Questions when police kill children

GOOD MORNING FLINT!
3/24/09
By Terry Bankert
Posted first to Blogging for Michigan
http://bloggingformichigan.com/

Death by Taser: The Killer Alternative to Guns[5]

Already in the case of the Bay City killing we hear denunciation of the victim and blind support for the police. When there is a death at the hands of the police we have an obligation and right to ask questions.

How can the demand for governmental accountability be any greater than when the Bay City Police Department killed a child with a Taser?

Google Taser Death and numerous articles come up. My intent today is a brief review to begin to raise the right questions we should be asking Bay City Government and our own elected officals.
Since 2001, more than 150 people nationwide have died after they were shocked by Tasers, according to an Amnesty International [6]

TASER ASSOCIATED DEATHS & NEED TO MINIMIZE THE APPEARANCE OF BRUTALITY

Many Taser-associated deaths have been written up by coroners as being attributable to "excited delirium," a condition that includes frenzied or aggressive behavior, rapid heart rate and aggravating factors related to an acute mental state and/or drug-related psychosis. When such suspects are stunned, especially while already being held down or hogtied, deaths seem to occur after a period of "sudden tranquility," as Taser explains in its CD-ROM training material entitled, "Sudden Custody Death: Who's Right and Who's Wrong." In that same material, the company warns officers to "try to minimize the appearance of mishandling suspects."[5]

A CHILD DIES AT THE HANDS OF POLICE ,THE TASER PUBLIC RELATIONS REPRESENTATIVE WILL ARRIVE IN TOWN SOON. WHY?

Today, more than 9,500 law enforcement, correctional and military agencies in 43 countries use Taser weaponry. In the past eight years, more than 184,000 Tasers have been sold to law enforcement agencies, with another 115,000 to citizens in the 43 states where it is legal to possess a stun gun. [5]

IN AN ONGOING CANADIAN CASE LYING MOUNTIES GOT CAUGHT IN A VIDEO

A fuzzy video of four Mounties zapping Robert Dziekanski with a stun gun sparked international outrage, but it is unusual for police officers to be convicted of using excessive force in such cases, experts say.The reasons are varied. Police are given leeway to use a certain amount of force in their jobs. It's hard to prove the officers intended to kill or badly hurt the victims. And juries are often hesitant to convict officers if the victims had been acting violently. Among the highest-profile cases of police use of force was that of Rodney King, a black motorist beaten by four Los Angeles police officers in 1991. The police were charged but acquitted in court, sparking massive race riots.[4]

THE POLICE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX WILL SAY TASERING IS HUMAN

Long touted as a safer alternative to handguns for law enforcement, tasers are potentially deadly weapons that have a growing history of abuse by police and security guards. [5]

HIT HIM AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN

A VANCOUVER, B.C. news article on a taser death raised the issue of how many time the victim was tasered on the ground collapsed and did the officer have the proper training.
Taser's stun guns are designed to shoot a maximum of 50,000 volts into a person's body through two compressed nitrogen-fueled probes, thereby disrupting the target's electromuscular system. The probes are connected to the Taser gun by insulated wires, and can deliver repeat shocks in quick succession. The probes can pierce clothing and skin from a distance or be directly applied to a person's body -- a process known as "dry stunning" -- for an ostensibly less-incapacitating, cattle-prod effect.[5]

A VICTIM WHO DID NOT UNDERSTAND ENGLISH GIVEN CONFLICTING ORDERS AND KILLED

The inquiry into the Taser-related death of a Polish immigrant at Vancouver International Airport will resume Monday with testimony from the senior officer involved.RCMP Cpl. Benjamin (Monty) Robinson was the officer in charge of a team of four when Robert Dziekanski was hit multiple times with a police stun gun and died on Oct. 14, 2007.Dziekanski family lawyer Walter Kosteckyj said the testimony from the three other Mounties involved has been full of errors and misrepresentations.[2]

THE POLICE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX RUNS ON TASER

Taser International Inc. maintains that its stun-guns are "changing the world and saving lives everyday." There is no question that they changed Jack Wilson's life. On Aug. 4, in Lafayette, Colo., policemen on a stakeout approached Jack's son Ryan as he entered a field of a dozen young marijuana plants. When Ryan took off running, officer John Harris pursued the 22-year-old for a half-mile and then shot him once with an X-26 Taser. Ryan fell to the ground and began to convulse. The officer attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but Ryan died.[5]

THE MOUNTIES ARE SORRY A MAN IS DEAD..HIT AGAIN AND AGAIN

"No one should have passed away," he said. "This never should have happened." "When he took the step forward, that's when I gave Const. Millington the command to deploy the Taser," said Robinson. "And at that point, the Taser was deployed."Robinson said when Dziekanski didn't immediately fall down, he asked for a second shock...On the video, one of the officers can be heard shouting, "Hit him again! Hit him again!" after the second stun, long after Dziekanski had fallen. The other officers have said that voice belongs to Robinson. Robinson said he didn't remember giving a third command, but didn't dispute that it was him. "I don't rule that out, it was me a third possible time," he said.A bystander's video played numerous times at the inquiry shows Dziekanski was on the floor for the second stun, and Robinson acknowledged Dziekanski had either already collapsed or was on his way down by the end of the first shock.Robinson completed Taser training in 2003, but that training expired three years later. He wasn't recertified until a month after Dziekanski's death.[1]

QUESTION How many times was the victim tasered.?

QUESTION What was the state of the victim when tasered?

QUESTION Did the officers doing the tasering have proper training or certification?

TEMPORARY OVERRIDE OF NERVOUS SYSTEM

According to Taser's promotional materials, its stun guns are designed to "temporarily override the nervous system [and take] over muscular control." People who have experienced the effect of a Taser typically liken it to a debilitating, full-body seizure, complete with mental disorientation and loss of control over bodily functions.[5]

POLICE DO LIE. ITS YET TO BE PROVEN IN BAY CITY. KEEP AN OPEN MIND BUT A CRITICAL ONE

In the Canadian case police officers were caught in a lie.
Robinson denied that he and his three Mountie colleagues had colluded in any way by discussing what happened that night.[2]After watching a video of the incident taken by a man at the airport, Robinson admitted his statement was wrong in that Dziekanski did fall after the first Taser and did not have to be wrestled to the ground. [2]

QUESTION What inconsistencies exist in officer statements showing the conspiracy to lie by officers.

HOW MANY STUNS TO A KILL?

He said he thought Dziekanski was only Tasered twice. He didn’t realize the Taser was deployed five times, the last three in stun mode, where the electrical device is held against a person to immobilize them. [2]

QUESTION What does deployed mean? What does stun mode mean? What other mode is there?

Robinson will be asked about his gestures to Dziekanski just before he was jolted, why he asked for another Taser shock even though Dziekanski was already on the floor and what efforts he made to revive the unconscious man.[3]

QUESTION What efforts were made to assist the victim.

BEFORE A COUPLE BIG COPS COULD HANDLE A KID

The Taser has made the debate around police use of force more complicated. The "conducted energy weapon" was introduced as a less-lethal alternative to handguns, but its usage has increased dramatically in recent years and it has been used in multiple incidents in Canada that have resulted in a death.That has sparked controversy internationally about whether the Taser should be considered the equivalent to a gun, or truly a more middle-of-the-road weapon if used appropriately.[4]

QUESTION How many deaths have been caused by taser?

QUESTION Should a Taser be considered a gun.

SOME TASER HITS OCCUR WHILE CUFFED. Or death occurs after cuffing.

In July, a Louisiana grand jury indicted former police officer Scott Nugent on a manslaughter charge in the death of a man who was Tasered nine times while handcuffed.[4]
QUESTION Why would a handcuffed prisoner need to be tasered?

TASER IS BIG BUSINESS AND THEIR PUBLIC RELATIONS PEOPLE WILL HIT TOWN SOON.

Over the same period, Taser has developed a near-monopoly in the market for non-lethal weaponry. Increasingly, law enforcement officials use such weapons to subdue society's most vulnerable members: prisoners, drug addicts and the mentally ill, along with "passive resisters," like the protesters demonstrating against Florida Governor Jeb Bush's attendance of a Rick Santorum fundraiser in Pittsburgh on Oct. 9.[5]

TASER OPERATES ON INFLUENCE PEDDLING

Taser has built this monopoly through influence peddling, savvy public relations and by hiring former law enforcement and military officers -- including one-time Homeland Security chief hopeful, Bernard Kerik. And now that questions are being raised about the safety of Taser weaponry, the company is fighting back with legal and marketing campaigns. [5]

Review with a critical eye what the police ,prosecutor and Taser PR people say. The police are our police protecting us.The individual officers did the best they could and feel truly saddened over the death of this child in Bay City. Its tough rough business. Focus on departmental procedure and office training. Put accountability on the police chain of command and the elected officials. They will try to run but they cannot hide.

Posted Here by Terry Bankert 3/23/09
You are invited to continue this discussion on my Face Book Page. http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry-Bankert/645845362
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[1]
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5i9_GH7741Z1l6bOKUDNtPdeVN_Hw


[2]
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Everything+happened+really+quick+final+officer+tells+Taser+inquiry/1419113/story.html

[3]
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/03/22/bc-braidwood-inquiry-resumes.html

[4]
http://www.canada.com/news/Convictions+police+excessive+force+rare+experts/1071785/story.html

[5]
http://www.alternet.org/rights/44455/
[6]
http://tampabay.injuryboard.com/defective-and-dangerous-products/another-taser-death-in-clearwater.aspx?googleid=202670

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