differs from police claims that Buckner was combative:

A witness has come forward in the case of the man who died after Erlanger officers shocked him with a Taser. ...
The witness tells us she was at the hospital that day, waiting on family member who was receiving treatment, when she saw a man being escorted out of the west wing door by a man and a woman.

The witness says she saw Buckner fall to his knees and the woman holding him began asking him, why are you doing this? The witness says Buckner appeared weak, as though he was having trouble standing.

While Buckner was on the ground, staff brought out a wheelchair, but the witness says they couldn't lift Buckner into the chair. That's when Erlanger Police came out.

The witness took a picture showing what happened next. You can see a man on the ground, surrounded by hospital staff and uniformed officers.
The witness says one of those officers put her fist into Buckner's chest, and he began screaming in pain. Then she says the officer grabbed Buckner by the back of the head and told him to get up. The woman says Buckner rolled over, onto his stomach and when he didn't get off the ground, the witness says, that's when another officer pulled out his Taser. She says the male officer shocked him three times with the Taser. She says he was on the ground the entire time.

Erlanger officers told detectives handling the case that Buckner he got combative. The witness, who says she was there when the van originally pulled up and also says she stayed for the entire incident responds: "I never saw that. Never. At no point." She says she also never saw him struggle, fight or even yell at anyone at anytime.

"The only thing I heard him say was 'Aaaah' when she was putting her fist in his chest," the witness says.

When do we stop paying law enforcement to tase us into submission and then lie about it?

Tasers Come To NJ

2009-11-25T10:57:00.003-05:00

Last year I wrote about the possibility of tasers making their way in police hands in NJ, the only state keeping them from police. The NJ Attorney General has given the green light to tasers in the state:

TRENTON — For the first time, New Jersey police have been given the right to use stun guns in certain situations by Attorney General Anne Milgram — for example, on armed, emotionally disturbed persons who refuse to surrender.

Ewing Police Chief Robert Coulton, president of the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, called Milgram’s decision “a good first step, since we’ve advocated use of them.”

How could it be a good first step? he was asked.

“Because anything that we can do to save lives is good.”

New Jersey is the last state to authorize stun-gun usage, and this comes only after approval by a blue ribbon advisory committee that included retired Superior Court Appellate Judge Dennis J. Braithwaite and the executive director of the chiefs’ association, Mitchell Sklar.

The following paragraph from the same article demonstrates why I'm confidant that tasers will be abused in the Garden State, just like they've been everywhere they've been deployed:

Asked about nightmare videos depicting rogue police use of the stun guns, Coulton said, “Any level of force can be lethal in dealing with combative people, individuals who sometimes resist arrest, any level of force can be lethal, from firearms, to hand-to-hand altercations.

“So with anything, when you’re dealing with controlling violent and aggressive individuals, sometimes those worst-case scenarios that are unfortunate do occur. And they will continue to occur in a profession when you deal with people that are combative and resisting arrest and are dangerous.”

Coulton said it’s important that the appropriate reprecussions happen, “whether it be departmental discipline, or criminal charges and dismissal from police service. It’s a reality. They do happen from time to time, they do occur.

With an attitude like that, there's little hope for restrained use of any randomly death-dispensing implement.

Welcome to our united torture states, NJ.

Surrendered And Tased

2009-11-20T09:12:00.003-05:00

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

2009-11-19T17:09:00.002-05:00

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

2009-11-19T17:03:00.002-05:00

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.

This Is How It Will Go

2009-10-15T22:05:00.015-04:00

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

2009-10-09T07:43:00.004-04:00

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

2009-10-08T14:10:00.003-04:00

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

2009-09-28T15:57:00.002-04:00

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

2009-09-25T14:45:00.005-04:00

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

2009-09-22T08:31:00.004-04:00

More tasers costing Joe taxpayer:

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

So Brave

2009-09-21T08:24:00.004-04:00

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

2009-09-19T07:34:00.002-04:00

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

2009-09-18T08:36:00.002-04:00

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

2009-09-07T09:49:00.003-04:00

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

2009-09-02T08:44:00.005-04:00

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.

Based On His Training

2009-08-31T08:39:00.005-04:00

A deputy from western New York is defending his tasing of a mom while her kids looked on as being within department and training guidelines:

The video shows the officer stunning Harmon with two Taser shots. Harmon was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and driving 50 mph in a 45 mph zone. The charges were dismissed, and Harmon sued the sheriff's department in early August.

In his e-mail, Andrews writes that he stopped Harmon because it appeared that she was talking on her cell phone and appeared to be speeding. He said he decided to use the Taser based on his training because Harmon defied his orders and because he couldn't see her hands at certain points during the stop.

He also wrote that he was concerned that she would drive off if he didn't use the Taser on her, and that he would "have a vehicle pursuit with two kids in the car."

His direct supervisor supported the decision, Andrews wrote, and even sent a memo to administrators saying Andrews had not violated the department's policies on use of force or Tasers.

Note too that all charges against this Mom were dropped.

This is apparently inline with this departments use of force policy:

Multiple Failed Taser Applications And A Dead Man

2009-08-29T10:18:00.003-04:00

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.

Due To Application

2009-08-28T14:34:00.002-04:00

Pretty hard to misinterpret that. From the Star-Telegram:

FORT WORTH — FORT WORTH — The Tarrant County medical examiner ruled Thursday that the death of a mentally ill man in April who was shocked twice by a Taser stun gun wielded by a Fort Worth police officer was a homicide.
It was the fourth time that a person shocked by a Taser has died in Fort Worth police custody since the department started using the devices in 2001, according to the Police Department.
But the death of Michael Patrick Jacobs Jr., 24, is the first that Medical Examiner Nizam Peerwani has ruled to be a homicide.
Jacobs was pronounced dead about noon April 18, an hour after he was hit by the Taser. His parents had called 911 because he was causing a disturbance at their east Fort Worth home, police have reported.
According to Peerwani’s report, an officer shot Jacobs twice with the Taser, once for 49 seconds and another time for five seconds. An autopsy found no drugs, no system abnormalities and no electrolyte imbalances in Jacobs’ body, Peerwani wrote.
Jacobs died of "sudden death during neuromuscular incapacitation due to application" of the Taser, Peerwani wrote.

I Take A Break, Tasers Don't

2009-08-25T09:15:00.002-04:00

More deaths as noted by TNT: Two men in Arizona and a man in North Carolina.

And as noted at Excited-Delirium, sometimes 8-hours isn't 8-hours.

Policeman: I Can Use Whatever Force I Want

2009-08-18T09:16:00.004-04:00

Based on my observations of them, that's the mode of operation I've always assumed the police operate under. It's good to see one of them come right out and put it down in writing:

[from the AMA report] p. 3—Police officers are legally and morally required to use the lowest level of force necessary to control a situation and to deescalate at the earliest opportunity.
[from this author] REBUTTAL: That passage misstates the law of the land. The United States Supreme Court’s landmark ruling 20 years ago established that the test of legitimacy of a police use of force is whether the force used was “objectively reasonable” under the 4th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States (see Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 109 S. Ct. 1865). Officers are provided great latitude in what force options are appropriate to use to attempt to overcome resistance in a given situation, and they are not required to use the lowest level of force.

Yep, tasing people for running, for already being in handcuffs, for mouthing off, for asking questions, for refusing to sign tickets, for being mentally ill, or for being in diabetic seizure all seem like objectively reasonable uses of force. Christ.

The article at the above link is a mostly disorganized rebuttal of the AMA's latest take on tasing, which coincidentally is being widely ignored in the mainstream media (see this search result for example), is filled with typical Taser International talking points (Amnesty International is bad, Tasers are perfectly safe, any study that finds fault with tasers or their use must be flawed, etc.).

A sad takeaway here is that this author is someone with huge amounts of misinformation and huge amounts of experience in police work. If he represents the best voice law enforcement has on this issue, I'm more frightened than I was before finding this article.

Unnecessary Things:

2009-08-16T11:34:00.006-04:00

Opinion pieces on the advantages of respecting cops that are written by old white conservative guys who also contribute to the National effing Review.

Yeah, it would be wonderful if cops were respectful and people returned that courtesy. Sadly, in America, that's a truth you can only expect as you're driving along white in your Lexus toward your mcMansion in the burbs.

Under that mythology, this piece conveniently whitewashes a truth that renders it irrelevant. That truth is this: being white and intersecting with "rude" police is very, very different from experiencing default intimidation and violence by police solely because of the color of your skin.

Why is that the types (Can I just write, "straight affluent white guys" here?) who produce opinion pieces like this invariably don't understand how unnecessary and unhelpful their voices are?

Go Taser International!

2009-08-15T09:38:00.008-04:00

This is great news! Taser International (TI) is planning to file suit against the Braidwood inquiry findings. Among the reasons their lawyer cites:

The main concerns of the company, he said, are that the inquiry's rulings, announced last month, will place law enforcement and the public at greater risk.

It's awesome that TI cares so much about citizens and the police. I really, really hope that they pursue similar legal recourse in every country, state, city, and municipality that dares make negative findings against them public.

To date, TI has done a great job at keeping us safe by going after medical examiners (see here or here) who've implicated tasers in the deaths of suspects. Now they've stepped up their game and are going to take on a much bigger fish: The findings of an inquiry commissioned by a foreign government! Yay!

So, please TI, fight this good fight on as many fronts as you can, as frequently and aggressively as possible. I'm sure you're your legal team agrees with this tactic even if your shareholders won't.

Resources

2009-08-15T09:22:00.003-04:00

The Police Brutality Blog has a post up that relays a list of resources and organizations working to curb police brutality. I'm not familiar with all of the groups, but at this point - the point where there is little to no objective examination, and even less citizen oversight, of police behavior - the more people working on this problem, the better.

"Several More Times" and More Death

2009-08-15T09:03:00.003-04:00

This time in Greenwood, SC:

Thursday Update: Initial reports were unclear what type of electronic device had been used to subdue Ridlehuber, but the Greenwood Sheriff's Office later confirmed Wednesday night that it was a Taser.
"He came at the officers the officers deployed the Taser -- Tasered the gentlemen -- the man still continued to fight (and) the Taser was deployed several more times," said Greenwood County Sheriff's Office Major John Murray.When Ridlehuber was handcuffed, deputies said they noticed he wasn't breathing well. His sister was there when he died.

Once again, suspect tased, suspect died.

Read Pam

2009-08-13T08:24:00.002-04:00

Seriously, Digby's great, but I really wish Pam's taser piece had hit Salon instead:

I'm quite interested in what you have to say -- "non-lethal" technology has obviously outpaced common sense. It has led to a sense of complacency in some law enforcement departments and sends the message that communication skills are unnecessary and that all civilians regardless of age, size, or mobility are considered life-threatening adversaries at the drop of a hat. What does the Obama administration, which has found itself thrust into the issue of racial profiling, have to say about the rampant abuse of Tasers on suspects -- and people accused of no crime at all -- around the country?

That last bit is a good question that has a simple and depressing answer: the current administration will have little or nothing to say about tasers and police brutality. There will be no strong federal leadership working to restore civil rights in the US.

And Another Post-Tasing Death

2009-08-11T11:55:00.004-04:00

Once again, suspect tased, susepct died:

A man who allegedly failed to obey police commands died after officers shot him with a Taser gun in Moreno Valley, authorities said today. ...
After the man was Tasered, he was handcuffed, then began suffering from a seizure, the department said. Officers began giving the man first aid until an ambulance arrived. He was taken to Riverside County Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Drugs, weapons, behavior, aggressive stances, running away, or anything else taser and police apologists want to insert between "tased" and "died" simply don't matter with respect to the sequence. "Suspect tased, suspect died" stands on its own no matter how much is thrown before, between, after, or around the clauses.

PostBlog: As ED notes in the comments, don't forget about the case when the first proposition is negated. Ask your favorite taser fanboy to point you to all the dead, almost-tased people. There should be plenty if no causality is to be found in "suspect tased, suspect died."

Close to Medical Attention

2009-08-11T08:49:00.004-04:00

Talk about tasing an at-risk population... At least the taser victims will be close to the medical attention they'll likely need:

BANGOR, Maine — Without objection, the Bangor City Council voted Monday to accept funding from Eastern Maine Medical Center to purchase an electronic control device [Electronic control device? That's cute, almost. Do they mean an electric fence? An extension cord with exposed wires? A car cigarette lighter? What a pleasant lead paragraph.] that city police officers can use to subdue unruly patients inside the emergency room.

Tasers in hospitals - better than tasers on police belts.

Digby On Tasers

2009-08-11T08:19:00.004-04:00

Glenn Greenwald is out this week. Digby is filling in today and takes on tasers. It's a good piece with two sentences that are great to see on Salon:

Tasers aren't benign however. They kill people.

There are some debatable points in the article, but I'm not going to nitpick; I'm happy to see this topic hit a larger forum than I could ever reach.

Digby includes a synopsis of tasing incidents that are sure to make your blood boil, unless, of course, you thoroughly don't care about civil liberties (i.e., You hate American ideals. Why do you hate America?).

I haven't looked at the comments yet, but there are plenty of them. already I'm guessing that the hero worshiping and taser fanboy sets (aka men who don't feel safe without a strong daddy telling them how to think and live) are out in force. Those types usually hate them some Greenwald (he's gay like me) and really, really hate the Digby (she's a woman).

Expensive Sadism

2009-08-05T07:57:00.009-04:00

Darryl Wayne Turner's family will receive $625,000 from the city of Charlotte, NC and more suits may be in the making (possibly involving one of the only lawyers to successfully sue Taser International). Turner was tased and died after an incident involving hotpockets in 2008.

Is $625,000 the value of a young black man's life in the US today? Still, I wonder if Turner would be alive today if the cop that tased him had assessed the boy's life at even a tenth of that figure. If cops faced a real and swift prospect of paying for the costs of tasing we'd probably have many less dead tased people.

In another incident, Santa Paula will pay a man $250,000 to settle a lawsuit over a tasing incident that required back surgery for the victim.

And let's hope that these incidents become extremely expensive tasings (especially the first one):

Tasing a pregnant woman and a grandfather at a Baptism party. See the video here. Coincidentally, can you imagine this happening in an affluent white neighborhood like Bryn Mawr, PA? There would be wall-to-wall national television news coverage.

A judge threw out a city request to dismiss a lawsuit over a taser incident in Lubock, Texas. The cop in this incident acknowledges not turning on his microphone until the end of the arrest. How convenient. He also left the taser barbs in the victim's chest for over twenty minutes. Standard practice or not, here is at least one judge agreeing that that's excessive.

Finally, I can't wait to read about the results of the police-led investigation into a 76-year-old man, on a tractor and in a parade being tased, for not following traffic directives. That excuse is guaranteed to be a doozy.

Another Dead Post-Tased Person

2009-08-03T19:36:00.003-04:00

Via TNT, this time In California:

A 27-year-old inmate died early Thursday after he was shocked with a Taser at a Riverside County jail.
The inmate was identified as Jonathan Michael Nelson of Rancho Cucamonga. He died after deputies had used a Taser on him for the second time within 24 hours.
Nelson had been arrested in Sage, an unincorporated community south of Hemet, about 6:30 p.m. on suspicion of resisting an officer, said Sgt. Mike Lujan of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department Central Homicide Unit. Lujan said a man had called 911 reporting a suspicious vehicle off the road around the 43700 block of Cactus Valley Road. ...

When deputies arrived and contacted Nelson, he tried to run, and deputies quickly chased him down, tackled him and shocked him with a Taser, Lujan said.
Nelson was taken to Hemet Valley Medical Center and later released for booking at the Southwest Detention Center in French Valley, Lujan said. Nelson was booked into jail about 10:15 p.m. and placed in a holding cell but when he tried to harm himself early Thursday by hitting the cell door and banging his head, deputies moved him to a padded "safety" cell, Lujan said.
As deputies left the cell, Nelson became aggressive toward them and grabbed the leg of one, Lujan said. Deputies restrained him and shocked him with a Taser, Lujan said.
Nelson "became nonresponsive" and first aid was administered, a sheriff's news release said. He was taken by ambulance to Rancho Springs Community Hospital in Murrieta where he was pronounced dead at 3:15 a.m.

Actually, I think since Braidwood, I can write, "another person killed by a taser."

Taser fanboys will tell you that this death doesn't matter because the man was an inmate, maybe even a drug user. Taser fanboys really are the lowest form of life.

The truth is that the drugs don't matter. The size of the victim doesn't matter. What matters is this: suspect tased, suspect dies.

Cop Talk

2009-08-01T09:53:00.014-04:00

This headline demonstrates a perfect way to communicate with cops who've proved themselves untrustworthy with implements of torture:

Follow new rules or lose tasers, Alberta police forces told

Sometimes the only thing children understand is the loss of toys.

And to be sure, police should not be trusted unsupervised with tasers:

1. Arrest in Albany racially motivated, Oakland couple says

A black couple says white Albany police officers Tasered and arrested them in front of their children without provocation, in what they consider a racially motivated attack.
Oakland residents Stephanie and Michael Williams say a police officer pulled over their car about 10:30 p.m. June 5, in Albany, after a graduation party at a Sizzler's restaurant on San Pablo Avenue. The officer later called for two others as backup.
According to Stephanie Williams, the first officer refused to tell her husband, who was driving the car, why he pulled him over; and the three officers spoke and behaved in an aggressive, demeaning manner toward the family; used a Taser on Michael Williams even though he was not resisting; and arrested the couple.
Stephanie Williams said she was threatened with a Taser and later arrested after she got out of the car to see what was happening. Police did not behave compassionately toward their three children — ages 10, 2 and 7 months — who were crying in the car, she said.
The couple spent about a day in jail, Stephanie Williams said. Charges against her were dismissed, but Michael Williams is still facing charges for resisting arrest.

2. ACLU: Boulder police too loose with Taser use

BOULDER, Colo. — The local American Civil Liberties Union chapter is asking Boulder police to change their Taser stun-gun policy after witnesses saw “unnecessary and excessive use of force on a mentally impaired and unarmed man” last week. ...
Beckner promised to look into whether a violation occurred and whether a policy change is in order.

The incident occurred July 19 near the intersection of Dartmouth Avenue and Dover Drive in south Boulder. Five people — two adults and three children — called police about 4:40 p.m. to report that a man, later identified as Davis Ware, 26, of Boulder, was following and bothering them.

When police arrived, an officer asked Ware to sit down, but he refused, according to police.

“His posture remained tense and in a fighting stance with closed hands,” Boulder police spokeswoman Sarah Huntley told the Camera following the incident.

Ware eventually opened his hands but still wouldn’t sit down, Huntley said. The officer then fired Taser shots at Ware — two shots, because the first didn’t subdue him — according to Huntley.

Several witnesses who contacted the ACLU said that after hearing a shot and a groan, they saw Ware walking away from the officer, according to Golden’s letter. When the man continued to stumble forward, witnesses said, the officer shot him in the back with the Taser again, causing him to fall, Golden said.

Ware was arrested on suspicion of obstructing a peace officer, harassment and second-degree criminal trespass.

“This use of force was excessive and unnecessary,” Golden wrote. “It also appears to have violated the department’s overly permissive policies, in that the individual was not in a ‘defensive’ posture and was retreating when he was shot.”

According to a Boulder police publication printed in February, “Boulder officers are not permitted to pull out a Taser simply because a suspect is running away.” Department policy says Tasers can be used when someone offers “defensive resistance, other than flight, and the officer reasonably believes that use of a (Taser) is less likely to cause injury to either the officer or the individual than other means of gaining compliance.”

Golden said, from what he’s been told, the officer clearly violated department policy.

“This person was walking away — that’s what the eyewitnesses felt was the most egregious,” Golden said. “It was clear the person wasn’t going to go anywhere. He was stumbling.”
Following complaints from the ACLU, Denver police changed their policy in 2004 to allow Taser use only in cases of assault, imminent assault or serious violence, Golden said. He said Boulder should adopt that standard, too.

Chief Beckner said his department’s policy is based on “contemporary standards,” and he’ll look into whether those are changing.

“Our policies are fluid, and we’re reviewing them all the time,” he said.

Yeah, that policy in Boulder really seems to be working out. Tasing mentally ill people in the back. That's how the police use these devices. Gun replacement my ass.

How Cops Actually Use Tasers

2009-07-24T07:46:00.008-04:00

Some taser use caught on tape in Boise, Idaho:

It's audio from a police officer's own recording the night of Valentine’s Day -- a day typically known for love turned into a domestic violence situation and Boise Police officers were called to intervene.

But when officers arrived the suspect refused to let police in.

They broke down the door and tased the man standing on the other side.

That is not the incident in question but what happened next is.

(from taped recording)

"You feel this?” “Yes.” “You feel that, that's my taser on your ***.” “OK." said Officer 3 to suspect.

With the suspect already handcuffed -- the officer refered to as Officer 3 used vulgar language, threatened the man, and tased him a second time on his bottom.

(from taped recording)

"If you look again, I am going to stick this taser up your *** and pull the trigger.” “I am sorry.” Do you understand it?” “Yes, I do."

"Now do you feel this on your *****?” “I am not going to move, I am not going to move.” “I am going your ***** if you move again," said suspect and officer.

"Okay, I am going to take this taser out of your *******. Are you going to fight with me?” “No, no, OK," said suspect and officer.

Masterson says the suspect was acting out and finds his officer's concern for safety legitimate, but he admits how it was handled was not.

"The public trusts us to use force and use it judicially [What public is that?], in this case we made a number of threats, very inapproperatly language, we didn't carry through to the threats, to the certain body parts, but totally inappropriate and a violation of our policy," said Masterson.

What was that about tasers replacing guns?

The video:

Let's Hope So

2009-07-23T08:48:00.003-04:00

It looks like my friends to the north might actually see their government act to protect them from torture:

A retired justice who has been conducting an inquiry into the police use of Tasers is expected to call on police to severely restrict their use of the energy-conducted weapons.

Justice Thomas Braidwood's inquiry is looking into the circumstances of the October, 2007 death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski. The man, who spoke no English, died of cardiac arrest after being shocked five times by RCMP officers at Vancouver International Airport.

Braidwood's report, to be delivered Thursday afternoon (1 p.m. PT), will cover Phase One of the inquiry, which concerns the use of Tasers by police forces in B.C. The report will also be posted online at that time.

The news conference was unexpected, and announced only late Wednesday.

Sources tell CTV News Braidwood's recommendations will include severe restrictions on the use of Tasers by police in B.C.

The RCMP has stated previously that it would adopt Braidwood's recommendations nationwide.

Gotta love some civil rights!

Now let's see if the RCMP keeps its word. (h/t Truth Not Tasers)

Even More Tasing Children

2009-07-20T08:37:00.004-04:00

This incident is a prime example of why police can't be allowed to police themselves (added emphasis is mine):

An Illinois agency has sued two sheriff's deputies in Southern Illinois, alleging that they handcuffed, threatened and Tasered teenage foster children.

The suit, filed in federal court in East St. Louis by the Illinois Office of State Guardian on behalf of the children, says the deputies used excessive force and violated the children's rights. The suit also names Jefferson County, Ill., Sheriff Roger Mulch, his department and the county.

According to the suit, Deputies David Bowers and Lonnie Lawler were sent to the Southern Thirty Adolescent Center near Mount Vernon on July 4, 2008, because of staff concerns about the behavior of three other children, ages 11 and 12. The center is an emergency shelter for children ages 11-18. Boys live there. Girls stay in foster homes but go to the center for day activities.

The suit says that without any physical provocation, Bowers used a Taser on one boy multiple times, including at least once on his neck. Bowers pushed another boy down on his bunk and threatened to sodomize him before shocking him multiple times and causing him to urinate and defecate, the suit says.

Lawler then handcuffed another boy before Bowers shocked him multiple times with the Taser. A 17-year-old girl who was pleading with the deputies to stop was then handcuffed by Lawler, choked and threatened by Bowers and then tossed into a closet, the suit says.

The suit accuses Mulch of either knowingly, or with deliberate indifference, tolerating a "pattern and practice of unreasonable use of force by (his) deputies." ...

A spokesman, Kendall Marlowe, said Friday: "Our job is to protect children. Experience across the country has shown that shocking children with Tasers can result in serious physical and mental injury. Use of these weapons is especially troubling in cases where the children involved have committed no crime and have not even been charged with wrongdoing. We cannot comment on this suit specifically; the complaints speak for itself."

An Illinois State Police spokesman said police investigated the allegations and turned over their results to the Jefferson County state's attorney.

Jefferson County State's Attorney Jeff Bradley said Tuesday that the State Police determined "that there was not any evidence of criminal activity." Bradley, who was elected last year, said his predecessor decided not to prosecute.

The FBI did not begin an investigation after learning that the State Police were looking into the case, an FBI spokesman said.

Here you have a state agency filing suit on behalf of children. That makes it tough to invoke the taser fanboy favorite image of cop-hating, sue-happy criminals.

NAACP Police Monitoring Tools

2009-07-17T14:48:00.003-04:00

Handy links from the NAACP for reporting police activities online and from your cell phone. Use em.

Speaking of Tools

2009-07-17T14:38:00.001-04:00

Entertainment provided in my comments section by the brain of a taser fanboy:

This is a hilarious joke of a blog. Tasers are excellent tools and have saved countless lives. Grow a brain, tool.

It's 'teh smart!'

Another Running 14-Year-Old Tased

2009-07-10T06:41:00.003-04:00

This time in California:

CARLSBAD — A 14-year-old boy suspected of driving a stolen car while being under the influence of alcohol and drugs was chased and shot with a Taser early Thursday morning by California Highway Patrol officers.

Officers spotted the boy driving a 2000 Toyota Corolla south on Carlsbad Boulevard just north of Tamarack Avenue at 1:40 a.m. and tried to pull him over for a traffic violation, CHP Officer Eric Newbury said.

The driver slowed and pulled over but left the car in gear as he and a passenger jumped out and ran toward the beach, Newbury said. “These two kids just bailed,” Newbury said.

The car continued rolling down the road and was stopped by a patrol car.

Officers chased the boy and then shot him with a Taser at the top of a staircase leading to Tamarack beach. He fell and hit his head on the pavement and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

They also chased the passenger, who ran south toward the jetty where they lost sight of him, Newbury said. Officers formed a perimeter around the area but were unable to find him.

The teenage driver was identified as an at-risk runaway, Newbury said. He faces several charges, including possession of a stolen vehicle, driving under the influence and evading arrest.

Tell me again how tasers are gun alternatives. Would the cop have shot this kid if no taser had been available? Please.

Tasing A 14-Year-Old Girl In The Head

2009-07-09T07:13:00.005-04:00

From NM (and of course some police fanboys come to this cop's defense in the comments):

A 14-year-old Tucumcari girl is recovering at an Albuquerque hospital after being shot in the head with a Taser dart by Tucucmari Police Chief Roger Hatcher.

Now, her parents say they want the police department to review its policies for using the Taser.

The girl was hit in the head Thursday by one of two darts fired simultaneously as she was fleeing, Hatcher said.

The other dart lodged in her hip.

Hatcher said be believed he had no other option.

“There’s a lot of issues,” Hatcher said. “She committed a delinquent act. She was running from police across traffic without looking.”

Hatcher said he chased her, ordered her to stop and “then did what I had to do.”

Her mother, Stacy Akin, said her daughter underwent surgery Friday morning at University of New Mexico hospital in Albuquerque.

Did you catch that? The girl was tased for running and crossing the street without looking! The girl was also injured from a post-tasing fall:

The Taser hit the girl in the head and back. She fell and a stick got lodged in her face. She had to have surgery and now has staples in her head where the Taser hit her.

Seriously, I sleep better at night knowing such big strong brave men are protecting me. And mind you, this wasn't some rookie, this was the chief of police!
(h/t Examiner Tuccille)

A Psychic On The Board In Mobile?

2009-06-30T06:40:00.004-04:00

I'm really sick of this meme: "If only a taser had been available, a life might have been saved."

A school board member in Mobile, Alabama must know something that those of us paying attention to all the dead tased people don't know:

The Mobile County School Board voted Monday night against allowing school security personnel to carry and use Tasers, even after receiving training.

The school board meeting began with two people speaking against the Taser proposal.

Carolyn May said, "I know we need discipline, fine. But I think we're overreacting and we're going too far."

Doris Edwards said, "You know the Taser can knock a man down. Now, what is it going to do to a child." ...

Board Member Reginald Crenshaw said, "I, too, support the weapons at night when children are not on campus to secure facilities. I do not support any type of weapon such as a gun or a Taser during the day when children are there."

Board Member Judy Stout spoke in favor of the proposal, and talked about the shooting death at Davidson High School last year.

Stout said, "I watched several times the video of the young man shooting himself at Davidson last year. Had there been a resource officer with a Taser, he (the victim) brandished the gun, he threatened, et cetera, that young man would be alive today.

The school board voted three to two against the proposal.

Voting against the Tasers were Manzie, Crenshaw, and Bill Meredith.

Stout and Ken Megginson voted for them.

Please Judy, tell it to Darryl Wayne Turner's family.

Taser Nuts

2009-06-24T08:24:00.003-04:00

And people wonder why I don't want cops having tasers. Here's why:

Danny Wilson insists he never saw it coming.

On February 16, the Waffle House waiter was chatting with two Gwinnett County police officers when a third officer approached, his taser set on stun.

"I heard something behind me," says Wilson. "As I turned around to look, he put the taser to my back and I fell down.

"It was very humiliating."

Wilson says as the other officers laughed, Corporal Gary Miles denied using his weapon. Gwinnett Police say when their investigators stepped in, Miles changed his tune.

"He stated he regretted it happened," says Corporal Illana Spellman. "He said he did it because he thought it would be funny."

Wilson and his attorney waited until they had surveillance video of the incident to report it to Gwinnett Police. On June 9th, the department started a criminal investigation into their own officer.

Miles has resigned from the force, and is now facing charges of battery and violation of oath of office. The other two officers, Sgt. Joey Parkerson and Sgt. Christopher Parry, have also resigned in lieu of termination.

Danny Wilson claims before that stunning night, the three officers would come into the Waffle House to eat breakfast and use their taser guns like toys, sometimes pointing it in his direction.

"One time I was playing a song on the jukebox, and they said 'don't play any stupid songs, we're going to shoot you with the taser,'" says Wilson.

Wilson claims on one occasion, another officer got involved.

"We do want to know who this fourth officer is that pretended to shock Danny with the taser," says attorney Mike Puglese.

Gwinnett Police say if another officer used his taser improperly, they want to know.

"We're going to look into that thoroughly," says Corporal Spellman. "We're not going to tolerate any misconduct against a citizen."

District Attorney Danny Porter says once the police investigation is complete, he'll look at the evidence to determine if more charges should be filed against Miles or others.

This is how they get used. There have been too many incidents involving cops, tasers, and "joking" to deny that.

Hey Joe Taxpayer

2009-06-23T08:16:00.002-04:00

This is how your money's being spent:

MOBERLY, Mo. | This municipality agreed Monday to an indefinite moratorium on the use of stun guns and will pay $2.4 million to survivors of a man who died after police shocked him.
Stanley Harlan, 23, died in August 2008 after Moberly police officers stunned him three times during a stop for suspected drunken driving. His family settled with the city of Moberly on Monday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. ...
Harlan was shocked after arguing with officers during a traffic stop. Authorities have said he was suspected of drunken driving. A statement from his family's lawyers said he was accused of speeding.
The readout on the officers' Taser indicated Harlan was stunned three times, Ryals said. Harlan lost consciousness and died a short time later.
Calls to attorneys for the city Monday night were not immediately returned. But the city said in a news release that no fault was admitted in the settlement and its insurance company will pay the entire settlement.

All so some brave good-ol-boys can punish the citizens that piss them off.

Notice what caused the town to halt taser use (apparently only until the next town meeting)? It wasn't the death of a person. It was a big fat settlement. How nice.

And yeah, I get that this was covered by the town's insurance. But, does anyone think that the cost isn't going to get passed along to taxpayers? The cost of tasers is on you Joe taxpayer.

Monday Taser Update

2009-06-22T08:38:00.002-04:00

An autopsy is being performed today on a man in CT who died after being tased (or here).

The death of a sixteen-year-old following a tasing was caused by the taser (which is circular to anyone who's been paying attention).

Police in Australia admit to tasing a man 28 times before he died.

The AMA jumps into the taser fray and basically says nothing. They like tasers, but want police to have better usage guidelines and police accountability. I'd bet all the post-tasing-dead would have wanted those too.

And Another Post-Tasing Death

2009-06-10T08:43:00.004-04:00

This time in Utah (also here and here):

Brian Layton Cardall, 32, was traveling with his [pregnant] wife south on State Road 59 near Hurricane on Tuesday afternoon. According to KSL.com, the vehicle pulled over to the side of the road when Cardall, who recently had been struggling with mental health issues, began having an "episode."
Cardall left the car and ran down the road, and his wife called police, said Washington County Undersheriff Jake Adams. A Hurricane police officer who responded to the scene deployed a Taser on Cardall, who lost consciousness, Adams said.

Cardall was treated at the scene but he was pronounced dead after being transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St.George, Adams said.

How many deaths need to occur before it becomes OK to question the use of tasers?

Tasing, Then Shooting A 5-lb Dog

2009-06-10T08:11:00.006-04:00

Unbelievable. Two cops had this Chihuahua cornered. They then tased and shot (more here and a photo gallery here) the dog dead:

When the Bullocks returned home from a family member's funeral on Friday, they found blood and three bullets on their front porch – along with a note to call the Blue Ash Police Department about their dog.

The Bullocks were shocked to learn that Jack had gotten out of the backyard and two officers who tried to catch him, ended up shooting and killing him right on the family's front porch.

"He was cornered on the porch and scared," said Sharon Bullock. "The officer bent down bare-handed to pick up Jack, and Jack bit him."

"My five-year-old cried himself to sleep the night before last, wanting his dog," said Sharon Bullock. ...

They're wondering why the officers didn't call the SPCA to catch the dog.

"They didn't make that phone call other than to come scoop the dog off the porch after they shot him," said Scott Bullock. "Two grown men that can't gather up a five-pound dog – and they're trained police officers – sounds ridiculous to me."

That officer later explained to the family that he was following procedure.

Blue Ash police say one of the officers was bitten on both hands. One hand was bitten 17 times and the other was bitten nine times.

The dog was holding on so tight he left one of his teeth in the officer's hands.

An officer attempted to tase the dog while another officer was holding him, but it did not work, so they had to shoot the animal.

Blue Ash police say the officers handled the situation according to department policy.

It's good to know that this police department has a policy in place for handling dangerous miniature animals.

You also have to wonder why the ever-awesome taser couldn't get the job done here. Canadians are discovering astounding failure rates in older models of the devices. I'm sure the newer models were made with the same quality and durability standards (and that's not a good thing).

Tasing Grandma

2009-06-09T08:56:00.006-04:00

(updated below)
Seriously:

Police in Texas are standing behind a deputy's repeated taser attacks on an elderly great grandmother who was reportedly driving fifteen miles an hour over the speed limit in a construction zone.
Kathryn Windfein says she was driving to Austin for a twice weekly shopping trip when she was pulled over for speeding by a Travis County Constable deputy. She admits that she was speeding, but says the deputy's story about her "resisting arrest" and being "violent" is completely untrue.

In fact, while looking at the arrest report, she said, "I was not arguing and I was not combative. Everything in this is a lie."

This is not uncommon at all. The notion that police are honorable simply because they take an oath and wear a badge while supposedly "protecting' citizens is something out of the past, if it is even that. Police are people and people screw up, that is the way life goes.

And once in a while, a pastor or a great-grandmother or somebody more "unusual" is abused by police and the story comes forward.

In the comments of the article, the editor chimes in to make a point I don't think can be made enough. Mainstream media in the US has been hamstrung by a compulsion to present both sides of an issue as valid even when one side is clearly nonsense. The editor reminds us that there isn't another side to tasing a 72-year-old grandmother. It's sad that that needs to be written out loud.

The piece also embeds this news report on the incident:

The following news report contains some footage from the dashcam of the arresting cop's patrol car:

What a big, brave man!

Cop Love From The Courts

2009-06-04T07:31:00.008-04:00

The Christian Science Monitor presents a brief summary of some of the issues with the willy-nilly taser application we're living with in the US.

The piece references a recent court decision that could be a huge problem facing those of us who don't think that our cops, aka people we pay to keep the peace, should have cattle prods at the ready for anyone they deem misbehaving. Our supreme court (SCOTUS) has declined to hear a case involving clear taser abuse:

In the case of the Florida driver, the Supreme Court justices offered no explanation for their decision not to hear his case. The move lets stand a federal appeals court decision that found the deputy's actions reasonable and justified.

"I hope [law enforcement officials] don't see this as open season to tase anyone who doesn't do exactly what they are told," says Tallahassee lawyer John Jolly, who successfully represented the deputy in the Florida case.

Do our cops now have carte blanche to tase as they please? If so, and given the political climate here in the US, there is little hope for rulings from the SCOTUS that favor liberties. Civil libertarians might get one or two more strong dissenting opinions for their reading pleasure, but civil liberties will be on the endangered list for some years to come in the US.

For reference, here is the incident that resulted in the suit the SCOTUS declined to hear:

Couple this situation with a recent ruling that cops can tase you to forcibly take your DNA and we have a scary situation indeed.

More Expensive Tasing

2009-06-04T07:09:00.002-04:00

$225,000 and a dead loved one in CO:

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) - The family of a man who died after sheriff's deputies shocked him with a Taser will receive $225,000 to settle a lawsuit.

Larimer County decided to pay the family of Timothy Mathis instead of going to trial Monday. County Attorney George Hass told commissioners Tuesday the settlement prevents what could've been a costly trial.

$100,000 in NV:

Smith had thoughts of a multi-million dollar settlement. But he ended up being offered a $100,000 settlement two and a half years later by Tom Beko, attorney for the county's insurance carrier. Smith said he won't sign the offer. But Beko said Smith had agreed to the settlement offer in federal court but now wants to back out of it.
"I know he's really unhappy about it. This case was settled to resolve unbelievable legal costs in litigating this case," Beko said.

A motion has been filed to compel Smith to comply with the agreement, Beko said. Smith said the agreement, approved March 4 behind closed doors in federal court with Judge Brian Sandoval presiding, was only verbal.

"All the time I kept telling the judge what I wanted and he kept telling me there's only $100,000," Smith said. "They had me coerced into it."

Does that last bit mean that Smith would have been offered more had more funds been available? These devices are literally more trouble than they're worth.

More Tasers Being Expensive

2009-05-20T13:03:00.009-04:00

These cases create quite a monetary range, but either way, Joe Taxpayer, you're footing the bill:

A $2 million dollar award
A $10,000 settlement

A $200,000 settlement (PostBlog: Thanks to ED for reminding me of this one.)

There will always be more of these suits too.

And if taser fanboys feel comforted because a city's insurance sometimes covers the costs, how long do they think it will be before we see stiff increases in premiums for cities that arm their cops with tasers?

Breaking Grannies

2009-05-19T08:19:00.007-04:00

Even if (and with the NYPD that's a big "if") a swing and a miss happened, how do you justifiably get to a 71-year-old grandmother with a broken hip:

NEW YORK (CBS) ― The family of a 71-year-old grandmother is making a police brutality claim, saying she was hurt when she was knocked down by officers inside a Queens stationhouse.

The woman is now at Jamaica Hospital, undergoing surgery for a broken hip.

Last Wednesday evening at the 107th Precinct in Queens, a group of parents, their teenage daughters, and one grandmother – Elizabeth Gorden – showed up to find out why a man they say slapped one of the girls near a bus stop wasn't arrested.

What happened next inside the precinct depends on which side you believe. Gorden's family says the police are responsible for her being at Jamaica Hospital with injuries that include a fractured hip.

"I did witness a group of police officers come out of nowhere and just pounce my mother to the ground," daughter Sharon Gorden says.

So the parents, the grandmother, and some of the kids go to the 107th precinct to find out about the man who had the encounter with their children. After that, the stories diverge dramatically – either there was a melee and police were pushed and shoved, or it was the police who were doing the pushing and the shoving.

The bottom line, though, is that 71-year-old grandmother Elizabeth Gorden fell and got hurt.

Gorden's family says she's having surgery Monday for the fractured hip.

Police say Elizabeth Gorden took a swing at an officer and missed. Gorden was given a desk appearance ticket and charged with obstructing governmental administration.

That's some more brave, brave police work from the big apple.

(Another) Death in Texas

2009-05-18T19:37:00.002-04:00

Sadly, post-tasing deaths aren't going to stop anytime soon. Another from Texas:

An unidentified man died in Galveston County on Sunday night after police used a Taser during a struggle to take him into custody.

La Marque police officers responding to a call about a man rolling around in a ditch in the 2600 block of Main near Lake tried to arrest the man, who officials said apparently was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

During a struggle to arrest the man, an officer used a Taser on him once, police said.

Police called an ambulance to evaluate what they said at the time was a non-life-threatening injury the man sustained during the arrest, the Galveston County District Attorney's office said today.

He was en route to Southeast Memorial Hospital for evaluation when his heart stopped. The ambulance was re-routed to Mainland Center Hospital in Texas City, where the man was pronounced dead.

The case is being investigated by the Galveston County sheriff and district attorney, and likely will be referred to a grand jury, investigators said.

Mass Shocking of Children

2009-05-17T08:17:00.005-04:00

These incidents are a frightening capture of behaviour that Florida corrections officers deems acceptable (names of officers in bold):

TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Department of Corrections has placed 10 employees on administrative leave after a survey of corrections institutions found several children had been tased while visiting South Florida facilities.

The incidents happened April 23 at the Indian River Correctional Institution in Vero Beach and the Martin Correctional Institution in Indiantown. The children were visiting the facilities as part of "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day" tours, state officials said.
"Each incident is isolated," said Gretl Plessinger, a spokeswoman for the DOC. "Each incident is different."
An investigation into the incidents is ongoing, Plessinger added. Sgt. Walter Schmidt Jr., of Perry, was fired April 27 after state officials learned he had zapped children with an electrical immobilization device (EID) in Franklin County. Those children were also on an April 23 "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day" tour. ...
According to the DOC, the employees placed on leave from Martin Correctional Institution are: Thomas Skillings, correctional officer; Kory L. Rupp, secretary specialist; Annette Ennis, secretary specialist; Russell Bourgault, correctional officer lieutenant; and Randy Kartner, correctional officer.
According to the DOC, the employees placed on leave from Indian River Correctional Institution are: Seth Adams, correctional officer major; PJ Weisner, correctional officer lieutenant; Charmaine Davis, correctional officer sergeant; and Linda Rosado, correctional officer sergeant.
Steve Rich, a staff development training consultant for DOC's Region IV, also was placed on leave, according to the DOC.

Another article reveals that the shcoked children ranged in age from 5 to 15:

The children, ranged in age from 5 to 17, felt the shocks either directly or indirectly, but none of the children were seriously hurt or taken to the hospital, the department said.

All of the children had parents who work for the department and some parents gave permission for their children to be shocked, but that did not excuse officers for using the stun guns, Department of Corrections Secretary Walter McNeil said Friday.
"We believe this behavior is inexcusable," McNeil said in a phone interview. "I apologize to the children and parents. None of these kids should have been exposed to these devices."
McNeil said he had never been shocked by one of the devices but that the circle demonstration is something commonly done in training classes for correctional officers.
Officials are also investigating a demonstration of tear gas at Lake Correctional Institution in Clermont. Children there were accidentally exposed to the gas when the wind shifted, but none required medical care. That investigation is not yet complete.

Can someone explain to me why a child needs a tear gas demonstration?

"Generally Nonlethal"

2009-05-01T06:48:00.002-04:00

How did "generally nonlethal" ever get to be an acceptable standard for a weapon that's used liberally on the public? From an article describing a doubling of tasers for police in St. Louis:

The department is purchasing 312 Tasers at $799 per weapon, plus cartridge and training costs, according to officials and a memorandum filed with the St. Louis County Council.

County officers currently have 302 Tasers assigned to officers, including crisis-intervention and patrol officers. The additional purchase will allow all uniformed officers and some detectives immediate access to the weapons. ...

Many police officers appreciate Tasers as a generally nonlethal way to control violent suspects with minimal injury to anyone. ...

At least six other people have died after being shocked by Tasers over the past four years in the St. Louis area, and medical examiners have said the deaths were mainly the result of other factors, such as pre-existing health conditions, an agitated state or the presence of drugs or alcohol.

So... we're now a country that accepts potentially lethal torture from the people we pay to keep the peace? Our founding fathers would be so proud.

Our Police State

2009-04-29T06:39:00.005-04:00

From California:

A veteran policing expert who oversaw the attorney general's probe called Maywood "one of the worst" departments he had ever seen.

The attorney general's office launched its investigation in April 2007, shortly after The Times published an article calling the department "a haven for misfit cops." The article revealed that at least a third of the officers on what was then a 37-member force had either been forced out of previous police jobs or had had brushes with the law while working in Maywood.

The attorney general's report offered a top-to-bottom critique of the department, citing inadequate screening of officers before they were hired and a lack of proper training and supervision once they were on the job.

The culture of the department, the report found, was "permeated with sexual innuendo, harassment, vulgarity, discourtesy to members of the public as well as among officers, and a lack of cultural, racial and ethnic sensitivity and respect." ...

The report detailed eight instances of alleged excessive force, half of them involving allegedly inappropriate use of a Taser stun gun. In one case in 2006, a young man asked an officer for his badge number after witnessing what he thought was excessive force. As he wrote it down, he was beaten by a group of officers, then handcuffed and shocked with a Taser, the report states. When the young man's father yelled, "What are you doing to my son?" he was assaulted by several officers, the document states.

Barring some miracle that brings citizen oversight of police into widespread practice (and I still don't understand why those are dirty words. We, the taxpayers, fund the police.), there are a few ways to fight taser abuse. The first is what's happening in the story above. The state attorney general is stepping in. I won't hold my breath waiting for that to happen in some of America's more red states.

The other front for stopping taser abuse involves pointing out how expensive tasers actually are:

Spokane County will spend $120,000 to settle a lawsuit by a man who was jolted by a sheriff deputy’s Taser during a traffic stop in 2005.

County commissioners agreed Tuesday to settle the federal civil rights case filed by Troy Smith without accepting liability in the case, which stems from a traffic stop in Spokane Valley. The case was scheduled for a jury trial next month in U.S. District Court. ...
McNees ordered Smith to get onto the ground in the front of the car, the lawsuit said, and shocked him with a Taser as he began to lower himself. Smith did not refuse to obey an order or obstruct McNees, the suit said. He was on the ground for several minutes and jolted by the Taser at least two more times.

The county, in its response to the lawsuit, said McNees saw Smith reaching behind his seat for an unknown reason, became concerned and ordered him to stop. Smith didn’t stop, the county said, and McNees drew his Taser and ordered him out of the car.

The county acknowledged Smith was struck with the Taser but only after he “refused to cooperate” with the order to get on the ground.

The county said he wasn’t on the ground for several minutes, as the lawsuit claimed, but agreed “he was struck with the Taser more than once,” according to court filings.

Eventually, other deputies arrived, Smith was taken into custody and the two passengers were interviewed for official statements.

The lawsuit claims another deputy misrepresented what Monti Foster, Smith’s girlfriend, said and told the other passenger, Julian Taylor, he’d be arrested too if he didn’t add a line to his statement saying that Smith refused to obey McNees’ commands.

Yeah, you know, I'm going to go ahead and not believe the cops on this one. But, that doesn't even have to matter. For Joe the Taxpayer, the $120,000 of taxpayer money, that doesn't include the salaries of county attorneys, is the point to hammer on (i.e., Tasers are expensive.).

And They Have Tasers

2009-04-26T10:44:00.002-04:00

NYC's finest are behaving badly and costing taxpayers loads:

NEW YORK - The amount New York City is paying to settle claims or cover judgments related to improper police conduct is soaring.

According to a report in the New York Post, the city paid $66.4 million last year to 1,265 claimants who accused the NYPD of bad behavior. That compares with $31.8 million paid to 571 claimants in 1998.

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, says those figures reveal an increasing problem of police wrongdoing during Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration. She says the rise in payouts parallels an increase in police-abuse complaints made to the city's Civilian Complaint Review Board.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne says payouts don't always reflect misconduct because the city frequently settles cases in which the police are innocent of wrongdoing.

A Call For Stopping Pre-Trial Electrocutions

2009-04-24T07:56:00.005-04:00

Today is the Day of Blogging for Justice: Standing Up Against Pre-Trial Electrocution. It's a day to blog about police abusing African Americans with their tasers. Be sure to check out some of the writings.

The statistics are few and far between, but where they exist they demonstrate clear racial selectivity in whom police are choosing to tase (Yes "choosing." Can reporters please stop writing things like "police were forced to tase...").

Last year I blogged about some statistics out of Syracuse, NY, where examining two years of data revealed that over half of taser draws were directed at black people.

Here in NYC, given the NYPD's documented practice of harassing minorities, it's likely that if anyone gains access to the statistics (and the NYPD is loathe to release them), they'll find a similar racial disparity in taser usage.

The police, and police apologists, can try to rationalize racial biases as much as they like (and yes, that's disgusting all on it's own), but at the end of the day, minorities still suffer at the hands and taser probes of the police.

More Dead, Tased People

2009-04-22T08:07:00.012-04:00

I'm stunned at how many post tasing deaths have occurred during the short time that I was offline (a little over a week):

Gary A. Decker of Kentucky, 50:

Decker was found naked in the bathroom holding a seat that he had apparently torn from the toilet, Robinson said in a news release.

An officer shocked Decker with the Taser when Decker grabbed one of the officers, but the shock appeared to have no effect on him.

Officers were able to handcuff Decker and remove him from the bathroom. They called for paramedics, which Robinson said was mandatory procedure any time a Taser is used.

The officers said Decker was not responding to them as they waited for paramedics and he was unconscious when help arrived.

Robert Mitchell (or here) of Michigan, 16, 5', 125lbs:

Robert Mitchell, who had a learning disability, died after he was struck with a Taser by police in Warren, Michigan. The teen fled police after a traffic stop for an expired license plate and ran into an abandoned building to hide, where police struck him with the stun gun while apprehending him.

Unknown from Michigan (or here), 15 (this is also likely Robert Mitchell):

Warren -- A Detroit teenager who police say fled a traffic stop Friday died after being subdued with a Taser. He is the second Michigan teen to die following a Taser stun in less than a month.
Warren Police say they don't know why the 15-year-old bailed out of a Dodge Stratus he was riding in during the stop on Eight Mile near Schoenherr, leading officers on a half-block chase that ended in an abandoned house on Pelkey in Detroit.
The car was stopped for having an expired license plate.
In the scuffle, officers shocked the teen one time with a Taser, police said. Shortly after, he became unresponsive and died.
Warren Police defended their call to shock the teen, who they later learned suffered from asthma and took antidepressant drugs. "It's an unfortunate situation," Warren Deputy Police Commissioner Jere Green said. "Our officers are shaken by it; they are upset. They are humans just like anybody else."

Unknown from Australia, 39:

A 39-year-old man stopped breathing after he was tasered and capsicum-sprayed during a confrontation with officers in Alice Springs last night.
Police tried to revive him, but he died a short time later in hospital.

Michael Jacobs Jr. (or here) of Texas, 24, 150lbs:

FORT WORTH — Fort Worth police are investigating following the death of a mentally ill 24-year-old after police subdued him with a Taser stun gun.
The parents of Michael Jacobs Jr. called police to a Fort Worth home on Saturday morning, saying their son was causing problems, police said in a statement.

Police said an officer stunned him with a Taser when he became combative.

The officers planned to take Jacobs to John Peter Smith Hospital for a mental detention. He was handcuffed but began to have difficulty breathing, police said.

Police said he was later taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Suspect tased; suspect died.

Just To Be Clear

2009-04-21T07:28:00.002-04:00

This is why it's tough to believe the police when they deny claims of abuse (with a taser or otherwise):

The protest followed a similar occupation of a cafeteria in the same building nearly four months earlier. That protest ended peacefully. This time, the university’s response was more confrontational, and the outcome violent. “The Police Department was asked to arrest individuals trespassing on the property,” said Paul J. Browne, the department’s chief spokesman, who said the operation “was done in a very organized, orderly fashion.”
But students at the scene described a tumultuous situation in which protesters were pepper-sprayed before being placed in handcuffs and loaded by police officers into the back of a white van, around 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Browne said it was “untrue that pepper spray or mace was used in effectuating the arrests” — though he later clarified that he meant the arrests inside the building.

Then there's the video:

It's hard to take something like that out of context. It's unjustifiable regardless of the complicated history behind this situation, and no matter how aggravated the cop was. It also doesn't matter how much you hate "hippies." The police don't get to abuse citizens, annoying or otherwise. Period.

Ten Percent

2009-04-03T07:51:00.009-04:00

Imagine a medical device manufacturer producing a device that causes slight discomfort in one out of every ten units sold.

Now imagine that manufacturer having a history of regularly issuing press releases about settlements or dismissals from product liability lawsuits.

In that imaginary scenario, there are three ways in which I'd be actively avoiding that medical device company. First, if I were looking to invest, I'd avoid that company's stock. Second, if I were looking to buy medical devices, I'd avoid products from that company. Third, if I were a patient, I'd avoid products from that company as well as doctors who use their products (I mean, as a patient, why would I want a ten percent chance of unnecessary discomfort?).

Sadly, in the case of Taser International's one-in-ten failure rate, "patients" don't have that last option and may experience post-discomfort death (i.e., suspect tased, suspect dies).

More Outstanding Police Work

2009-04-01T08:22:00.005-04:00

Is this how "tasers save lives everyday":

Two police officers are off the job after using a taser on a woman in her home. Now the State Law Enforcement Division is investigating. Police reports show Clinton Police were called to help paramedics, because a woman had become violent while EMS was trying to treat her at her home on Oak Street.

Her son tells News Channel 7, his 59-year old mother only weighs 120 pounds and was having a diabetic attack. The police report shows officers used the taser on her twice.

Her son claims officers did not offer to help her get medical treatment afterwards. Clinton Police say the two officers involved were let go for policy violations in reporting the incident.

More details here would be awesome oh local news outlet. However, it's probably safe to say that having these cops out of the field is a good thing. I'm hoping they at least face prosecution.

I'm also hoping that the diabetic taser victim will soon be a wealthy diabetic taser victim.

G20

2009-04-01T07:54:00.005-04:00

As noted at Excited-Delirium, protesters at the G20 summit in London will face police armed with tasers.

While I've never understood how large puppet parades and haphazard street performances help further the progressive causes of reducing poverty, restoring civil liberties, and stopping corporations from influencing government, people should have the right to engage in whatever lawful political expression they see fit. That means not having to experience being shot with a taser for pissing of a cop (Nothing pisses off a cop like people exercising their rights to assemble and express opinion.).

You can keep up to date with the latest G20 happenings via the BBC's Live map. It's an interactive resource with text, image, and video updates linked to a map of London. There are also live blogs going at The Guardian and The Huffington Post.

Seriously

2009-03-26T22:09:00.004-04:00

Please be sure to read Excited-Delirium and Truth Not Tasers this week. I've been swamped in the offline world; they've been all over the post-tasing death of a 15 year old, the RCMP's backtracking on taser use restrictions, and the Dziekanski tragedy.

Seriously, I can't emphasize enough how much you should be reading these two Canadian sites if you're even a little worried about tasers and the police state the US is becoming.

Another Dead, Tased Teen

2009-03-24T08:11:00.003-04:00

A 15-year-old, 5-foot-6, 140-pound boy is dead after being tased:

Eugene E. Elder Sr. figures police killed his teenage son unjustifiably with a Taser, and he plans to fire back with a lawsuit.

"I'm going after the city. I don't care," said Elder, 55, of Bay City. "There's no reason for killing my boy. He didn't do nothing wrong."

Elder conceded his son - Brett L. Elder - had been drinking alcohol Saturday night before police subdued him early Sunday morning with a Taser following a disturbance in a Bay City apartment.

But relatives said 15-year-old Brett "Dewey" Elder stood 5-foot-6 and weighed about 140 pounds. They said he was no match for three Bay City Police Department officers who encountered him in the sitting room of Cindy Hernden's apartment at 210 S. Catherine St.

"I believe they killed him," said Hernden, 40, a close friend of the Elder family.

"I believe his heart couldn't handle it," Hernden added. "I just figured that Taser was too strong for that small of a kid. He's tiny, and there were three grown police officers.

"They could have subdued him without handcuffs, but they handcuffed him and then Tasered him."

Bay City Deputy Police Chief Thomas P. Pletzke denied Hernden's allegation, saying Brett Elder wasn't in handcuffs when an officer deployed the Taser.

Pletzke declined comment when asked if Bay City officers should share any blame for Elder's death. Pletzke didn't identify the officer who used the Taser, but said the department has placed him on administrative leave. ...
Pletzke said police were summoned to the scene to quell a reported fight.

Hernden said police managed to calm Brett Elder - temporarily.

"The officers had calmed Brett down and he was sitting on a couch, and then one officer said something to him, and Brett stood up like he was maybe going to lunge at the police," Hernden said.

"And right then and there is when they put the handcuffs on him. They knocked him on the ground and that's when they Tasered him."

Hernden said Brett Elder vomited "immediately" after police used the Taser.

"I told the police 'He's not breathing, he's not breathing,' and I told them I know (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), and one of the officers told me to shut up," Hernden said.

"They told me to stand back and wait for a medical professional to arrive, so that's what I did."

Hernden said Brett Elder wasn't armed when he moved toward the officers inside her apartment's sitting room.

It also appears that Elder was struck in the chest with the taser (h/t TNT):

At 3:53 an officer deployed his Taser. Elder was struck once in the chest.

Elder had a reaction at the same time, which included vomiting.

Police say an ambulance was called, and Elder was turned on his side to prevent choking.

Medical aid was then given when paramedics arrived.

Elder was then taken to Bay Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Police say Elder wasn't cuffed when tased, witnesses say he was. Either way, he's dead and an all too familiar sequence occurred: suspect tased, suspect died.

Tasing Boys and Seniors

2009-03-20T05:55:00.002-04:00

The people tased by Toronto police:

A 71-year-old man and two 15-year-old boys were among the people Tasered by Toronto police last year, new figures indicate.
While a police report says 122 people were Tasered in 2008, it fails to reveal where and when each incident took place and more explicit details of the events leading up to the confrontations.
Police are refusing to comment on the contents of the 21-page report until it is presented at a March 30 Toronto Police Services Board meeting.
Despite the lack of detail, board chair Alok Mukherjee called it one of the most comprehensive Taser reports ever created in the country. Nevertheless, he admitted there could be a need for the release of more information in the future.

More Tasing The Deaf For Not Listening

2009-03-13T18:36:00.002-04:00

Seriously. Read this crap:

BRUCEVILLE-EDDY (March 13, 2009)--Family members were demanding answers Friday after officers killed a dog and then used a Taser to subdue the dog’s elderly owner for refusing to obey a command to stop, only to learn afterward that the man was deaf and likely didn’t hear the order. ...
The fourth time, when the dog, which was described as a young mixed breed mastiff-pit bull, charged the two officers’ patrol cars, the deputy constable fired.

Meanwhile McLennan County sheriff’s deputies arrived to back up the two officers.

They used a Taser to subdue the elderly man, who reacted angrily to the dog’s death, after the man ignored an order to stop and turned to go back into his house.

They learned afterward the man was deaf.

I have to step out and can't write much on this now, but come on. On the surface, the cops tased a deaf senior for not listening to them. Just below that surface is the fact that they chose to tase an old person on the premise that he was refusing to obey them. It doesn't sound like he was attacking them. He was trying to walk away. Cowardly dumbasses. It's that simple.

More Brave Police Work

2009-03-11T08:33:00.003-04:00

How did our boys in blue ever deal with the menace of the elderly before tasers:

WALNUT HILLS - Police said they had to shock a 67-year-old woman with a Taser stun gun this morning to take her into custody after she led them on a traffic pursuit from western Hamilton County to Cincinnati's East Side.
Charlotte Franklin of Fairfield was arrested and charged with reckless operation of a motor vehicle and failure to comply with police, said Springfield Township Police Lt. Rick Bley.
She was taken into custody just before 9 a.m. and delivered to the county jail, where she was processed and released by 12:30 p.m. due to overcrowding. She was told to return for court Wednesday morning. ...
She finally stopped in an apartment building parking lot in the 2300 block of Kemper Road, reports state.

She immediately got out of her vehicle and refused to acknowledge the officer's commands. She was clenching her fists and was "yelling and screaming," Bley said.

Knowing she has a history a fleeing police, resisting arrest and assault, officers felt they had no choice but use a Taser, he said.

I'm surprised the cops didn't cite an "aggressive stance" in their reasons for tasing the 67-year-old. If she really had been violent or potentially dangerous, does anyone really think that she would having been charged with such light offenses or released within three hours of being taken into custody?

Please spare me the one about how I've never had to deal with a violent elderly person. It's weaker than the one (or here) about the frightening 14-year-old who needed to be tased.

A Former Cop On Brutality

2009-03-11T08:10:00.003-04:00

Former Seattle police chief Norm Stamper tells us why cops abuse us:

So, why did I abuse the very people I'd been hired to serve?

Not to get too psychological, I did it because the power of my position went straight to my head; because other cops I'd come to admire did it; and because I thought I could get away with it. Which I did--until a principled prosecutor slapped me upside the head and demanded to know whether the U.S. Constitution meant anything to me.

It comes down to this: real cops, those with a conscience, those who honor the law, must step up and take control of the cop culture.

It's nice to read one reason for police brutality straight from the horse's mouth, but Mr. Stamper's last sentence is a bit pie-in-the-sky. Shouldn't the cops with a conscience have taken control of cop culture by now? The police as a whole won't "honor the law" unless there is a system in place that: a) gives them incentive to do so, and b) doles out quick and harsh punishment when they don't.

Also, don't miss this first in a two part series on the costs of police brutality. It makes a point that has the potential to get through even the thickest ditto-head skull: police brutality is ultimately expensive to taxpayers.

Paragraphs Of The Week

2009-03-07T10:08:00.004-05:00

From an editorial regarding RCMP lies about the death of Robert Dziekanski:

They didn't have to taser Mr. Dziekanski a number of times because he refused to go down, as they told investigators. The victim wasn't tackled to the ground by officers because the taser wasn't working on him. The man collapsed in a writhing, yelping heap after he was blasted the first time - and before he was jolted four more times.

Mr. Dziekanski wasn't yelling and wielding a stapler above his head as he moved towards the officers - as they suggested in notes and interviews. He held a garden-variety stapler in his hand at waist height, while not yelling or advancing in a menacing manner.

There you have it, the RCMP lied. Can you hear the heads of taser fanboys exploding? They've been faithful parrots for the "menacing with a stapler" lie. This has to sting.

Enough about them though. While I do love some schadenfreude, I think it's more important to ask, "What's next?" Is it finally clear that the police cannot police the police? The editorial ends with exactly that crucial conclusion:

I'm afraid this case is just another example, number 7,340, of why the police should not investigate themselves. The public doesn't trust the police, and especially the RCMP, to do a proper job. And the information that has recently come to light in the Robert Dziekanski case is precisely why.

Somehow that sensibility needs to make its way south, to America, where stories about drug-addicted right-wing radio celebrities and American Idol dominate.

Justice Served?

2009-03-07T09:49:00.004-05:00

The police will not be charged in the death of an 87-year-old man who held a shard of glass as he approached them. It's a sad case, but at least the police will have one less elderly menace to fear:

SAN DIEGO – District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has cleared two San Diego police officers of any criminal responsibility in the death of an 87-year-old San Ysidro man who died in September 2008, a month after being shot with bean bags and a Taser.

Dumanis said Officer Carlos Ronquillo and Officer John Cochran were justified in deploying the nonlethal weapons on Aug. 16, 2008 because they were protecting themselves from Guadalupe Zavala. Zavala, who was agitated and hostile, refused to drop a broken shard of glass as officers approached him inside his Sycamore Road home.

An autopsy showed that Zavala sustained blunt force injuries to his chest and abdomen from the four bean bags, one of which penetrated his body. Although Zavala had other health problems, including a malignant tumor and severe lung disease, pathologist Marvin S. Platt determined that his death was caused by complications following the bean-bag injuries. The manner of death was listed as homicide.

“When Mr. Zavala ignored all commands and approached them in a threatening manner with a broken shard of glass, the officers were legally justified in discharging the bean bags and Taser at Mr. Zavala in an effort to protect themselves and one another,” Dumanis wrote in a letter to Police Chief William Lansdowne.

Officers had been called to Zavala's home after he threatened to hit a caretaker with a piece of metal when the woman wouldn't let him go outside to smoke.

Zavala had been discharged from a hospital two days earlier, where he had been taken after becoming agitated and incoherent. Doctors diagnosed him with pneumonia, dementia and stage-three chronic kidney disease.

Dumanis said Zavala was armed with a stick and shards of glass when police arrived. He had broken out the windows at the front of the house.

Officers repeatedly told him in English and Spanish to drop the weapons, but Zavala held a piece of glass in each hand as officers opened the front door of his house.

He dropped one piece of glass, but kept the shard in his right hand and continued walking to the officers.

According to Dumanis' letter, Ronquillo told investigators he was scared and feared that Zavala wanted to die and was going to try to hurt him or one of the other officers. Ronquillo said he shot the first bean bag and then ordered Zavala again to drop the glass before he fired the second, third and fourth bean bags.

When Zavala didn't go down after being hit with the bean bags, Cochran fired his Taser, with one prong striking the man in the hand.

That's so brave oh boys in blue. So brave.

Grass Roots in Columbia

2009-03-04T07:51:00.007-05:00

Demonstrating that it is possible to influence police policy without pressure from national media, Grass Roots Organizing, working in Columbia, MO has been able to influence their police department's tasing policy.

The Columbia Police Department is acknowledging improper use of Tasers in two incidents last year, and interim Chief Tom Dresner said a review of these cases has led the department to change its policy regarding use of the devices. ...
Previous policy prohibited officers from using Tasers when the only crime was fleeing arrest. That was “ambiguous,” Dresner said, because there is always an additional crime that prompts an officer to make an arrest.
Under the new policy, officers cannot use a Taser to subdue a person who is fleeing a misdemeanor offense “unless the person has shown a propensity for violence or is an immediate threat to the officer or a citizen.” ...
Another policy change makes it clear that Tasers should not, in most cases, be used to force a crowd to disperse or on two people fighting.
The police department plans to solicit feedback on its policy from the Police Executive Research Forum, which has set general guidelines for Taser deployment that a coalition led by Grass Roots Organizing has urged Columbia police to adopt.
Several members of the coalition spoke at a city council meeting last night and continued to question the use of Tasers and policy guidelines.

So, the police department has agreed to try avoiding tasing fleeing suspects and not to shoot tasers into crowds. Oh, and check out the comments section at the end of that article. It's men (and yeah, they're men) at their absolute worst.

A cynic might say that these policy changes are a no brainer, that with recent recent suits resulting in damages awarded to taser victims and their families, the police department is simply insulating itself from liability.

I won't say that. However we arrive at limiting taser use is fine by me. It's no small thing to get a concession of any kind from police here in America. For the most post, they operate in secrecy and with no citizen oversight (e.g., the NYPD).

Take note though, the situation is not that different in Columbia. Their police department was free to pick and choose from a list of policy suggestions provided by the grass roots organization. For example, they'll be keeping the options to tase people multiple times, to tase children, and to stick closely to Taser International's training materials.

The Word Of A Mountie

2009-03-03T08:14:00.004-05:00

Thank god for video. Otherwise this Mountie would have been taken at his word (The added emphasis is mine.):

Const. Kwesi Millington, 32, became the third officer Monday to acknowledge his notes, his statements and the report he was required to make after deploying the conducted energy weapon were riddled with errors.
He admitted at the public inquiry into the tragedy that you would have a “distorted view” of the incident if you read his accounts as opposed to viewing an amateur video that captured what happened Oct. 14, 2007.
Millington didn’t even get right the number of times he zapped the 40-year-old Polish immigrant with the conducted energy weapon.
After watching the video of Dziekanski screaming in agony, collapsing to the floor writhing in pain, Millington maintained he was justified in jolting him — again, again, again and again.
In all, the weapon’s internal memory showed the officer deployed the Taser five times. And he said he’d do it again.
After the first blast, Dziekanski ended up on the floor with his feet in the air but Millington said he “perceived” him to be still standing.
“From my training, the effects of the Taser being fired are that the person being applied against is supposed to fall immediately and supposed to immobilize them,” he told the inquiry.
“It didn’t have that effect on Mr. Dziekanski so I fired again.”
Millington said during his third attempted discharge of the Taser he heard a clacking noise that indicated the weapon wasn’t working properly.
He then removed its probe cartridge, applied the Taser directly to Dziekanski’s back and deployed it in what he called “pain compliance” mode.
“He was still kicking and fighting and struggling with members,” Millington explained.
The Mountie, who is six-feet-one inch, 205 pounds — about four inches taller and 30 pounds heavier than Dziekanski — insisted throughout that he was scared for himself and the safety of his colleagues.
This was the first and only time he has ever used the device.
Like the others, he wore a Kevlar vest, carried a firearm, a baton and pepper spray. Nevertheless, he thought Dziekanski was dangerous.
“He had the stapler open, his other fist raised; he was in a combative stance as we call it, and was approaching the officers, I believe with the intent to attack so I deployed the Taser,” Millington said.
“I thought he was going to attack. I acted to stop the threat.”
It was an appalling performance by a professional police officer and sparked chortles and guffaws from some in the audience.

As noted at Excited-Delirium, tasers have no "pain compliance" mode. Their output ~~and lethal potential are~~ is the same whether the probes are fired or used in touch mode.

What The NYPD's Been Up To

2009-03-01T11:05:00.003-05:00

Active racism, that's what. From a report by the Center for Constitutional Rights:

The NYPD's use of stop-and-frisk is on the rise. In 2005, the NYPD made less than 400,000 stops in comparison to a projected 543,982 stops by the end of 2008. Over a period of 3.5 years, the NYPD has initiated nearly 1,600,000 stops of New Yorkers.
The NYPD continues to disproportionately stop-and-frisk Black and Latino individuals. From 2005 to 2008, approximately 80 percent of total stops made were of Blacks and Latinos, who comprise 25 percent and 28 percent of New York City's total population, respectively. During this same time period, only approximately 10 percent of stops were of Whites, who comprise 44 percent of the city's population.
Blacks and Latinos are more likely to be frisked after a NYPD-initiated stop than Whites. Between 2005 and June 2008, only 8 percent of Whites stopped were also frisked, while 85 percent of Blacks and Latinos who were stopped were also frisked.
Blacks and Latinos are more likely to have physical force used against them during a NYPD-initiated stop than Whites. In addition to rising rates of NYPD use of physical force, the data reveals that a disproportionate number of Blacks and Latinos who are stopped have physical force used against them. In 2005, 19 percent of Whites stopped had physical force used against them , compared to 26 percent of Latinos and Blacks; by the first half of 2008, 18 percent of Whites, compared to 24 percent of Latinos and Blacks, had physical force used against them during NYPD-initiated encounters.
Stops-and-frisks result in a minimal weapons yield and/or contraband yield. The data demonstrates a paucity of stops resulting in weapons and/or contraband yield across racial lines. Of the cumulative number of stops made since 2005, only 2.6 percent resulted in the discovery of a weapon or contraband. Though rates of contraband yielded were minute across racial groups, stops made of Whites were slightly more likely to yield contraband.
The proportion of stops-and-frisks by race does not correspond with rates of arrest. Arrest rates during the period of 2005 through the first half of 2008 were low for all racial groups at between 4 and 6 percent of all NYPD-initiated stops during that period.

Seriously, go there and check out some of the statistics and accompanying graphs. They're staggering. We're a post-racist society in the same way that pigs are taking flight from my butt.

Not Guilty?

2009-03-01T09:20:00.002-05:00

This guy is pleading not guilty to charges that he assaulted this 15-year-old girl:

A Death In Texas

2009-03-01T08:51:00.003-05:00

Another post-tasing death in Texas (added emphasis mine):

That's what a 40-year-old Houston man was seeking when he packed his car full of all that he owned and moved to his parents' home. Robert Lee Welch was diabetic and said to be depressed over a recent breakup. Saturday morning his family says Welch lost himself.
Welch's brother David Nichols recalled, "I saw my brother in the bathroom -- very incoherent and without any clothes on -- walking around in circles."
His family says he couldn't be calmed down and couldn't communicate, so an ambulance was called. Montgomery County deputies arrived first. According to a press release, Welch resisted their attempts to restrain him. They deployed a Taser -- six times, the family says.
"He never felt any of it," Nichole said. "He did not react to it."
Welch's mother says a deputy put his foot on the back of his neck and then her son's body relaxed. He was loaded into an ambulance. A statement from the sheriff's office says paramedics discovered he wasn't breathing and didn't have a pulse. A few minutes later at a Conroe hospital, Robert Lee Welch was pronounced dead.

Hm, tasing diabetics, where have we heard about this before? Oh right, it was in Texas:

A Texas man who called 911 to request medical assistance for a diabetic seizure earned a tasering from local cops for his trouble, the Waxahachie Daily Light reports.

Allen Nelms, 52, was suffering said seizure "during the early morning hours of April 28 when his girlfriend, Josie Edwards, called 911 to request paramedics".

A police officer duly turned up at the house on Waxahachie's east side, "inquired as to what was going on", then called for back-up. Shortly after, and as Nelms was "in his bed in the couple's bedroom", cops "burst in with their guns drawn and yelling at him to get on the floor".

Edwards recalled "about six or seven police officers kicked the front door in and stormed the back bedroom where she said she could hear one telling Nelms to get on the floor". Her statement, which forms part of an written complaint made by Nelms to the Waxahachie police department, says: "Allen was shouting, 'Please don't do me like this. I just need help.' Next thing I heard some 'zing' noise and Allen was shouting. I asked what were they doing to him. One policeman replied, 'We just took care of him.' ... After they did their shooting and laughing, they came out [of] the rooms. The paramedics had to pull out the Tasers."

And who can forget the tasing of an OK man having a diabetic seizure?

Mother Weighs In On ED

2009-02-26T07:38:00.004-05:00

Could it be that the American progressive blogosphere is finally starting to notice that people are being executed in the street and that the executioners have a shaky, albeit well funded, alibi? This Mother Jones piece makes me hopeful. I promise that it's worth the click through.

Some excerpts:

Patrick Lee was having too good a time at the Mercy Lounge, a Nashville rock club. He'd commenced the September 2005 evening by dropping a few hits of acid. Before long, the 21-year-old was tripping and determined to climb onstage. A bouncer eighty-sixed him and called the cops, who, according to witnesses, found Lee outside the club, babbling incoherently. Things went downhill fast. Lee made a move toward an officer and was hit with pepper spray. He ran a few feet and stripped off his clothes. The cops deployed their Tasers, jolting Lee 19 times in all. By the time paramedics arrived, witnesses say, he was unresponsive. He died 39 hours later. The cause, a county medical examiner concluded, was "excited delirium."

For the past five years, this has been a common conclusion in deadly incidents involving Tasers, and the nation's top seller of electric stun guns prefers it that way; Taser International Inc. has twice sued medical examiners who cited its products as a contributing factor in a subject's death. At the same time, the company aggressively promotes awareness of excited delirium, an ill-defined condition that helps it fend off lawsuits. Thanks partly to testimony from a cast of ED proponents, several with financial ties to the company, Taser has lost just one wrongful-death case at trial out of 33 filed against it since 2001. (Dozens more lawsuits are pending.) ...
"The bottom line is this," says Andrew Dennis, a Chicago surgeon, part-time police officer, and medical researcher who coauthored three studies of Taser's effects on swine. "You have a lot of people who are acting psychotic, and often law enforcement is asked to deal with them. Some subgroup of this population is going to die, and we don't know why. This potential at-risk group is the quote-unquote excited delirium group. But there are no common threads to identify this at-risk group. As far as I'm concerned, everything discussed about excited delirium is conjecture."

None of these concerns have stopped Taser from talking up ED in training sessions, literature, and court filings. The company attends conferences for police chiefs and medical examiners, where it distributes ED-related literature, and has doled out free copies of Di Maio's book. It also sends unsolicited materials to medical examiners when an in-custody death occurs in their jurisdiction. In 2002, Taser released a statement for police to use if someone died in a Taser-related incident. "We regret the unfortunate loss of life," it begins. "There are many cases where excited delirium caused by various mental disorders or medical conditions, that may or may not include drug use, can lead to a fatal conclusion."

Cue taser fanboys with the "who cares about druggies, they deserve what they get" argument. First, not every post-taser death has been associated with drugs (Google Darryl Turner, for example.).

Second, and again this is one of those "do I really have to write this out?" situations, if someone is suspected of having drugs in their system, is having to face a high tech game of Russian roulette really something people are ok with? Do our police really get to take a chance at killing us based things like us running away, mouthing off, acting strangely, taking an "aggressive stance" (whatever that is), or even already being in handcuffs? Really? People are going to argue for that? Personally, I'll never settle for that kind of police state.

Another CA Taser-Proximal Death

2009-02-15T12:39:00.005-05:00

Is California destined to become the post-tasing death capital of the world? It sure seems that way. There's been yet another taser-proximal death there (ht TNT):

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― A man running naked in the street has died after he was shocked with a stun gun by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies.

Deputy Keith Ho says deputies answered a disturbance call in suburban Lakewood at about 10:15 p.m. Saturday.

The deputies saw a man running naked in the street and acting irate. Ho says deputies tried to calm the man but he remained belligerent. When he advanced toward the deputies, Ho says they hit him with pepper spray and a taser electric stun gun.

Ho says after the man was handcuffed, deputies realized he wasn't breathing. They began CPR and paramedics were called but the man was pronounced dead at a hospital.

California's last post-tasing death was less than a week ago, in San Jose.

What's Going On?

2009-02-15T10:01:00.007-05:00

Another post-tasing death has apparently happened in Louisiana. It looks like this happened early on Friday morning.

First, why is it that I'm reading this incident about days after it happened (ht TNT)?

Second, what is this about:

Iberia Parish Coroner James Falterman said the cause and manner of death have not been determined. He declined to say whether he suspected foul play. The Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office and Abbeville Police Department both refused to release booking photos of Jones, and family members said they have not been allowed to see his body.

In Abbeville, much of Jones’ family gathered Saturday afternoon to discuss their next course of action and mourn the loss of a family member they said “was perfectly healthy.” According to nearly a dozen family members and friends, police shot Jones with a Taser gun at least twice during a struggle. Jones’ mother, Wilda, said she witnessed the use of Tasers.

“When they left here with him, he was alive,” she said. “We want to know what happened. This is not a game.”

Although Coleman would not say whether Tasers were used, he confirmed each of his officers carries one. Coleman said Jones appeared to be intoxicated when police responded to a disturbance at Wilda Jones’ residence at 4 a.m. Friday. He said Jones was subdued because he resisted arrest and bit an officer.

But Jones’ family alleged that police “punched him in the chest” and pointed to a couch in the living room they said absorbed his blood. They declined to describe the events leading up to the arrest.

Seriously, how is it that a police department has the power to do something like keeping a family from seeing a deceased relative, and why do police (public servants) get to hold their information so tightly to the chest? Transparency and citizen oversight is the only remedy for police brutality. Why wouldn't the police want transparency? Why wouldn't they want to make sure that everyone knows they're the good guys?

And Another Post-Tasing Death

2009-02-12T10:25:00.001-05:00

The death occurred in San Jose, CA:

A man in his 20s died after a struggle with San Jose police during which he was jolted with a Taser in the backyard of a home, police said today. ...
The incident began at 10:24 p.m. Wednesday when two officers on patrol in the area of Story Road and Adrian Way were directed to nearby Amador Drive, Garcia said. It was not immediately known who sent the officers there, police said.

They encountered the man and were trying to take him into custody in the backyard of a home for an unspecified violation when he began resisting arrest, Garcia said.

"A violent struggle ensued," and during the confrontation the man was shot with a Taser in an attempt to gain his compliance, Garcia said.

The man began showing signs of medical distress. An officer began giving the man CPR, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. It was not known if the man lived in the area or he whether he was linked to the home where he died. ...
The cause of the man's death will be determined by the Santa Clara medical examiner.

The death is the sixth to result after the use of Tasers by San Jose police since 2004, when all officers in the city were given the stun guns for use on patrol, according to police watchdog groups. Lawsuits are pending in at least two of those cases.

No Kidding

2009-02-12T07:39:00.005-05:00

An Australian Civil Liberties group has made a statement that a 16-year-old, who was struck and killed by a car after hitting the ground in compliance with police brandishing a taser, was too young to be targeted by the device.

Check out the comments section of the article. Contrary to their "tough on everything, nobody bosses me around" image sold here in the US, these Aussies seem to have lots of hate for anyone questioning authority. If that's your standard level of crush (aka hero worship) for law enforcement, I welcome you, Australia, to the outrageous tasing festival that North America's been enjoying.

Our brave heroes love tasing teens (and in plenty of places, the state has their backs). Just search this page for "teen." Plenty of links should get highlighted on the right. Most of the incidents involve unarmed teens. Just this past week, information has come from Kansas and Alabama about teen-tasing activities.

From Kansas:

A Wichita Northwest High School student was jolted with a Taser this week after she got into a fight with another student, resisted a school resource officer and then refused repeated orders to stop, authorities said.

Two 15-year-old girls got into a fight at the school at about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said. ...
It's the second time a Taser was used on a USD 259 student this school year, district spokeswoman Susan Arensman said. A Curtis Middle School student was stunned with the device in October, she said.

Two students were jolted with the devices last school year, and school resource officers pulled the devices from their holsters but did not use them two other times, Arensman said.

The school resource officers in all 22 Wichita middle and high schools carry Tasers. In the Police Department's use of force policy, the devices fall "in the middle," Deputy Chief Robert Lee said -- coming after the use of verbal commands and before deadly force.

"The Taser is designed to stop an assault, stop a threat, when verbal commands are not successful," Lee said.

From Alabama:

Eleven students at Booker T. Washington in Toulminville claim they were forced to wash patrol cars and threatened with taser guns by Mobile Police.

The same group of students was reportedly horse playing a few days earlier across the street from campus and believe that's why they were punished. Another parent tells us the punishment happened after the students vandalized the school gym.

According to the kids, police showed up on January 26th and hauled them to Precinct 3 in patrol cars. The kids tell us they were forced to run laps, wash police cars, smacked on the back of the head and threatened with taser guns.

At least two of the parents with kids involved say they were never contacted by the school about the form of punishment. Brozana Goodwin says she knows her kids aren't angels but wanted at least a phone call before her kids were taken away. "They contact me about everything else but they didn't contact me about this."

Jeez. Talk about a literal "nanny state." Where is the civil libertarian outrage that's all over the place when the government wants to do things like stop bad banking practices or provide healthcare? I love how I'm a "liberal weenie" for saying that our paid public serveants shouldn't have torturing citizens, and do I seriously need to write "children", as an option.

Busy

2009-02-11T15:51:00.010-05:00

I've been too busy over the past week to blog. Please see TNT and Excited-Delirium. Especially see a post at Excited-Delirium regarding a really, really, really ignorant taser expert.

In the few spare moments I've had, I've bumped against something I've experienced only once before in writing. I've been struck with a profound sense of futility.

When I blog here, I'm writing about a potentially deadly device that's clearly being used to torture people while simultaneously seeing aggressive - and successful - promotion by both its manufacturer and the public servants we pay to protect and serve us. People are completely snowed and it's frustrating to witness. We can't even get it together enough to make sure that our peace keepers aren't able to torture us on a whim. You think that's not true? Try getting your police department to disclose their tasing guidelines or usage statistics. I wouldn't recommend requesting those in person.

I can say this: Bull Connor would have loved the taser. It's in the spirit of his small, but deadly meanness that tasers are applied to the masses. It's his kind of device.

My cynical self is telling me that the only way the media at large and decision makers are going to seriously examine tasers and their use is if several white female college students are tased to death during a raid on a filming of a Girls Gone Wild video.

Ontario: We'll Keep The Kiddy Tasing Option

2009-02-04T20:08:00.003-05:00

From Canada:

TORONTO — The Ontario government is rejecting calls for a ban on the use of tasers on young people.
Irwin Elman, the province's advocate for children, is calling for a moratorium on using stun guns on minors, except in extreme circumstances.
...
Community Safety Minister Rick Bartolucci says he's heard from Mr. Elman but isn't prepared to act on his request.

Mr. Bartolucci says police officers should be able to use all the tools in their arsenal when dealing with a dangerous situation.

And he says age should not be a factor in deciding how to deal with an individual.

“That police officer should have all the tools necessary to ensure that he or she chooses a course of action that protects the individual, protects the public and protects the police officer — regardless of age,” Mr. Bartolucci said.

He also said the province is waiting on the results of a study into the use of tasers. [I'd love to know what study he's waiting for.]

“I'm not going to make a knee-jerk reaction to any individual case,” Mr. Bartolucci said. “I'm going to wait for the results of that study to come out and then we will determine whether or not there should be an expansion of the use of tasers or a reduction.”

I feel better knowing that these brave, brave police officers will have the option of using tasers to keep us safe from the great menace of unruly children.

I don't know about everyone else out there, but I don't quite see a commitment to not tase children as a "a knee-jerk reaction." It just seems kind of decent and sane.

One Good Call, One Bad Argument

2009-02-03T07:48:00.006-05:00

One Canadian police department has decided to go with radar guns rather than conducted energy weapons (tasers). That's the good call.

Another police department, miffed at having to wait a month to order new tasers, is arguing for their necessity using an example of taser failure and a questionable study:

[Sherriff] Lathim said he used to have reservations about Tasers because of controversy over their safety record. But now he's convinced that deaths and serious injuries involving them happen because of other medical conditions the person who was stunned had.
He cited a study published this month in the Annals of Emergency Medicine that found 99.75 percent of the suspects shocked by six law enforcement agencies over a three-year period received mild injuries like scrapes and bruises or no injuries at all.
Agencies that lack Tasers often are forced to use weapons with graver consequences, Lathim said. As an example, he referred to the Nov. 3 incident at Tri-Cities Airport when police said Michael Rayfield Hodges busted through a window in the boarding area and got onto the tarmac where a Horizon Air flight was preparing to leave.
A Franklin County sheriff's deputy confronted Hodges, and an airport police officer Tased him, Lathim said. The Taser didn't stop the man because apparently only one of two prongs hit him, Lathim said.
"Had the airplane not gotten the ramp up, (the deputy) would've had to use deadly force if (Hodges) would've gotten on that plane," Lathim said.
A Taser in the hands of the deputy would've provided a safer option for stopping him, Lathim said.
Commissioners Bob Koch and Brad Peck agreed the sheriff's office needs the Tasers that Lathim requested. But since the request wasn't included in the 2009 budget, they said it would be better to wait at least a month before buying the devices.

That's the bad argument. Here's a bit more on the study cited above as well as some information about another study that found increased gun use and in-custody deaths in the first year that police departments utilize tasers.

Would A Gun Have Been Used?

2009-01-30T07:57:00.003-05:00

If the officer hadn't had a taser, would a gun have been used in this incident?

A Kelso officer used a Taser to help capture a fleeing shoplifting suspect in the food court of the Three Rivers Mall on Tuesday morning, police reported.

Dwight Mark Thornell, 30, Skamokawa, was arrested on suspicion of theft and resisting arrest, according to police. A Target employee reported Thornell had been seen on surveillance videos stealing stereos on two other occasions, and he was in the store Tuesday morning, according to police.

A Kelso police officer was speaking with a woman in Thornell’s car outside Target when Thornell came outside and fled when he saw the officer, according to police. The Kelso officer chased him through the mall and shot him in the back with his Taser, according to police.

If the answer's no, let's please put the "tasers replace guns" meme to rest.

That Would Be Nice

2009-01-30T07:06:00.002-05:00

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn wants independent prosecution for police brutality cases. That would be nice.

Right now, NYC has a Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) that has the power to ..., well they don't really have any power. They can send complaints to the police department who handle things internally and experience no external oversight. To no surprise, the NYPD fails to prosecute (or see here) a significant portion of cases substantiated by the CCRB.

The latest move by the NYPD to quiet calls for civilian oversight has been to include lawyers from the CCRB in prosecutions. Sadly, it's a meaningless gesture. The degree of involvement allowed the CCRB lawyer is determined by the head prosecutor for the police department.

What's needed is true civilian oversight. It should be the CCRB deciding which cases are prosecuted and the extent to which police department lawyers are involved. The people shouldn't have to go to the NYPD to meekly ask them to police their own.

Maybe I'm wrong about all of this. Maybe accountability to the taxpayers is an unrealistic ideal. Can someone explain to me how having a police department with zero accountability to the people is good for NYC and its residents? Please?

Just Askin

2009-01-28T07:41:00.003-05:00

How many companies need to regularly push press releases about being dismissed from product liability lawsuits?

Six-fold

2009-01-23T07:43:00.010-05:00

Researchers at UCSF provide compelling data supporting my fear of interacting with officers armed with tasers:

Cardiologists Byron Lee and Zian Tseng studied data provided by law enforcement agencies from 50 cities, and found the number of in-custody deaths went up six-fold in the first year a department started using Tasers. Lee and Tseng believe officers may be aiming too close to the heart.

This alternate story on the UCSF study offers a link to the paper's official press release.

I can say from my own experience that a six-fold finding in any direction is reason to jump around the room in excitement - not because of the way the finding fell, but because it's unusual to have data reveal such huge trends. For example, I read a paper yesterday demonstrating that a particular gene was related to a pathology 7-percent of the time (speaking non-technically).

Other times in science, demonstrating a 50-percent response can be a big deal. But here, the researchers have found a six-fold change. Very roughly, that's 600-percent. That's enormous. No, that's ginormous. It also has to be a frightening finding for Taser International and its shareholders (Cue Taser International sock puppets to disparage the UCSF researchers.).

Note that this study stands in stark contrast to the recent study from researchers at Wake Forest University. As noted at Excited-Delirium, the study included two, count em, two taser-proximal deaths. What did they expect to find? Always follow the funding. I haven't done that myself yet for the Wake Forest work, but it's on my list.

But wait, there's more! The UCSF study also find finds that, in the first year after taser deployment, gun does not decrease. In fact it increases two-fold! Seriously, read this:

The rate of sudden deaths increased six-fold in the first year that California law enforcement agencies deployed the use of stun guns, according to a UCSF study. Findings also showed a two-fold increase in the rate of firearm-related deaths during the same time period.
The most widely used brand of stun gun is the Taser, and the team surveyed for outcomes related to the deployment of this device.

While some industry-funded controlled human studies have shown Tasers to cause no harm, this study suggests that their real-world effects pose greater medical risk and more danger than previous reports, said study author Zian H. Tseng, MD. Although the device has been advertised to decrease the number of shooting deaths and officer injuries, study outcomes showed an increase rather than a reduction in the rate of shooting deaths and no change in officer injuries following Taser deployment, he added.

Researchers found that rates of sudden and firearm-related deaths declined back to near pre-deployment levels after the first year of Taser usage. The team postulated that law enforcement agencies self-corrected, likely adjusting their usage protocol or technique after the first year.

We've heard over and over that tasers reduce gun use. It's a falsehood that just won't die. I'm sure that it will live on, but this study has to make even the hardiest taser fanboy want to cry in his beer.

I wonder if the final NIJ report on in-custody post-tasing deaths, expected sometime this year, will reference this study. I have a feeling that the NIJ panel would only reference it dismissively. Hmm, now why would I think that? (Hint: look to the panel's members.)

The Brave Tasing Of A UT Teen

2009-01-13T08:05:00.009-05:00

There are some conflicting accounts of this incident.

One claims the boy was already on the ground when tased:

SALT LAKE CITY - Salt Lake City police say officers used a Taser on a 14-year-old boy who was resisting them.

Police say two officers working at the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City were helping mall security escort an unruly group of juveniles from the property on Saturday night. One of them pulled away from the officers and took an aggressive stance.

An officer brought the 14-year-old boy to the ground but he kept resisting. The officer Tasered him and he was taken into custody and transported to a juvenile detention center.

Another writes that he took an "aggressive stance" before being tased:

"He said his group was waiting for someone, and they were not leaving until they did so -- despite what police and security officers were telling them to do," said Salt Lake City Police Department Detective Dennis McGowan.

The boy cursed at officers and clenched his fists, taking "an aggressive stance," McGowan said.

McGowan said the boy refused to turn around to be arrested and pushed back at officers.

"He wouldn't go on the ground, and officers were unable to gain control," McGowan said. "Apparently they were falling on top of each other, so as a last resort, the officer pulled out his Taser."

Already on the ground or not, I take great comfort in knowing that our big strong police officers have tasers to protect themselves and the public from the universally recognized deadly menace of 14-year-old children.

Another Dead, Tased Teen

2009-01-09T21:22:00.006-05:00

I just read about another dead, tased teenager, this time in Va:

MARTINSVILLE, Va. - A 17-year-old boy died in the hospital after being Tasered by a Martinsville police officer during an incident Thursday night, the city says.

At 9:25 p.m., an officer responded to a duplex apartment on 307 Rivers Road on a report of a disturbance, according to a city news release.

Upon arrival, Officer R.L. Wray observed a boy run into one of the apartments.

The officer exited his vehicle and approached the front door of the residence where he saw signs of a forced entry and immediately requested an additional officer.

Wray then heard several loud noises coming from the kitchen of the apartment and asked the boy to come out to speak with him.

A release says the boy then came out of the kitchen and came at Wray "rapidly" in an "offensive stance," when the officer deployed his Taser and subdued him.

While the boy was being handcuffed, a 15-year-old boy confronted the officer, but listened to commands to stop.

After the first person was handcuffed, Wray went to arrest the second teen.

Another officer arrived and when the officers went to check on the 17-year-old who was Tasered, the boy was unresponsive without a pulse.

EMS was called and officers immediately began CPR, the release states.

The teen, who has not been identified, later died in the hospital.

Surprise, surprise, he was unarmed (more here).

Is this what we pay the police to do? Are we paying them to tase kids who've pissed in the street and then dared to run?

How many more times do we have to read this damn story?

Tased For Running, Flame On

2009-01-04T10:19:00.003-05:00

Luckily this guy wasn't hurt:

The chase ended shortly after it started near the railroad crossing just east of College Avenue and West Rumble Road near Davis Community Park.

[Modesto police Sgt. Craig] Plante said the motorcycle hit the side of a police car, but officers still were investigating the crash.

"The motorcycle bounces off the car, then the motor- cycle just fell on its side," Plante said.

Snell ran from the officers, Plante said. The officers didn't know that the motorcycle's gas cap was off when the bike crashed.

Gasoline spilled out of the gas tank and onto Snell's jacket, Plante said. ...
The officers got out of their cars and chased Snell, who kept running when the officers ordered him to stop, police said. Modesto police spokesman Sgt. Brian Findlen said officer Cameron Cromwell pulled out a Taser and fired it at Snell.

He's especially lucky given the brilliant officers on the beat:

Plante said the Taser darts hit Snell's puffy, black Raiders jacket. He said flames immediately ignited on the jacket and spread toward Snell's head.
It appears that the Taser's electrical current ignited the gasoline on Snell's jacket, Plante said.

For a second, the officers watched in shock as the fire erupted, Plante said. A suspect is not supposed to catch fire when using a Taser, he said.

Officers Cromwell, Larry Meyer and Bradley Beavers quickly got over their surprise and leapt to put out the flames.

"They pushed the man to the ground and ripped off his jacket," Plante said. "They stomped on the jacket and put out the fire. They were now in lifesaving mode."

There you have it. People are not supposed to flame-on after taser application. Awesome.

Tasing Seniors: UK Edition

2009-01-02T12:06:00.003-05:00

Some brave police work from across the pond:

POLICE fired a taser gun at a 71-year-old man after an incident involving a next door neighbour.

Paul Spratt, prosecuting, told North Staffordshire magistrates that Derrick Morrey believed the activities of the people next door were affecting his television reception. He took either an ice pick or a claw hammer round to the home of Joseph Finnigan and his partner in Pennell Street, Bucknall, and smashed two windows and a door. Mr Spratt said Morrey then went to Mr Finnigan's car and smashed the windows.

Police asked Morrey to put down the weapon three times. When he didn't a taser gun was fired at his chest.

Morrey, of Pennell Street, Bucknall, pleaded guilty to affray, criminal damage to two windows and a door, and damaging car windows, on December 29. Sentence was adjourned until January 23.

He was conditionally bailed.

Given that the darts were aimed at the senior's chest, he's lucky to be alive.

It all goes here

No Tasers, No Rise in Police Injuries

Ouch!

$2e6 in Fort Worth

Firing Tasers At Kids On Bikes

Still Crazy

Tasing An 82-Year-Old

Fire Up The Lawyers

Man gets $100,000 in lawsuit

Another 10-Year-Old Tased

Stop Taser Torture Today!

Witness To A Tasing

Tasers Come To NJ

Surrendered And Tased

As If

Taser Linked To Death

More Post-Tasing Death

This Is How It Will Go

The Suits Keep Paying

Don't Tase My Heart Bro

Dead For Running

Smelling Blood

Shockingly Expensive

So Brave

Lots of Death

Interesting Discussion

More Death

A Shocking Realization

Based On His Training

Multiple Failed Taser Applications And A Dead Man

Due To Application

I Take A Break, Tasers Don't

Policeman: I Can Use Whatever Force I Want

Unnecessary Things:

Go Taser International!

Resources

"Several More Times" and More Death

Read Pam

And Another Post-Tasing Death

Close to Medical Attention

Digby On Tasers

Expensive Sadism

Another Dead Post-Tased Person

Cop Talk

Follow new rules or lose tasers, Alberta police forces told

How Cops Actually Use Tasers

Let's Hope So

Even More Tasing Children

NAACP Police Monitoring Tools

Speaking of Tools

Another Running 14-Year-Old Tased

Tasing A 14-Year-Old Girl In The Head

A Psychic On The Board In Mobile?

Taser Nuts

Hey Joe Taxpayer

Monday Taser Update

And Another Post-Tasing Death

Tasing, Then Shooting A 5-lb Dog

Tasing Grandma

Cop Love From The Courts

More Expensive Tasing

More Tasers Being Expensive

Breaking Grannies

(Another) Death in Texas

Mass Shocking of Children

"Generally Nonlethal"

Our Police State

And They Have Tasers

A Call For Stopping Pre-Trial Electrocutions

More Dead, Tased People

Just To Be Clear

Ten Percent

More Outstanding Police Work

G20

Seriously

Another Dead, Tased Teen

Tasing Boys and Seniors

More Tasing The Deaf For Not Listening

More Brave Police Work

A Former Cop On Brutality