http://www.buffalonews.com/…

It is legally permissible for police to zap a suspect with a Taser to obtain a DNA sample, as long as it’s not done “maliciously, or to an excessive extent, or with resulting injury,” a county judge has ruled in the first case of its kind in New York State, and possibly the nation.

Niagara County Judge Sara Sheldon Sperrazza decided that the DNA sample obtained Sept. 29 from Ryan S. Smith of Niagara Falls — which ties him to a shooting and a gas station robbery— is legally valid and can be used at his trial.

Smith was handcuffed and sitting on the floor of Niagara Falls Police Headquarters when he was zapped with the 50,000- volt electronic stun gun after he insisted he would not give a DNA sample.

He already had given a sample, a swab of the inside of his cheek, without protest the previous month. But police sent it to the wrong lab, where it was opened and spoiled. Prosecutors who had obtained a court order for the first sample went back to Sperrazza, who signed another order without consulting the defense.

Defense lawyer Patrick M. Balkin denounced the ruling in an interview with The Buffalo News.

“They have now given the Niagara Falls police discretion to Taser anybody anytime they think it’s reasonable,” he asserted. “Her decision says you can enforce a court order by force. If you extrapolate that, we no longer have to have child support hearings; you can just Taser the parent.”

A police officer said that when Smith was ordered by officers to give his DNA, he adamantly refused.

“I ain’t giving up my DNA again. I already gave it up once. I’ll sit in jail. I ain’t giving it up. You’re going to have to Tase me,” the officer’s report stated.

The officer wrote that he then applied the stun gun to Smith’s left shoulder, a “drive stun” that is regarded as less painful than shooting electric prongs into a person, which is the usual Taser approach. Smith then consented to the sample, and he was arrested on a contempt of court charge.

In her ruling, Sperrazza cited numerous legal precedents and the state’s Criminal Procedure Law, allowing the use of reasonable force to carry out a court order.

Although there are no New York cases specifically dealing with using a Taser to accomplish that, the judge did find a Wyoming case where a court ruled it was legal to use a Taser to force a suspect to open his hand for a search.

Smith is charged with shooting a man in the groin July 27, 2006, after allegedly invading his ex-girlfriend’s home, tying up her two children and forcing the woman to take him to the shooting victim’s home.

He is also accused of taking part in the Dec. 24, 2006, armed robbery of a Sunoco station in Niagara Falls. A codefendant in the robbery, Christopher T. Walker Jr., now 21, pleaded guilty and is serving a 10-year state prison sentence.

Sounds like the guy committed the crimes charged against him. In a free market justice system I suspect that this would be perfectly acceptable and expected. HOWEVER, there would be much more weight placed on such an action because the individuals and businesses performing this tase and swipe are going to be held responsible for any harm done to the individual. Especially should he be found innocent. Today the individual could bring a civil suit against the officers or department but those rarely work out in their favor. And even when they do it’s the taxpayer often stuck with paying the settlement rather then the aggressors.

This however is still troubling as it sets a president that will most definately be abused.

The video below is apparently a compilation of his previous experiences

http://www.noonehastodietomorrow.com/…

The frantic mother of a 6-year-old boy killed in this morning’s triple murder in Terrytown was subdued with a Taser gun by Jefferson Parish deputies at the murder scene, a sheriff’s spokesman said.

The mother of Four Overstreet grew irate with authorities when she arrived at the Monterey Court apartment where the rampage happened before 4 a.m., Saturday. When she got physical, deputies stunned her to bring the situation under control, Col. John Fortunato said.

The woman’s name and condition were not immediately available.

Feel safer already.

http://taserpromo.com/…

The AXON™ is a tactical computer that brings the power of incident video to every law enforcement officer. Law enforcement officers constantly face false allegations and complaints that question their integrity and honor. With AXON, you now have the ability to show administrators and even jurors exactly what you saw, from your visual perspective. The AXON system is designed to integrate seamlessly into your existing radio communications through a standard 3.5 mm headphone connection, providing two way communication in addition to full audio-video recording from a head camera the size and weight of a standard “bluetooth” headset.

If I’m going to be forced to pay for a Taser product I’m a lot less upset about paying for a camera which each officer would have to wear over an instrument of pain. Even if the evidence is uploaded to the database of the company which lives mainly on the continued existance of the war on drugs and police state.

The more likely scenario is that a police department would spend available funds on Taser products that harm people before these and these would be used as an excuse to spend more money.

http://www.indystar.com/…

On March 11, the boy, who is not named in the complaint, was dropped off at Creekside by his mother, Dianne Bell, who called to tell school officials her son was going to be late.

At the end of the day, the boy was told he was going to receive detention. At that point, the boy, who is described as having “affective disorder and has been diagnosed with autism, manic-depressive disorder and bipolar disorder,” became “frustrated and began to act out.”

“During this outburst he is saying outrageous things,” said the Bells’ attorney, Ronald Frazier, noting that the boy threatened to call members of his gang to retaliate against the teachers.

“They know there is no gang there,” Frazier said. “They know he has no way of acting on what he is saying. They are taking these idle threats and calling police.”

The Bells contend the school district failed to follow the guidelines they had set up to deal with the boy’s outbursts — techniques the family says would have given the boy a chance to cool off.

“When a child like (the Bells’ son) starts to have emotional problems, the (individual procedure) is supposed to be followed,” Frazier said. “It has specific steps that are to be taken in order to keep the child from melting totally down.”

Instead, school officials dialed 911.

Officer Kinkade arrived, according to the complaint, and reacted to the boy’s outbursts by grabbing him and forcing him to a bench in the school lobby.

When the physical force failed to control the 5-foot boy, Kinkade drew his Taser and shocked the boy two times until he lost consciousness, according to the complaint.

Government: providing only the highest quality of teachers and police.

The Police Department has an autism response team, but it was not dispatched. Kinkade is not a member of that team, according to the suit.

WHAT?!

In Multnomah County Oregon, Rev. Phil Sano was found not guilty for the misdemenor of failing to stop for a police officer.  According to the article I read here is how it went down:  Phil bikes past a cop dressed in black, the cop shouts “Hey Buddy”, Phil doesn’t stop (I wouldn’t either), Phil proceeds to get tasered by two different cops.  The jury agreed with Phil that it was hard to confirm that the man was a police officer and found him not guilty.

It’s worth noting that Phil sounds like “my-kinda-people”.  He’s received a ticket in the past for biking without a light.  Do you know what the penalty for biking without a light should be?  It should be possibly getting hit by a car and having to pay to fix yourself and the car.  Phil also claims to support bicycle pornography because “bicycles are sexy”.  Finally he’s well known for helping organize the World Naked Bike Ride.

Phil I salute you, and not just for risking getting your junk caught in your chain, but for fighting the man and winning.