Man dies after Taser shock by police at Vancouver airport
A man in his 40s died early Sunday morning after RCMP jolted him with a Taser at the Vancouver International Airport, police said.
Airport security called the Mounties for assistance after an unidentified man began pounding on windows and throwing chairs and computer equipment in the customs area shortly after arriving on an international flight at 1:30 a.m., Richmond RCMP Sgt. Pierre Lemaitre told CBC News.
When he ignored orders to calm down, police used a stun gun on the man.
The man dropped to the floor and police said it took three officers to handcuff him. He then lost consciousness and appeared to go into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at the airport, the CBC's Chris Brown reported.
Few other details have been disclosed other than the man spoke an Eastern European language and a flight from Poland touched down about an hour before the incident, Brown said.
Taser devices are controversial because of the dozen North American deaths resulting from their use. There has been debate about how safe these devices are when dealing with certain kinds of people who are delirious or wound up, Brown said.
Police are investigating and a toxicology report will be done to determine whether there were drugs in the man's system. They will be interviewing customs officers and flight attendants, Brown reported.
International arrivals were rerouted but there were no delays in flight schedules.
Story Here: Link
10.17.2007
Man dies after Taser shock by police at Vancouver airport
9.22.2007
UCLA - Campus Police Taser Policy
UCLA's Taser Manual for Campus Police: pdf here
Note the words: "Less lethal device" further in the document. The company who makes Tasers labels their weapon as "non lethal" .
Pain compliance techniques may be very effective in controlling a passive or actively resisting individual. Officers may only apply those pain compliance techniques for which the officer has received Departmentally approved training and only when the officer reasonably believes that the use of such a technique appears necessary to further a legitimate law enforcement purpose. Officers utilizing any pain compliance technique should consider the totality of the circumstance including, but not limited to:
(a) The potential for injury to the officer(s) or others if the technique is not used,
(b) The potential risk of serious injury to the individual being controlled,
(c) The degree to which the pain compliance technique may be controlled in
application according to the level of resistance,
(d) The nature of the offense involved,
(e) The level of resistance of the individual(s) involved,
(f) The need for prompt resolution of the situation,
(g) If time permits (e.g. passive demonstrators), other reasonable alternatives.
The application of any pain compliance technique shall be discontinued once the officer determines that full compliance has been achieved.
Use of Force
GENERAL ORDER
05-01
(Amended 09-27-05)
PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines for the deployment and use of the Taser.
POLICY
To deploy and use the Taser to maximize the safety of all individuals involved in an incident.
PROCEDURE
1) DEFINITION
The Taser is a less lethal device used to incapacitate subjects by discharging an electronic current into the subject via two wired probes. The Taser may also be used in a drive-stun capacity with a fired cartridge in the device or when the Taser is not loaded with a cartridge.
2) TRAINING.
Personnel who have successfully completed a Departmentally approved training course shall be authorized to use the Taser. Officers shall qualify regularly as dictated by Training Staff.
3) EQUIPMENT
Officers assigned a Taser are responsible for maintaining the device's operational readiness. As such, officers shall:
A) Store the Taser and extra cartridges in the issued holster or case when not in use.
S) Ensure that the Taser is accessible by keeping it concealed in a secured vehicle during the course of a shift or carrying the device on the officer's person. Taser holsters shall be worn only on the opposite side of the officer's handgun.
i) Officers issued a Taser shall keep at least two extra cartridges with the device.
ii) Extra cartridges should not be carried in pockets due to the risk that static electricity could cause an unintentional discharge of the cartridge.
C) Check the Taser's battery strength to ensure adequate battery charge.
i) Officers shall remove the cartridge, keeping the safety on, prior to checking battery strength or changing the batteries in the unit.
ii) Officers shall test battery strength by sparking an unloaded Taser before going in service. In the event that the unit's battery strength is not adequate (20% or less), officers shall exchange the unit for another with adequate battery strength. Spark tests should be conducted in a safe direction with no apparent targets down range.
D) Check the expiration date and condition of the Taser cartridges. Expired and/or damaged cartridges shall be turned into the range staff or a supervisor for replacement.
4) GENERAL
Although not absolutely prohibited, officers should give additional consideration to the unique circumstances involved prior to applying the Taser to any of the following individuals: .
A) Pregnant females;
B) Elderly individuals or obvious juveniles;
C) Individuals who are handcuffed or otherwise restrained;
D) Individuals who have been recently sprayed with alcohol based Pepper Spray or who are otherwise in close proximity to any combustible material;
E) Individuals whose position or activity may result in collateral injury (e.g. falls from significant heights, operating vehicles, etc.)
5) CRITERIA FOR USE - CARTRIDGE DEPLOYMENT
Authorized personnel may use a Taser when circumstances known and perceived to the individual officer at the time indicate that the application of the Taser is reasonable to subdue or control:
A) A violent or physically resisting subject, or
B) A potentially violent or potentially physically resistive subject who has verbally or physically demonstrated an intention to resist, or
C) A dangerous animal.
6) CRITERIA FOR USE - DRIVE STUN
Authorized personnel may use a Taser in a drive stun capacity, as a pain compliance technique, in the following situations.
A) To eliminate physical resistance from an arrestee in accomplishing an arrest or physical search.
B) When a skirmish line is deployed and/or for pain compliance against passive resistors as allowed in UCLA Police Policy § 301.24 (Pain Compliance Techniques).
C) To stop a dangerous animal.
7) FIELD DEPLOYMENT TACTICS
A) When an officer determines that the Taser should be utilized, the officer deploying the Taser should, if possible, consider assembling a sufficient number of officers to assist with taking the suspect into custody. The number of additional officers and their responsibilities is dictated by the dynamics of each incident.
B) If there is sufficient time to plan a deployment and sufficient resources available, consideration should be given to designating responsibilities as follows:
i) One officer to fire the Taser.
ii) One additional officer armed with a second Taser. If a second officer is not available, or it is not practical to have an officer act in this capacity, the primary officer deploying the Taser should be prepared to fire a second cartridge in the event that the initial cartridge misses the target or fails to function properly.
iii) Protection officer( s) prepared to deliver appropriate force cover option(s).
iv) Custody officer( s) who are given the responsibility to handcuff and restrain the suspect.
NOTE: Under exigent circumstances, nothing in this policy prohibits an officer from deploying and firing a Taser without requesting or having the presence of additional officers.
C) When practical, prior to firing the Taser, the officer discharging the Taser should:
i) Announce that the Taser is being deployed and provide the suspect with a reasonable opportunity to voluntarily comply. This may prevent unintentional shootings and give warning to the suspect.
ii) If, after a verbal warning, an individual continues to express an unwillingness to voluntarily comply with an officer's lawful orders and it appears both reasonable and practical under the circumstances, an officer may, but is not required to, display the electrical arc (provided there is not a cartridge loaded into the Taser) or laser in a further attempt to gain compliance prior to the application of the Taser. The laser should not be intentionally directed into the eyes of another as it may permanently impair their vision.
iii) If practical, instruct Communications to broadcast a Taser is going to be deployed.
8) POST DEPLOYMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
A) Any use, or attempted use of a Taser against a subject shall be immediately reported to the Watch Commander. Officers and/or supervisors who have discharged a Taser on a suspect shall: i) Restrain and secure the subject, as soon as possible.
ii) Officers should remove the probes as trained and inspect the probes to ensure the entire probe has been removed. Removal of broken probes should be done by medical personnel.
iii) Ensure the suspect's injuries or complaints of injury (if any) are appropriately treated by medical personnel. Monitor the suspect for signs of "excited delirium."
iv) Medical treatment and clearance to book shall be sought for any suspect that has received a Taser cartridge discharge and:
(1) The suspect exhibits signs of excited delirium.
(2) The suspect has a pre-existing heart condition or pre-existing respiratory condition.
(3) The suspect is obviously intoxicated or obviously under the influence of drugs.
(4) The suspect has received a total of two or more effective and complete Taser cycles.
v) Comply with the reporting procedures/supervisor's responsibilities specified in the UCLA Police Policy § 301 .3 (Reporting Use of Force).
vi) Ensure any discharged cartridges, probes and a sampling of AFID (Anti-Felon Identification) microdots that are discharged with the probes are collected and booked as evidence.
vii) Ensure probes are handled and booked as bio-hazardous "sharps".
viii)Ensure the serial number of the Taser and cartridge(s) used are included in the appropriate report( s).
ix) Ensure photographs are taken of probe impact sites and any other injuries.
B) Any discharge of a Taser off-duty shall be immediately reported to the Watch Commander. The circumstances surrounding the discharge of a Taser shall be documented in a Miscellaneous Incident Report
Click Here to Read More..
9.20.2007
Officer On Leave After Woman Tasered
VIDEO HERE
Septmeber 19, 2007
The Warren Police Department is under fire for another accusation of abuse of force.
The latest incident happened during a September second arrest in the parking lot of a popular nightclub.
33 news is the only station that requested the dash camera video of the arrest.
Reporter Peggy Sinkovich and photographer Nck Rich show us the video and reaction from city officials.
We warn you some sequences of this video are graphic and very disturbing.
It's this shocking video that has warren city officials in an uproar.
It shows a woman being tasered numerous times by warren police officer Rich Kovach.
Who had been called to the Up The Creek Bar back on September 2nd, for a disturbance inside the night club, after being handcuffed.
The woman was placed in the back of Kovach's cruiser.
At one point she can been seen trying to kick out the window of the car and Kovach tasers her again.
Afterward the video shows the woman distraught and pleading for him to stop, but Kovach can be heard screaming at her.
Finally other officers arrive at the scene and Kovach removes the woman from his car.
As she is walking out of the frame, she is tasered again, the horrified expressions of onlookers can be seen on the tape.
Kovach in his report claims the woman fell after being tasered again.
This time falling to the ground and being knocked unconscious.
City officials saw the tape for the very first time with me this afternoon, and i spoke with them afterward.
Doug Franklin, Safety-Service Director says, "Yes, we placed him on administrative leave...terms of that."
Although this incident happened september second the only action police officials took was to reassign Kovach to other duties.
It was not until today, that Kovach was actually placed on leave, which happens to also be the day we asked for the tape.
Link to ABC33 WYTV News
Police stun and pepper spray 71 year old Blind Woman.
Police settle excessive force suit with 71-year-old woman
PORTLAND, Ore. - The city of Portland has agreed to pay $145,000 to an elderly blind woman after police pepper-sprayed and shocked her with a stun gun.
The altercation began as an attempt to remove shrubs and appliances from 71-year-old Eunice Crowder's yard, and ended with police citing her for harassment and disobeying an order.
April 23, 2004
This week, the city agreed to settle her excessive force lawsuit out of federal court, a month after a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge dismissed the violations against her.
"This case goes to show that police misconduct and excessive force can happen to anybody outside the mainstream," said Ernest Warren Jr., Crowder's lawyer. "It does not have to be an African American; it can be someone who is elderly and white."
The Portland City Council approved the settlement, based on a review by the city's risk management division that indicated "there is risk the City may be found liable."
The June 9, 2003, incident began when Ed Marihart, a city employee, showed up at Crowder's home. He served her with an administrative search warrant to remove an accumulation of trash and debris.
According to Crowder and her lawyer, the woman told him she was blind and hard of hearing, and asked him to read the entire warrant to her, but he refused. She said he placed it in her hands, walked outside and ordered others to start removing items from her yard.
The city denies that the woman asked Marihart to read the warrant and maintains that Marihart explained to her why he was there.
The woman followed the city employee outside. She was concerned that he and his co-workers had removed a family heirloom, a 90-year-old red toy wagon with rhododendrons in it. She asked to enter a trailer, where items from her yard were being placed, to feel around for the wagon.
Marihart told her she couldn't enter the trailer and said the wagon was not inside. He then called police.
When Portland Officers Robert Miller and Eric Zajac arrived at the house, Crowder acknowledged she had one foot on the curb and one foot on the bumper of the trailer. She felt someone step on her foot and asked, "Who are you?"
Moments later, she felt someone strike her in the head, which dislodged her prosthetic right eye from its socket, and was knocked to the ground, she claimed in her lawsuit.
Officers said Crowder ignored their commands not to climb into the trailer and tried to bite Miller's hand.
They acknowledged she was "pushed onto the dirt next to the sidewalk," according to the city's legal brief filed in court.
While on the ground, Crowder asked the officer what he thought he was doing and kicked Miller. She said the officer kicked her back, then pepper-sprayed her in her eyes.
"While she's still on the ground, on her stomach, they tased her in the back and in the breast," her lawyer said.
Police said they pepper-sprayed Crowder after she refused to stop kicking them. They admit that Crowder's prosthetic eye fell out at some point, and that Zajac stunned Crowder with a Taser, an electric stun gun, twice in the lower back and once in the upper back after ordering her to stop fighting and resisting.
Warren said the city's argument is bogus. He said, "To kick the crap out of old folks seems a little bit much to me in the name of law enforcement,"
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Link to CBS report on story
Stun gun to immobilize a 12-year-old girl
Police have acknowledged using a stun gun to immobilize a 12-year-old girl just weeks after an officer jolted a first-grader with 50,000 volts.
Police Director Bobby Parker defended the decision to use a Taser (search) on the 6-year-old boy last month because he was threatening to injure himself with a shard of glass. But Parker said Friday that he could not defend the decision to shock the fleeing girl, who was skipping school and apparently drunk.
According to the incident report, officer William Nelson responded to a complaint that children were swimming in a pool, drinking alcohol and smoking cigars on the morning of Nov. 5.
Nelson said he noticed the girl was intoxicated and was walking her to his car to take her back to school when she ran away through a parking lot.
Taser Used on Woman in S.C. Nursing Home Police Use Stun Gun on 6-Year-Old Nelson, 38, said he chased her and yelled several times for her to stop before firing the Taser when she began to run into traffic. The electric probes hit the girl in the neck and lower back, immobilizing her.
Nelson said he fired "for my safety along with (the girl's) safety." Paramedics treated the girl, who went home with her mother.
Parker said department policy permits officers to use the Taser to apprehend someone, but he said he expected his officers to use better judgment, especially when police had no plans to arrest the girl.
The first incident had already exposed the department to more criticism for its use of Tasers, which it has begun distributing in greater numbers to officers.
The 6-year-old boy was shocked on Oct. 20 in the principal's office at Kelsey Pharr Elementary School. Principal Maria Mason called 911 after the child broke a picture frame in her office and waved a piece of glass, holding a security guard back.
The boy had cut himself under his eye and on his hand when officers arrived.
"The police could have handled this better," said the boy's mother, Kathy Rojas. "They did not have to shoot him."
Parker said that, in light of the disclosure of the second incident, the department will review its policy.
Link
US police use stun gun on 6-year-old
Saturday, November 13, 2004:
US police use stun gun on 6-year-old
A United States police officer has used a stun gun on a six-year-old boy to keep him from cutting himself with a piece of broken glass, sparking controversy.
Miami-Dade County police chief Bobby Parker has defended the officer's decision.
"Had the child cut his vein and the officer had not Tasered the child, somebody would be saying, 'well, you had the Taser, why didn't you Taser the child'," Mr Parker told the Miami Herald newspaper.
A Taser is a gun which fires an incapacitating electric charge of 50,000 volts.
At least one local official and many residents have questioned the police officer's actions.
"I really can't believe they did that," County Commissioner Joe Martinez told the newspaper. "This might be a good opportunity to review our policy."
-AFP
Link Here
Student Tasered after John Kerry speech September 17, Constitution Day
Monday, September 17, 2007
John Kerry speech September 17, Constitution Day, at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
At the conclusion of Kerry’s speech, Andrew Meyer, a 21-year old journalism student was tasered by police after asking questions of Mr. Kerry. You can hear students in the background yelling: "Police Brutality!", and to "Stop"
UK: Police go-ahead to use Taser stun guns on children.
2nd September 2007:
Police have been given the go-ahead to use Taser stun guns against children.
The relaxing of restrictions on the use of the weapons comes despite warnings that they could trigger a heart attack in youngsters.
Until now, Tasers - which emit a 50,000-volt electric shock - have been used only by specialist officers as a "non lethal" alternative to firearms.
Stun gun: Tasers give off a 50,000 volt blast
However, they can now be used against all potentially violent offenders even if they are unarmed.
It is the decision not to ban their use against minors that is likely to raise serious concerns.
Home Office Police Minister Tony McNulty said medical assessments had confirmed the risk of death or serious injury from Tasers was "low".
But he failed to mention Government advisers had also warned of a potential risk to children.
The Defence Scientific Advisory Council medical committee told the Home Office that not enough was known about the health risks of using the weapons against children.
Tasers work by firing metal barbs into the skin which then discharge an electrical charge which is designed to disable someone long enough to allow police to detain them safely.
3,000 crimes committed by under-10s go unpunished each year
With love from Rhys - the heartbreaking Mother's Day message from murdered 11-year-old
The committee, which is made up of independent scientists and doctors, said that limited research suggested there was a risk children could suffer "a serious cardiac event".
It recommended that officers should be "particularly vigilant" for any Taser-induced adverse response and said guidance should be amended to "identify children and adults of small stature" as being at potentially greater risk from the cardiac effects of Tasers.
The Government scientists were also asked to test whether the weapons could cause a miscarriage if used on a pregnant woman.
While not saying whether police would be allowed to Taser an expectant mother, the Home Office said the DSAC committee had "specifically asked" for computer simulations to be carried out to analyse the effect on "a pregnant female".
Amnesty International claims Tasers have been responsible for 220 deaths in America since 2001. Many cities and police forces there have banned their use against minors.
Two years ago in Chicago a 14-year-old boy went into cardiac arrest after being shot with one. Medics had to use a defibrillator four times to resuscitate him.
Taser International, the American firm that makes the device, said tests on pigs suggested the weapons were safe.
The Association of Chief Police Officers, which issues guidance to forces on the use of weapons, said Tasers would be made "readily available" for "conflict management" at incidents of "violence and threats of violence of such severity that they will need force".
Non-firearms officers in ten forces will be trained to use the weapons. Every incident they are involved in will be assessed over a 12-month trial period.
Link: UK Daily Mail
Man Tasered Holding Newborn
By Juan A. Lozano, Associated Press Writer
HOUSTON — In a confrontation captured on videotape, a hospital security guard fired a stun gun to stop a defiant father from taking home his newborn, sending both man and child crashing to the floor. Now William
Lewis says his baby girl suffers from head trauma because she was dropped.
"I've got to wonder what kind of moron would Tase an adult holding a baby," said George Kirkham, a former police officer and criminologist at Florida State University. "It doesn't take rocket science to realize the baby is going to fall."
Lewis, 30, said the April 13 episode began after he and his wife felt mistreated by staff at the Woman's Hospital of Texas and they decided to leave. Hospital employees told him doctors would not allow it, but Lewis picked up the baby and strode to a bank of elevators.
The elevators would not move because wristband sensors on each baby shut them off if anyone takes an infant without permission.
Lewis, who gave the video to The Associated Press, said his daughter landed on her head, but it cannot be seen on the video. He said the baby continues to suffer ill effects from the fall.
"She shakes a lot and cries a lot," Lewis said, noting doctors have performed several MRIs on the child, Karla. "She's not real responsive. Something is definitely wrong with my daughter."
It was not clear whether the baby received any electrical jolt.
Child Protective Services has custody of the baby because of a history of domestic violence between Lewis and his wife, Jacqueline Gray. Agency spokeswoman Estella Olguin said the infant does not appear to be suffering any health problems from the fall.
David Boling, an off-duty Houston police officer working security at the hospital, and another security guard can be seen on the surveillance video arriving at the elevators and trying to talk with Lewis. Lewis appears agitated as he walks around the elevators holding his daughter in his right arm.
Within 40 seconds of arriving, Boling is holding the Taser. He walks around Lewis and whispers to the other guard, who moves to Lewis' right side.
About a minute later, Boling can be seen casually standing near Lewis, not looking in his direction, when he suddenly raises the Taser and fires it at Lewis, who was still holding his daughter.
Lewis drops to the floor. The other guard, who has not been identified, scoops up the baby and gives her to the child's mother, who was standing nearby in a hospital gown.
The guard then pulls Lewis to his feet with his arms locked behind him. Lewis' T-shirt has two holes under the left side of his chest where the Taser prongs hit him.
Lewis said he did not see the stun gun.
"My wife said 'we want to leave' and then he just Tasered me," Lewis said. "He caused me to drop the child."
In a statement, the hospital said Lewis was hostile and uncooperative toward staff members who were trying to find out his relationship to the infant when they saw him trying to leave. Neither Lewis or Gray had indicated they wanted a discharge, according to the statement.
"Mr. Lewis became verbally abusive by using vulgar expletives. When Mr. Lewis' behavior became threatening, endangering the infant and employees, licensed law enforcement officers followed their professional standards to protect those involved," the statement said.
Lewis was arrested and charged with endangering a child. A grand jury in May declined to indict him on that charge, but charged him with retaliation, accusing him of making threats against Boling.
Lewis also has been charged with a second count of retaliation alleging he made a threatening call to Boling at his home.
Lewis denies both charges. He said he is considering suing the hospital but has not filed any legal papers.
Houston police spokesman Gabe Ortiz said the department did not investigate the officer's role, and he declined to elaborate. Boling did not immediately respond to a request for comment given to the police department.
Some 11,000 U.S. law enforcement agencies use Tasers, which some experts say are increasingly being used as a convenient labor-saving device to control uncooperative people.
"The Taser itself is a legitimate law-enforcement tool," said Kirkham, the criminologist. "The problem is the abusive use of them. They're supposed to be only used to protect yourself or another person from imminent aggression and physical harm. They're overused now."
___
Associated Press writers Chris Duncan and Monica Rhor contributed to this report.
Link: USA Today
Boy Tasered and killed in Illinois
10/31/2006
JERSEYVILLE, Ill. (AP) — A teenager carrying a Bible and shouting "I want Jesus" was shot twice with a police stun gun and later died at a St. Louis hospital, authorities said.
In a statement obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, police in Jerseyville, about 40 miles north of St. Louis, said 17-year-old Roger Holyfield would not acknowledge officers who approached him and he continued yelling, "I want Jesus."
Police tried to calm the teen, but Holyfield became combative, according to the statement. Officers fired the stun gun at him after he ignored their warnings, then fired again when he continued struggling, police said.
Holyfield was flown to St. Louis' Cardinal Glennon Hospital after the confrontation Saturday; he died there Sunday, police said.
An autopsy was planned for Tuesday.
The statement expressed sympathy to Holyfield's family but said city and police officials would not discuss the matter further.
Calls Tuesday to Jerseyville Police Chief Brad Blackorby were not immediately returned. The department has been using stun guns for about five months, according to the statement.
In a report released in March, international human rights group Amnesty International said it had logged at least 156 deaths across the country in the previous five years related to police stun guns.
The rise in deaths accompanies a marked increase in the number of U.S. law enforcement agencies employing devices made by Taser International Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz. About 1,000 of the nation's 18,000 police agencies used Tasers in 2001; more than 7,000 departments had them last year, according to a government study.
Police had used Tasers more than 70,000 times as of last year, Congress' Government Accountability Office said.
Amnesty International has urged police departments to suspend the use of Tasers pending more study. Taser International said the group's count was flawed and falsely linked deaths to Taser use when there has been no such official conclusion.
The city of St. Louis also drew unwanted attention for crime this week when it was named the most dangerous U.S. city by Morgan Quitno Press. The ranking looked only at crime within St. Louis city limits, not its metro area.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Link: USA Today