PUEBLO, Colo. (Dec. 3) — Colorado sheriff’s deputies shocked an “out of control” 10-year-old child with a Taser and arrested him.
Pueblo Sheriff’s Capt. Jeff Teschner said Wednesday that the boy was not hurt when deputies took action Monday after arriving at his foster home, where he was reportedly destroying property. Teschner says deputies were justified in their use of force. The deputies say the youth threatened them with a pipe and a stick, and threw a piece of wood at them.
The boy was arrested on suspicion of menacing with a deadly weapon.
Last month, a police officer in a small Arkansas town was fired after using a stun gun on an unruly 10-year-old girl, not for using the Taser but for violating department policy by failing to use the camera attached to it.
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Activists with the Thomas Merton Center and other groups today blasted the police response to a Friday night protest in Oakland following the G-20 summit, calling it a “military-style occupation” that resulted in the gassing and arrest of dozens of bystanders, including students and journalists.
During a press conference at the center’s Garfield headquarters, some activists threatened lawsuits against the city and placed responsibility for the confrontation with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and top public safety officials.
“I’ll say it very bluntly: The mayor should be fired. The city council should hold his feet to the fire,” said David Meieran, an organizer with Three Rivers Climate Convergence.
She has filed suit against cop who used device on her during traffic stop
By Mike Celizic
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 6:53 a.m. MT,Fri., Aug 14, 2009//
How does a law-abiding mom driving home with two kids end up being Tasered, handcuffed and arrested — while her children are left alone for 40 minutes in the car, waiting for someone to come get them?
That’s a question that Audra Harmon hopes will be answered by a lawsuit she has filed against the Onondaga County (N.Y.) Sheriff’s Department. In the process, she and her attorney told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira Friday in New York, they hope to spur a debate over whether police should be carrying Tasers at all.
The suit, seeking unspecified monetary damages on an array of charges including false arrest and police brutality, has been filed, said attorney Terrance Hoffman, “to bring awareness not only that anybody can be a potential victim, but also awareness to the police officers who have the Tasers to be a little more judicious and think it out a little more before they use this kind of device. Then the overall picture is whether or not Tasers should be used in law enforcement.”
A suspect is tasered three times by police before being punched? New York? No, the streets of Nottingham
There was fresh controversy over police methods last night after officers shot a man three times with a Taser gun and punched him repeatedly as he writhed on the ground.
Shocking footage shows one officer repeatedly stunning the 40-year-old man with the high-voltage weapon as he lies in the middle of a busy city centre.
His colleague then appears to punch the man with considerable force three times in the neck and shoulder.
As a crowd gathers round the man, an onlooker is heard to shout: ‘He don’t look like he is resisting.’
The footage, captured by a taxi driver, was referred voluntarily to the Independent Police Complaints Commission by Nottinghamshire police, who said the man had earlier struck an officer.
But it sparked alarm over a decision by ex-Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to arm police with the stun guns, which fire two darts on the end of wires carrying a 50,000-volt shock.
She made 6,000 extra Tasers available to forces across the country only last month.
It also revived controversy over police tactics in the wake of allegations that officers assaulted protesters near the G20 summit in London, in April.
Liberal Democrat spokesman Chris Huhne said: ‘This shocking footage calls into question the wisdom of issuing more and more police officers with Tasers.
These are dangerous weapons that have killed 334 people in the United States, yet the Home Office seems to be treating them as standard issue for routine matters.
‘Tasers should be treated like firearms and used as a last resort, not the first port of call.’ The incident happened in Nottingham city centre at around 12.30am on Sunday.
Police said they were called out by door staff at one of the city’s nightspots. One officer was assaulted and needed hospital treatment, they said.
Nottinghamshire Assistant Chief Constable Peter Davies said: ‘We understand that some members of the public may be concerned about this.
‘The public’s trust and confilisheddence is very important for us, which is why we have referred this matter for an objective investigation to the IPCC.
‘We are looking at other CCTV in the area to ensure we have a clear picture of events leading up to the arrest and I would ask anyone in possession of such evidence, including the person who took the footage that has been pubto come forward as witnesses.’
Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said: ‘Whilst video images rarely tell a complete story, these pictures give cause for serious concern.
Tasers are supposed to be a safer last resort than firearms, but there was always the danger they would become too easy to use routinely.’
Police said a 40-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and released on police bail. A spokesman said no complaint had been made against the officers involved and no one had been suspended.
Taser guns – which consist of two darts on the end of wires containing a 50,000 volt shock – can be lethal.
They have a range of around 20ft, have been linked by human rights groups with hundreds of deaths in the U.S. and Canada.
They are now widely used across the UK, with the Government in the process of issuing forces around the country with a further 10,000.
But experts here have also warned that using tasers on children and vulnerable adults could trigger a heart attack.
Last week, a policeman in Texas, U.S. caused outraged after tasering a 72-year-old woman when he stopped her for speeding at 60mph in a 45mph zone.
He had written out a ticket but the great-grandmother then refused to sign it.
In January, an 89-year-old war veteran was shot with the stun gun in Llandudno, North Wales after he left his care home and threatened to cut his throat with broken glass.
According to guidelines from the Association of Chief Police Officers, Tasers must not be used indiscriminately.
They state: ‘Its purpose is to temporarily incapacitate an individual in order to control the threat that they pose. It must not be used to inflict severe pain or suffering in the performance of official duties.’
Washington County » He left his car during a mental health ‘episode’ and his wife called police.
Salt Lake Tribune And Wire Reports
Brian Layton Cardall
The son of a prominent KSL employee died Tuesday in Washington County after a police officer deployed a Taser when the man ran down a road in what authorities called an “agitated” state.
Brian Layton Cardall, 32, was traveling with his 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.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately release further details about the incident.
Cardall is the son of KSL Editorial Director Duane Cardall, according to KSL.com. Attempts to reach Duane Cardall for comment Tuesday afternoon were unsuccessful.
Duane Cardall’s administrative assistant said he and his wife, Margaret, were traveling to St.George late Tuesday to be with his son’s wife, who is six months pregnant.
Adams said the Washington County Critical Incident Task Force is investigating Cardall’s death.
The Hurricane Police Department did not return a phone call requesting comment on the officer who deployed the Taser.
A family statement released by Paul Cardall, Brian’s brother and a renowned pianist from Sandy, read, “Brian is a wonderful son, brother, father, and husband who loved being with people. He was full of personality and wanted to make a difference in this world. He was working on his Ph.D. in Molecular Ecology at Northern Arizona University. He loved being in the outdoors and with his daughter Ava and beautiful wife Anna. We will miss Brian but are comforted by our faith.”
PASSAIC, New Jersey (WABC) — There was a rally against police brutality in New Jersey. It follows Friday’s release of a surveillance videotape showing a police officer beating a man outside a bar in Passaic.
The man is Ronnie Holloway and he was badly beaten back on May 29.
Holloway and another woman, claiming the same officer beat her, were at Saturday’s rally.
The protestors say the case of Ronnie Holloway is just too much to ignore.
The boy was wounded in the upper torso, said Deputy Ed Hernandez, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s department.
Officials say the boy, believed to be 15-years-old, was shot around 7:55 p.m.
Sunday while he was riding his bicycle in the area of East Avenue Q11 and 20th Street East.
Deputies were responding to a burglary report when they encountered the teen.
Deputy Jeff Gordon said there were also reports that someone was riding a bicycle and brandishing a handgun in the area.
When deputies spotted the boy, they ordered him to drop the weapon but instead, Gordon says, he pointed it at the deputies.
The deputies, fearing for their lives, shot him once, Hernandez said. “Later on, they determined it was a juvenile playing cops and robbers.”
The boy was airlifted to Holy Cross Medical Center for treatment in stable condition. He is expected to survive.
Officials say the gun resembled a black semiautomatic pistol and lacked the orange tip found on most toys to distinguish them from real weapons.
A neighbor said the teen is a special need student who has never caused trouble before, and said he warned the boy that his gun look a little too real.
“I warned him about the gun, it’s like you don’t have a red tip, you should not be waving that around,” he said.
Other witnesses said the boy was among six or seven others, ages 12-to-14, riding bicycles and playing “cops and robbers.”
An Iraqi War veteran says Metro officers beat him at McCarran International Airport. Action News has video of the alleged beating two months ago. National guard Sergeant Mark England says the officers beat him with a nightstick and shot him with a taser after an argument with TSA agents at the airport. The Metro officers involved are still working and Metro says based on the video Action News showed them they believe the officer didn’t do anything wrong.
In-car video of a Washington County (FL) Deputy (Rackard) arresting a despondent motorist (Buckley) after a MAR 2004 traffic stop. Rackard is forced to deploy a TASER when Buckley refuses to move from the roadway or accompany Rackard to his patrol vehicle. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals remanded Buckley’s ‘83 (civil rights/excessive force) suit for dismissal. The case is Buckley v. Rackard, 11th Circuit Court of Appeals (No. 07-10988, unpublished). Video used in Lander University’s Criminal Justice Mangement program, during both policy training and ethics courses.
He is already handcuffed. I bet on the 20th time you tased him he was going to get up.
