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Blunderov
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Taser Brutality
« on: 2008-06-09 02:03:13 » |
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[Blunderov] Not all is bleakness and doom. Sometimes there are these little victories.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/07/9475/
Published on Saturday, June 7, 2008 by The Herald (Monterey County, CA)
Taser Held Responsible in Salinas Death
by Jim Johnson
SAN JOSE, Calif. - A federal jury has held Taser International responsible for the death of a Salinas man in U.S. District Court in San Jose on Friday, and awarded his family more than $6 million in punitive and compensatory damages.
An attorney for the family called the verdict a “landmark decision,” and indicated that it was the first time Taser International had been held responsible for a death or injury linked to its product.
But the jury exonerated Salinas police, including four officers, in the death of 40-year-old Robert Heston Jr. on Feb. 20, 2005. Heston died a day after being shocked repeatedly by officers using Tasers. An autopsy found that Heston died from a combination of methamphetamine intoxication, an enlarged heart due to long-term drug abuse, and Taser shocks.
Heston’s parents, Betty Lou and Robert Sr., and their daughter sued Taser International. They alleged the company failed to properly warn users that its product could be dangerous, and even lethal, when used repeatedly in conjunction with chest compressions and on people under the influence of drugs.
The family alleged wrongful death, assault and battery, and negligence in their suit against the Salinas Police Department and officers Juan Ruiz, James Godwin, Lek Livingston and Michael Dominici.
The six-person jury found that Arizona-based stun-gun manufacturer Taser International should have more effectively warned police that Taser shocks were potentially dangerous. Salinas police testified during the trial that they were not warned that the shocks could be dangerous.
A possible precedent
Plaintiffs attorney John Burton said the verdict is precedent setting, noting that this was the first time a jury found Tasers are dangerous when used too often.
“We’re overjoyed,” Burton said.
According to Burton, the verdict included $5.2 million in punitive damages, and $1.021 million in compensatory damages. The jury found that the victim was 85 percent at fault, resulting in an apportioned final damages award.
Co-counsel Peter Williamson said the Heston family was “absolutely overwhelmed and extremely proud that they stood up for their son and brother.”
Williamson said he spoke to three jurors, including the jury foreman, after the decision. He said the jury agreed with the “crux of our case,” that Taser International should have made more of an effort to warn people about their product once they realized it was potentially dangerous, perhaps even e-mailing all its customers.
“They should have sent out a warning and they didn’t,” he said.
Burton said he still believes Salinas police should have been held accountable, but understood the jury’s rationale.
“Taser continued to say their product was safe,” he said.
City Attorney Vanessa Vallarta said in a statement, “We are pleased and relieved by the verdict. This is a sad and tragic case. The jury affirmed that our officers did exactly what they were trained to do in the course of a very violent episode.”
Contacted later by phone, Vallarta said the verdict “certainly raises questions” about the use of Tasers and the city would be evaluating their use.
The decision “does put the state of the law somewhat in flux on this,” she said. “In light of current scientific evidence, there may be a need for a change in procedures.”
No big changes planned
Salinas Police Chief Daniel Ortega said his department wouldn’t make any major changes in its Taser use and training procedures, despite the verdict finding that Tasers can be dangerous. Ortega said he was “elated” that his department was exonerated and called his officers “heroes” in the incident. He expressed doubt about the verdict against Taser International and said he expected the company to appeal the decision.
“I have absolutely no intention of not using Tasers,” Ortega said. “It’s not going to change a whole lot.”
Ortega said he would keep trying to purchase Taser cams, which videotape incidents when Tasers are used, and suggested that if the officers had been equipped with the Taser cams the trial never would have occurred.
Salinas police responded to Heston Sr.’s Rodeo Avenue home in 2005 after a friend called 911 to report that Heston Jr. was behaving violently.
In an attempt to subdue agitated Heston Jr., who was later found to have high levels of methamphetamine in his system, officers shocked him repeatedly with Tasers. Some shocks were administered after Heston Jr. was held down by several officers.
When Heston Jr. began turning blue, the officers started CPR and he was raced to Natividad Medical Center. But he never regained consciousness and died the next day.
Burton contended that Heston Jr. was shocked 30 times.
Taser International representatives did not offer comment on the decision.
© 2008 MediaNews Group - Northern California Network
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Blunderov
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Re:Taser Brutality
« Reply #1 on: 2008-12-11 18:25:37 » |
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[Blunderov] Taser outrages worldwide continue to mount up without pause. Why wouldn't they? Tasers provide police with an easily available method of perpetrating serious assaults without leaving any traces. I think there should be an international treaty forbidding the use of Tasers on civilians. What we see is likely to be the tip of the iceberg.
http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/2008/12/keeping-order-through-torture.html
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Keeping Order Through Torture
The Red Guard of the Conservative Christian Cultural Revolution does not tolerate foul language in our America. Do not utter a profanity as you watch your father drown or the California Highway Patrol will beat and tase you.
Jonathan Turley:
54-year-old Maurizio Biasini went to a Mendocino Beach called Portuguese Beach with his two twin sons, Dario and Andriano Biasini, and fell into the water. The police and fire department refused to go into the choppy water as the father was swept further and further out to sea. When the sons screamed at the officers for not acting and one tried to go into the water, the police tasered one son twice. The father was lost.
The fire department insisted on waiting for the Coast Guard as the distraught sons demanded action and swore at the officers. According to one witness, it was the police that turned the confrontation into a physical matter by grabbing one son around the neck and lifting him off the ground. They then tasered one son who wanted to rescue his father not once but twice. To make matters, the police proceeded to criminally charge the son for . . . you guessed it . . . interfering with a rescue that they refused carry out.
Posted by Gen. JC Christian, Patriot at 12:03 AM
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Blunderov
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Re:Taser Brutality
« Reply #2 on: 2008-12-16 13:14:34 » |
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[Blunderov]IMO tasers are blatant instruments of torture. I'm happy to see Amnesty international chiming in.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7785402.stm
Amnesty warns of 'lethal' Tasers
Amnesty wants tougher controls on the use of Taser stun guns.
Industry claims that Taser stun guns are safe do not stand up to scrutiny and tougher controls over their use are needed, says Amnesty International.
Taser guns - used by police forces around the world - deliver a 50,000 volt shock to disable suspects.
A report by the human rights group said Taser shocks caused or contributed to dozens of deaths in the US.
Amnesty urged governments to limit their deployment to life-threatening situations or suspend their use.
In its report on the use of Tasers in the US, Amnesty said between 2001 and August 2008, 334 Americans died after being subjected to a Taser shock, with medical examiners and coroners concluding that at least 50 of the deaths were caused or contributed to by the shocks.
'Open to abuse'
"The problem with Tasers is that they are inherently open to abuse, as they are easy to carry and easy to use and can inflict severe pain at the push of a button, without leaving substantial marks," said the report's author Angela Wright, a researcher at Amnesty International. They can kill and should only be used as a last resort
The study - which included information from 98 autopsies - found that 90% of those who died after being struck with a Taser were unarmed and many did not appear to pose a serious threat.
Many were subjected to repeated or prolonged shocks - far more than the five-second "standard" cycle.
Some people were even shocked for failing to comply with police commands after they had been incapacitated by a first shock.
In at least six of the cases where people died, Tasers were used on individuals suffering from medical conditions such as seizures - including a doctor who had crashed his car when he suffered an epileptic seizure.
He died after being repeatedly shocked at the side of the road when, dazed and confused, he failed to comply with an officer's commands.
Amnesty said US police officers also used Tasers on schoolchildren, pregnant women and even an elderly person with dementia.
"Tasers are not the 'non-lethal' weapons they are portrayed to be," said Angela Wright. "They can kill and should only be used as a last resort."
More understanding
Tasers and other "conducted energy devices" are used in many countries, including Britain, Canada, France and the United States.
The manufacturers and police forces who use them maintain that studies show they are a safer alternative to using firearms to control dangerous or combative people.
However, the human rights group claims these studies are limited in scope and have pointed to the need for more understanding of the effects of such devices on vulnerable people, including those under the influence of stimulant drugs or in poor health.
"We are very concerned that electro-shock weapons such as Tasers have been rolled out for general use before rigorous, independent testing of their effects." said Angela Wright.
Last Friday, prosecutors in Canada opted not to press charges against four police officers seen on video using a Taser gun on a Polish immigrant in Vancouver airport in October 2007. The 40-year-old man, Robert Dziekanski, died within minutes.
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Fritz
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Re:Taser Brutality
« Reply #3 on: 2008-12-16 20:28:00 » |
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Quote:| [Blunderov] <snip>I think there should be an international treaty forbidding the use of Tasers on civilians. What we see is likely to be the tip of the iceberg.<snip> |
[Fritz]So; you would deny the Women of the world safety ... especially from men like me. 
Note: I have walked in on a group of mature gentlemen with the career ambition to serve and protect, tasering each other mercilessly, beer at lunch may have been a contributing factor
47 deaths by Taser in Canada, last count !!
Source:Keeping Women Safe
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Where there is the necessary technical skill to move mountains, there is no need for the faith that moves mountains -anon-
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Blunderov
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Re:Taser Brutality
« Reply #4 on: 2011-11-25 00:52:10 » |
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[Blunderov] One of the things that appears to have gone unnoticed about this story is that the victim was deaf and that the deaf and their needs are routinely disregarded in most societies. There is a great deal of misunderstanding about the nature and the consequences of this condition. One might have hoped that police officers would be sufficiently well trained (although that does cost money -heh!) to be aware of and know how to deal with deaf persons in the community. It does no good to defend the cop by asking "well how was he to know?" A properly trained police officer would have been aware of the possibility and would know how to determine if this was the case.
The bit that I love best though is "he failed to obey instructions to stop". What the fuck? He wasn't even being arrested and he got tased! It's not like he was in Iraq and attempting to run a road block. It's not like (from what one can infer) that he even posed any sort of threat to the cop or to anyone except maybe himself. And he got tased to death by a prick with a badge but no brains. Why? America: the answer is right in front of you.
"He failed to obey."
democraticunderground
Police 'killed deaf cyclist with stun gun after he failed to obey instructions to stop'
Edited on Thu Nov-24-11 04:56 PM by kpete
Source: Daily Mail
By DANIEL MILLER
Last updated at 12:19 PM on 24th November 2011
Victim: Roger Anthony, 61, died after an officer blasted him with a stun gun as he rode home on his bicycle
A police officer killed an elderly, deaf and mentally disabled man riding his bicycle by shooting him with a Taser stun gun after he failed to obey instructions to stop.
Roger Anthony, 61, was killed as he made his way home in Scotland Neck, South Carolina, after officers responded to a 911 call about a man who had fallen off his bicycle in a car park.
The caller told dispatchers that the man appeared drunk and that it looked like he had hurt himself.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2065629/Police-...
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