Seems to me the fall caused the kid to see the future if he was talking about harming cops. That’s the first thing I’d think of after knowing they tazed someone who was in the condition he was.
A new report on the NYPD’s firearms training done in the wake of the Sean Bell shooting was drawing fire Monday night.
The report recommends arming the entire department with a controversial weapon.
Police firearms training came under heavy criticism in the aftermath of the Bell shooting when 50 shots were fired at Bell and his friends.
On Monday, a new report had a surprising recommendation to prevent such multi-shot incidents.
The outcomes might have been different if the officers had less than lethal devices other than pepper spray,” said Dr. Bernard Rostker of the Rand Corporation.
The Rand Corp. is a non-profit organization that helps improve policy and decision making through research and analysis. Rand offers its insight to companies and civil services in business, education, health, law and science, according to its official Web site.
Rand experts recommend that the NYPD issue Taser guns to more of its patrol officers so they can stun victims instead of shooting them.
“Tasers reduce injuries to citizens, reduce injuries to police officers and reduce the use of firearms,” Rostker said.
Given that in the Bell murder the men were inside a car the tasers would have been completely useless. Also considering the amount of lead that flew that night it seems obvious to me that the cops were past the point mentally where tasers would have been an option. I think it’s been shown time and time again that the belief that tasers are harmless mixed with police arrogance and aggression leads to misuse and abuse of the tool. Instead of wasting $12m+ on tasers plus the cost of training why not train the officers not to be so rash. How about teach them to shoot to incapacitate instead of kill?
This was cross posted to Serf City.
AKRON, Ohio - A medical examiner must change her autopsy findings to delete any reference that stun guns contributed to the deaths of three people involved in confrontations with law enforcement officers, a judge ruled.
Friday’s decision was a victory for Taser International Inc., which had challenged rulings by Summit County Medical Examiner Lisa Kohler, including a case in which five sheriff’s deputies are charged in the death a jail inmate who was restrained by the wrists and ankles and hit with pepper spray and a stun gun.
Kohler ruled that the 2006 death of Mark McCullaugh Jr., 28, was a homicide and that he died from asphyxiation due to the “combined effects of chemical, mechanical and electrical restraint.”
Visiting Judge Ted Schneiderman said in his ruling that there was no expert evidence to indicate that Taser devices impaired McCullaugh’s respiration. “More likely, the death was due to a fatal cardiac arrhythmia brought on by severe heart disease,” the judge wrote.
Schneiderman ordered Kohler to rule McCullaugh’s death undetermined and to delete any references to homicide.
The judge also said references to stun guns contributing to the deaths of two other men must be deleted from autopsy findings. Dennis Hyde, 30, died in 2005 after a confrontation with Akron police, and Richard Holcomb, 18, died the same year after being hit with a stun by a police officer in suburban Springfield Township.
It was unclear what affect Schneiderman’s ruling may have on the upcoming criminal trial of the five sheriff’s deputies. One of them, Deputy Stephen Krendick, is charged with murder. Other deputies face charges of reckless homicide or felonious assault. All have pleaded not guilty.
Krendick’s trial is scheduled to begin June 16. A spokesman for the Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office, which is handling the case, said its lawyers are prepared to go forward.
Steve Tuttle, vice president of communications for Taser International, said the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company is pleased with Schneiderman’s ruling.
“Taser International believed from the beginning that these determinations of cause of death must be supported by facts, medical research and scientific evidence,” Tuttle said.
John Manley, a Summit County prosecutor who represented Kohler, said the judge’s order went too far. The county is considering an appeal, he said.
“Taser is quite a force to be reckoned with and does everything to protect their golden egg, which is the Model X26,” Manley said.
Wouldn’t a high voltage shock from a taser possibly aggravate “severe heart disease”? Exactly how is it that judge knows better then the medical examiner?
CLINTON, Conn. (AP) - A 14-year-old student at Morgan School in Clinton is facing a weapons charge, accused of tinkering with a disposable camera to make it capable of zapping people with an electrical charge.
Police say the camera, modified according to instructions available on the Internet, had been converted into an improvised electronic demobilizing device similar to a Taser.
Police say the student never managed to use the device because a teacher intervened.
School Resource Officer Kyle Strunjo says the makeshift device is potentially capable of a 600-volt shock.
The 14-year-old student has been charged with possession of a dangerous weapon on school grounds, attempted assault and breach of peace.
I did that like 10-12 years ago. I had my entire class in a circle holding hands and would have the people at the end grab the wires I had ran from the capacitor. If people moved it minimized the surface area and hurt more so as they squirmed they’d yell louder. The teachers thought it was funny people would keep zapping themselves over and over. We even used it for one class to spot weld some coins together for some project. People need to lighten up.
Donnell Williams had just gotten out of the bath tub, wearing only a towel around his waist, when he turned the corner to see guns pointing right at him.
“I ain’t never been so scared,” says Williams.
Police forced entry into Williams home while responding to a shooting, but it turned out to be a false call. They had no idea at the time the call wasn’t real and that Williams is hearing impaired. Without his hearing aid he is basically deaf.
“I kept going to my ear yelling that I was scared. I can’t hear! I can’t hear!”
Officers were worried about their own safety because at the time it appeared Williams was refusing to obey their commands to show his hands. That’s when they shot him with a Taser.
Seems to me that the cops were little trigger happy. I’d think a man dripping wet in a towel who’s yelling he’s deaf would be enough reason not to tase him. I doubt he was coming across in any sort of aggressive manner. And what about the entering of his home? How’d they decide to enter his home?
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