Boys With Toys: Now a New and Improved TASER, The ShotGun, Say What . . .?

You build it and the cops will buy it.  Better yet, they'll unleash the technology on you!  Tampa Bay's WTSP Channel 10 news has this report  (at the link check the video) on the new shotgun-based taser technology.  Grrrrreeeaat!

"There's a new TASER in town that looks like something out of a James Bond movie. It packs a powerful punch and can stop the bad guys in their tracks longer than a stun gun can.   Polk County Sheriff's Office SWAT team members say the taser has already saved lives [ed. sure, they do!].

They point to a terrifying scene from inside an Auburndale home last Christmas when a convicted sex offender, 27-year-old Jason Robinson, was accused of brutally attacking his brother and threatening to kill the entire family.  In victim's statements to police Jason's brother Adam Lee Robinson explained to detectives after the alleged incident, 'He starts stomping on my ribs and he actually jumps up and stomps on my testicle.'  Jason is accused of barricading himself inside the house and that's when the Polk County SWAT team members moved in. Paul Butler is a member of the SWAT team and says, 'So we pushed the front door of the house open with that to try to get his attention. I utilized a shotgun that we have with the TASER XREP round."' [ed. OK how did this TASER change anything?]

Polk County Sheriff's Office is one of only about two dozen law enforcement agencies in Florida using the powerful new TASER Extended Range Electronic Projectile (XREP).  It's fired from a 12 gauge shotgun from up to a 100 feet away. It's 14 grams, has wing like fins that spread open as it takes flight. It has painful probes and pins that stick into your body. It packs all the powerful punch and stopping power of a stun gun and is enclosed in a 12 gauge shotgun shell and when it hits you it locks up your muscles.

John Angleton is the taser coordinator for the sheriff's office and says, 'It's the most excruciating pain imaginable. It locks everything up. For one you cannot move. You can breathe because you're screaming at the top of your lungs.' [ed.  Can't you just hear the glee?  Imagine how much fun they'll have firing this Baby!]

The TASER XREP keeps a suspect down for 20 seconds [ed. if not foreever] instead of 5 seconds which is how long the traditional taser keeps a suspect down. The traditional taser also has to be fired from a closer range within 21 feet.  While TASER XREP rounds cost a hundred dollars each SWAT team members say they're worth the price because they save lives.  [ed. You betcha!]

They say the rounds saved Jason Robinson's life. Deputy Butler says, 'When he fell - he fell within inches of a butcher knife that was on the floor but thankfully he fell on top the XREP round. That round immobilized him and allowed us to get in and secure him.' Butler adds, 'So that 20 seconds gives us plenty of time to get into the home or get into wherever we're at or close the distance between us and the suspect and take them into custody before they're able to do something to harm themselves or harm us.'

The TASER XREP is only available to law enforcement agencies and not the general public. While the cartridges are expensive Polk County Sheriff's Office only allows their SWAT team to use them."

Arizona Pastor Tasered By Immigration Cops--Not Guilty of Misdemeanors

The Yuma Sun is reporting on the acquittal of Baptist Pastor, Steven Anderson (pic, with daughter) who was charged with two misdemeanors after being pulled over at an immigration check point and being tasered when he refused to answer questions about his name and nationality.  This is James Gilbert's story in excerpt for the Sun:

"A Baptist pastor who claimed he was beaten by law enforcement officers at an interstate checkpoint was acquitted Friday of two misdemeanor charges related to the incident.

Steven Anderson, who is minister of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, was found not guilty Friday afternoon after a two-day trial on charges of obstructing a highway and failure to obey instructions of a law enforcement officer.  'I'm thrilled. I'm happy about it,' Anderson said moments after the verdict was handed down. 'I think it asks the question ‘Why was someone who was found in court not to be doing anything wrong, was brutalized and tasered like I was.'

Anderson was driving east on Interstate 8 on April 14, 2009 when he drove into the Border Patrol checkpoint at milepost 78. While at the checkpoint, Anderson was stopped and questioned by a Border Patrol agent about his citizenship.

Anderson did not answer and instead replied that he was exercising his Constitutional rights and did not want to answer any questions. He kept asking if he was free to leave.   A Border Patrol agent referred Anderson to the secondary inspection area after a canine allegedly alerted to his vehicle. However, Anderson refused to move to secondary and stayed in his vehicle even after multiple requests from both Border Patrol agents and officers with the Department of Public Safety.

'I was exercising my Constitutional rights. I knew they wouldn't find anything and they didn't,' Anderson told the Yuma Sun. 'It is an unconstitutional checkpoint and I basically refused a warrantless search of my vehicle.'  He added: 'I wasn't the one blocking the highway. I was asking to leave, but they wouldn't let me.'  Anderson said the DPS officer and Border Patrol agents eventually broke both windows of his vehicle, tasered him, dragged him out of his car and slammed him onto the ground.   He received 11 stitches and had visible scabs on his forehead following the encounter.

Anderson's trial was held before Justice of the Peace Pro Tem Yolanda Torok in Yuma Justice Court. The jury, composed entirely of Wellton residents, returned its verdict after about three hours of deliberation.

Anderson said prior to the verdict that if he was found guilty, he felt that it would be another example of the government taking rights away from its citizens.  'If the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution doesn't matter, what is next? Take away the First Amendment?' Anderson said. 'Give the government a inch and they will take a mile. As soon as you allow the government to violate and take away your rights it will.'  He stressed that he felt checkpoints along Arizona's highways bring Arizona one step closer to becoming a police state.

'It is Nazi Germany. Show us your papers,'  Anderson said.

Judge Torok previously dismissed the case in December 2009 after testimony in an evidentiary hearing revealed that Border Patrol canine training records, which were available, had not been provided to the prosecution as requested.

Because the defense had requested the same records, but did not receive them either, it made an oral motion during a June hearing to dismiss the charges, claiming it hadn't been given all the evidence in the case.

During a recess in the hearing the prosecution obtained a copy of the canine training records and provided it to the defense. However, after reconvening, the judge ruled that the prosecution failed to provide the records to the defense in a timely manner and dismissed the case with prejudice, which meant charges could not be refiled.  The prosecution appealed the ruling to the Yuma County Superior Court before Judge Maria Elena Cruz. Cruz overturned Torok's ruling and the charges against Anderson were refiled, with further proceedings to take place in Justice Court.

The defense had argued that Anderson was charged with criminal acts that occurred as the result of an unlawful stop and detention. Cruz in her ruling determined that the canine training records were 'irrelevant' because Anderson's alleged criminal conduct happened prior to his initial detention."
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You getting this, pro-SB 1070 commentators?  Remember, this is what you'll get with Sheriff Joe immigration policies.  This is your future.

Boy and Their Toys-Part 11

An independent Ohio agency, the Ohio Legal Rights Service, has said enough is enough and is suing the Franklin County Sheriff over the use and abuse of  TASERS.  According to the complaint filed on behalf of three Ohio inmates the Boys armed with this technology just can't resist using the stun guns even when there is no resistance, even with the target inmate in restraints. 

Is this the beginning of sanity?

Here's the Cincinnati Inquirer article by Joanne Viviano:

Corrections officers at a central Ohio jail regularly use pain-inducing stun guns to subdue inmates when there's no physical threat and when inmates are restrained, outnumbered, disoriented or mentally disabled, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court. The suit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court by the Ohio Legal Rights Service on behalf of three inmates, says the alleged actions at the Franklin County jail in Columbus violate constitutional rights as well as jail policy.

It seeks class action status to include current inmates as well as those who become jailed while the suit is pending.  The Legal Rights Service, an independent state agency, says video and written reports show that guards have improperly used stun guns several times since at least January 2008 'to inflict pain, fear, corporal punishment and humiliation' when inmates wouldn't obey commands or used profanity or insults.

'Deputies regularly use tasers in situations where the person does not remotely present a threat of violent behavior ...And routinely and deliberately use tasers as first strike weapons without employing or even considering less painful or harmful control tactics,' the lawsuit says.

The suit says deputies often exaggerate circumstances that led to use of stun guns and are not trained in the proper use of the devices.

[The Complaint] says that internal sheriff's office reviews deemed all but a handful of the cases justified. [the Complaint] seeks compensatory and punitive damages, an order that the jail stop improper use of stun guns and the appointment of an independent monitor to oversee reports on use of the devices and recommend discipline and training as warranted."
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When you give these boys toys, you just know they're going to find a reason to use them.   I worked two summers in federal correctional institutions, these men and women are working in dangerous and scary situations, I can not--however, envision a situation where their overall safety is increased by the level at which they rock these weapons. 

Boys and Their Toys--Stupid Cops, Part 10

Two Martinsville, Indiana police veterans were called to a home-based daycare center to assist with dealing with an out of control 10 year old boy.  One of these Brainiacs, the police Capatain William Jennings smacked the kid in the mouth with an open hand and the other, a 36 year veteran police officer, Darren Johnson tasered the brat. 

I don't care what the provocation is, you don't use a taser on a child. 

Here's the report from Indiana's NewsCenter.com the website of ABC Channel 21.  With acknowledgement to the ABAJournal website for the tip.

Outrageous! 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Loses All Reason

Malaika Brooks (pic) a pregnant African-American woman got a ticket form the Seattle police sometime in 2004 for going 32 mph in a school zone.  Like many of us, she was angry feeling the citation was unjust. She refused to sign the ticket, so the cops tasered her, twice!

Mrs. Brooks sued.  The U.S. District Court trial judge permitted her case to proceed over motions to dismiss filed by the cops.  Seattle appealed.  Get this the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has held (link is to the opinion) that tasering a pregnant woman over a traffic citation was not a denial of her constitutional rights, ARE YOU F%&%(&$g KIDDING ME!!!!!

Seriously, I expect to see outrageous stuff at local news websites, this story is one of those where you have to ask yourself if you are living in 2010.  Here's Gene Johnson's report from the Seattle Post Intelligencer website:

"Malaika Brooks was driving her son to Seattle's African American Academy in 2004 when she was stopped for doing 32 mph in a school zone. She insisted it was the car in front of her that was speeding, and refused to sign the ticket because she thought she'd be admitting guilt. Rather than give her the ticket and let her go on her way, the officers decided to arrest her. One reached in, turned off her car and dropped the keys on the floor. Brooks stiffened her arms against the steering wheel and told the officers she was pregnant, but refused to get out, even after they threatened to stun her.

The officers - Sgt. Steven Daman, Officer Juan Ornelas and Officer Donald Jones - then stunned her three times, in the thigh, shoulder and neck, and hauled her out of the car, laying her face-down in the street. Brooks gave birth to a healthy baby two months later, but has permanent scars from the Taser. She sued the officers for violating her constitutional rights, and U.S. District Judge Richard Jones allowed the case to continue. He declined to grant the officers immunity for performing their official duties and said Brooks' rights were clearly violated.

But in a 2-1 ruling Friday, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed. Judges Cynthia Holcomb Hall and Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain held that the officers were justified in making an arrest because Brooks was obstructing them and resisting arrest. The use of force was also justified because of the threat Brooks posed, Hall wrote: 'It seems clear that Brooks was not going to be able to harm anyone with her car at a moment's notice. Nonetheless, some threat she might retrieve the keys and drive off erratically remained, particularly given her refusal to leave the car and her state of agitation.' They also noted that the force used wasn't that serious because the Taser was in 'touch' mode rather than 'dart' mode, which hurts more. They reversed the lower court's opinion and held that the officers were entitled to immunity from the lawsuit.

The officers' lawyers, Ted Buck and Karen Cobb, said the officers made the right decision under the circumstances they faced.  'Police officers have to have the ability to compel people to obey their lawful orders,'  Buck said. 'That's all the court recognized today. The 9th Circuit just applied the law instead of getting caught up in the otherwise unfortunate factual circumstances.'

The majority's opinion outraged Judge Marsha Berzon, who called it 'off the wall.'

'I fail utterly to comprehend how my colleagues are able to conclude that it was objectively reasonable to use any force against Brooks, let alone three activations of a Taser, in response to such a trivial offense,' she wrote.  She argued that under Washington law, the officers had no authority to take Brooks into custody: Failure to sign a traffic infraction is not an arrestable offense, and it's not illegal to resist an unlawful arrest. Berzon said the majority's notion that Brooks obstructed officers was so far-fetched that even the officers themselves didn't make that legal argument. To obstruct an officer, one must obstruct the officer's official duties, and the officers' only duties in this case were to detain Brooks long enough to identify her, check for warrants, write up the citation and give it to her. Brooks' failure to sign did not interfere with those duties, she said. Furthermore, Brooks posed no apparent threat, and the officers could not have known how stunning her would affect the fetus, or whether it might prompt premature labor - another reason their actions were inexcusable, Berzon said.

Brooks' lawyer, Eric Zubel, said he would ask the 9th Circuit to rehear the case.'This is outrageous - that something like this could happen to a pregnant woman, in front of an elementary school, at 8:30 in the morning, to someone who posed no threat whatsoever,' he said."
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I believed that the federal courts were defenders of liberty and civil rights, but that was just one more delusion.

Boys and Their Toys, Part 8--Deputy-on-Deputy Taser Fun!

This report comes courtesy of the Tulsa World where we learn that 3 Tulsa County deputy sheriffs were recently canned and 3 other deputies were disciplined after a little dputy-on-deputy Taser fun. You know, it's pretty kinky down Oklahoma-way.  First these guys are zapping one another, then they get "disciplined." 

Hopefully, former-Congressman Eric Massa won't see this story and get himself all worked-up.

Boys and Their Toys--Part 7 They Taser One of Their Own

Yeah, this story is quite a treat, the Gilbert, Arizona cops go over to a Gilbert Arizona (off-duty) cop's house.  They wake up their brother officer, and when he reacts in a less than gracious manner, they taser his ass.  No kidding.

Boys and Their Toys-Part 5

This story comes from The Daily Journal of Kankakee, Illinois:

"A Kankakee police officer has been placed on administrative leave after he used a Taser on Tuesday to stun three boys -- students at Kankakee Junior High School.  A press release issued by the Kankakee Police Department this morning said that the students volunteered [BL:  yeah right] for a demonstration, which reportedly lasted one second each.   However, the demonstration was not authorized by either the police department or Kankakee School District 111. The release also said misuse or abuse of a Taser by a police officer is strictly prohibited, and any officer that violates the regulations of the Kankakee Police Department is subject to disciplinary action."

Taser Tragedies Mount

The NYPD police officer, Lt. Michael Pigott who ordered the tasering of the mentally disturbed man in this video killed himself.  NYC is now trying to block "discovery" of the officer's suicide note as the matter heads to a civil trial on a wrongful death action filed by the victim's family according to report in the NY Post.



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Tasers are the non-lethal alternative for law enforcement. 

Instead of gettting a mental health professional on the scene, instead of waiting for this pathetic man to calm down, they tased Mr. Morales and he fell to his death. 

Now the police office who ordered the Taser's use has killed himself and his wife claims it is because the City made him a scapegoat for the fatality use of the taser. 

The taser is the non-lethal alternative for law enforcement.  Yep.

Passed Out Motorist Threatens to Kill Officer, Gets Tasered!

I love this report from arizonacentral.com.   A Gilbert, Arizona police officer found a motorist "passed out" behind the wheel of his car.  According to the newsreport, the officer awakened the driver, who threatened to "kill" the officer and when the driver dropped his hands from view, the Gilbert Police officer tasered him. 

Sound a litte fishy?   uh, huh. 

Boys and Their Toys-Part 4 The Ninth Circuit Weighs In!

This report was covered at Above the Law Blawg and the opinion was discussed all over he Blawg-o-sphere, because it seems to represent a fleeting moment of judicial sanity in the battle over the overuse of the Taser (pictured, the x3 multi-shock) technology.  The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco issued this opinion in the case of Bryan vs. McPherson, (20090 CA9 08-55622 which held that that the Coronado police department could be sued for using a taser on an unarmed motorist.  While you should read the opinion for yourself, the LA Times, summaries as follows:

"The unanimous ruling, issued Monday by a three-judge panel, stemmed from a 2005 encounter in which a former Coronado, Calif., police officer, Brian McPherson, stopped a man for failing to wear a seat belt while driving. The driver, Carl Bryan, who testified that he did not hear McPherson order him to remain in the car, exited the vehicle and stood about 20 feet away from the officer. Bryan grew visibly agitated and angry with himself, but did not make any verbal threats against McPherson, according to court documents. McPherson has said he fired his Taser when Bryan took a step toward him -- a claim Bryan has denied. Bryan's face slammed against the pavement when he collapsed, causing bruises and smashing four front teeth."

Nice.

How many times have we've seen the Boys in Blue and the deputies claim that their use of guns, pepper spray, and tasers on unarmed victims was justified, because the victim was non-compliant, charging them, presenting a threat?   Too often.
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One other side note:  this occurred 5 years ago!  Think justice is swift?  Be disabused.  If this were to go to trial, when do you think it might be tried, if tried, when do you think the appellate process might conclude?

Wanna-Be-Cop

There is a wanna-be-cop (WBC) who comes into the Starbucks most mornings where the Bad Lawyer and his posse gather to mull over the morning news, and flirt with the good looking women who commute downtown to their respective positions of responsibility in OurTown's residual corporate and judicial culture.

If I have already described this coffee venue, pardon moi,  I'm sure most of you have passed through a Starbucks or some local or similar coffee operation, maybe you do it as often as the Bad Lawyer, doubtful,  but this particular location has a special flavor for those of us who frequent it.  For one thing it is the pinch point in the northwest traffic funnel into downtown.  It is the last stop for a hot (or cold) caffeinated beverage before you pull into your lot at work.  The building is a converted gas station with a samll partially enclosed patio has a one way parking lot that at best can accomodate five or six cars simultaneously, with additional parking in back and along the side street;  but, during rush hour the parking is an amusing car crunch.  Parking directly effects the mood of the customers, some of whom are known to double park their cars blocking in those who came before and are parked in legitmate spots.  My friends that have aggregated there, are a pretty witty group of achievers and veteran social/cultural critics the parking follies (which we deliberately do not contribute to--by parking a short walk to the shop as our anonymous offering of good will to those in a hurry--plus, it means more women to ogle.)  As you can imagine, among the lovely female commuters, many friends, and former colleagues, politicians and the like pass through this coffee shop and engage our aggregation in debate, gossip, and worldly observations mostly about OurTown, OurState, and girls. 

We have taken notice of the wanna-be-cop (WBC).  I do not have a picture of this young guy, so the pic-above will have to serve.  And it is a good pic, because in this guy's mind, we imagine that this is what he thinks he looks like.  In fact he looks like a total douche.  Among the most pathetic side-effects of testosterone poisoning you encounter in the world, is the guy who "wants to be a cop," who for some reason, is not a cop.  WBC, is a security guard with a jar-head haircut, who dresses full-SWAT.  WBC is a security guard who packs heat, clubs, various insruments of torture, a bullet proof vest, and, yes, you guessed it--a taser.

Let us now praise, WBC, for he has not to my knowledge ever snarled at, harmed, been rude to, or insulted in any way any of the "barista"-class, or other customers of this Starbucks.  As far as I can tell, aside from dressing like a modern-day Don Quixote (who according to Cervantes, although he didn't use this expression--looked like a douche), WBC is harmless.  Maybe I will test his serenity, and ask him to pose for a picture--if suddenly, I'm disabled and unavailable to update for a few days you will know that it did not go well. 

Boys and Their Toys--Part 3

Following up on Bad Lawyer's first post on the Taser, Canada's business journal, the Chronicle Hearld has this report  on Taser International which according to their article has all kinds of new toys already in the pipeline, and soon to be on the Boys in Blue near you. 

Let's just say Taseer International plans to electrify you!

Boy and Their Toys-Part 2

There are a slew of these available, this one makes my point fairly well.  These bastards, er cops just can't resist.  I'm sure they will say they all said they saw the suspect make some sort of furtive movement that justified tasering this him.

Boys and Their Toys

This year I intend to take a long look at the Taser and what seems to me to be a preposterous overuse of this "non-lethal" law enforcement tactical weapon.  I'm quoting the wikipedia discussion tasers:  "A Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. Its manufacturer, Taser International, calls the effects 'neuromuscular incapacitation' and the devices' mechanism 'Electro-Muscular Disruption (EMD) technology.'  Someone struck by a Taser experiences stimulation of his or her sensory nerves and motor nerves, resulting in strong involuntary muscle contractions...Tasers were introduced as less-lethal weapons to be used by police to subdue fleeing, belligerent, or potentially dangerous subjects, often when what they consider to be a more lethal weapon would have otherwise been used." 

Translation, cops like to shoot at anything that moves, so this might kill fewer people. 
As you might imagine from the post-title, my reading of many articles from all over the country a local news websites has already resulted in my forming an opinion.  But we shall see.

Let me break the ice on the topic of tasers with this story from the Oregonian website reporting on a local off-duty officer working as a (volunteer)bouncer at a local club who decided to "tase" a patron of the "gentlemen's club" (a classic oxymoron)--because the patron said something to a topless dancer which the bouncer deemed to be "threatening."  A bartender who observed the incident described the actions of the officer as being "completely our of control."

See, that the thing,--these boys are given lethal and non-lethal weapons and they just gotta use 'em.   The Andy Griffith Show perfectly lampooned this with deputy Barney Fife.  Sheriff Taylor required his deputy to carry his bullet in his buttoned breast pocket.