Tired of Taser Torture in America? Make a contribution to Tasered While Black

Tasered While Black

Tasered While Black

TODAY!

507 Taser-Related Deaths in the United States Since 2001

Exposing how tasers, when abused, can become a high tech torture instrument. Asking the question should the penalty for resisting arrest be death?

Hat Tip and soul clap to Villager over at Electronic Village for his work to expose taser abuse and torture in te United States.

Villager writes:

According to Amnesty International, between 2001 and 2008, 351 people in the United States died after being shocked by police Tasers. Our blog has documented another 156 taser-related deaths in the United States in 2009-2011. That means there have been 507 documented taser-related deaths in America. Some would say that the police are out-of-control and taser-happy.

This blog has been pointing out incidents of police taser torture for quite awhile. The work done over the past few years by Patti Gillman and Cameron Ward continue to be the inspiration for our work. Gillman and Ward documented over 690 taser-related deaths in North America on their blog.

I wonder if anyone cares about the rising use of the taser as a lethal weapon? The folks in Louisiana want us to believe that the taser is a humanitarian tool when used by the police. The ACLU in Arizona issued a report that showed a disturbing lack of consistency in the taser policy as it applies to pregnant women and children.

I am pleased to report that the citizens of Montpelier, Vermont are pushing back on a proposal by their police chief to purchase taser guns for his 14 police officers!

Read his post on the 507 Taser-Related Deaths in the United States Since 2001 at: Electronic Village.

Alonzo Ashley's Taser Torture Death in Denver

Tasered While Black

Tasered While Black

TODAY!

Black people in Denver are pissed over the killing over a black man in a zoo with a taser by police. As reported by the Denver Post. black religious leaders Saturday questioned how the coroner could rule the death of a man at the Denver Zoo a homicide without any criminal charges being filed.

"There is a lot of concern and a lot of talk about a double standard with law enforcement," said Fidel "Butch" Montoya, founder of the Latino Ministerial Alliance in Greater Metro Denver.

Montoya and several other pastors, including the Rev. Leon Emerson, president of the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance, met with city officials including City Attorney Douglas Friednash on Saturday afternoon at Agape Christian Church.
The meeting came a day after Dr. John Carver of the coroner's office announced that the July 18 death of Alonzo Ashley was a homicide and District Attorney Mitch Morrissey said he would not file criminal charges.


Friednash explained that homicide is one of five terms used to categorize a death — along with suicide, accidental, natural and undetermined — and that it has a different meaning than the legal term homicide.


"We hear the word homicide and it conjures up images," said Friednash. However, it is a medical term and does not address whether actions taken are justified, he said, adding, "I'm disappointed in the use of the term 'homicide' " in Ashley's case."
In an interview Friday, Morrissey said actions taken by police officers, zoo security officers and bystanders to subdue a highly combative Ashley were all justified.


"This clearly is not a homicide under Colorado law," said Morrissey, further explaining that the coroner did not attribute the death to any particular cause. In fact, the autopsy mentions that Ashley's actions contributed to his death, he said.


Ashley died July 18 after an incident in which witnesses said he claimed to be a lion and assaulted zoo staff and police. Officers said Ashley bit them before they stunned him with a Taser. He began convulsing and stopped breathing.

Although invited to the meeting, Morrissey had a prior commitment and said he will meet with the pastors later this week. Read  more at the denverpost.com


Cross posted on African American Pundit blog

Taser Torture in New York

As reported the blog African American Pundit, this blog Tasered While Black and CounterPunch.org, the nyclu.org is reporting that Police officers throughout New York State are consistently misusing and overusing Tasers. Yes, according to a report released today by the New York Civil Liberties Union NY Police have gone taser crazy!



The report, Taking Tasers Seriously: The Need for Better Regulation of Stun Guns in New York, analyzes 851 Taser incident reports from eight police departments across the state as well as 10 departments’ policies and guidelines for using the weapons, which deliver up to 50,000 volts of electricity and have caused the deaths of more than a dozen New Yorkers in recent years.

The NYCLU’s analysis found that an absence of sound policies, training and guidelines to direct the lawful use of Tasers is contributing to the disturbing pattern of misuse and overuse of the weapons and putting New Yorkers at risk.

“Our analysis shows that police officers are using Tasers in inappropriate, irresponsible and downright deadly manner,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman. “This disturbing pattern of misuse and abuse endangers lives. Law enforcement agencies that choose to use Tasers must adopt clear and effective policies governing their use, and they must do so without delay.”
Among the NYCLU’s findings:

• Nearly 60 percent of reported Taser incidents did not meet expert-recommended criteria that limit the weapon’s use to situations where officers can document active aggression or a risk of physical injury.
• Fifteen percent of incident reports indicated clearly inappropriate Taser use, such as officers shocking people who were already handcuffed or restrained.
• Only 15 percent of documented Taser incidents involved people who were armed or who were thought to be armed, belying the myth that Tasers are most frequently used as an alternative to deadly force.
• More than one-third of Taser incidents involved multiple or prolonged shocks, which experts link to an increased risk of injury and death.
• More than a quarter of Taser incidents involved shocks directly to subjects’ chest area, despite explicit warnings by the weapon’s manufacturer that targeting the chest can cause cardiac arrest.
• In 75 percent of incidents, no verbal warnings were reported, despite expert recommendations that verbal warnings precede Taser firings.
• 40 percent of the Taser incidents analyzed involved at-risk subjects, such as children, the elderly, the visibly infirm and individuals who are seriously intoxicated or mentally ill.
• People of color are overwhelmingly represented in Taser incidents. Of all incidents in which race was recorded, 58 percent involved blacks or Latinos.

With the exception of the NYPD’s Taser guidelines, the policies studied do not comply with the recommendations of national law enforcement experts that have developed model policies for Taser use. The vast majority of the law enforcement agencies appear to rely exclusively on training materials provided by TASER International, the weapon’s manufacturer—an approach that experts widely condemn.

Read more at nyclu.org

Hat Tip to the CounterPunch.org for naming Tasered While Black WEBSITE OF THE WEEKEND.

It's up to us to support us!

Videos: Taser Torture of Black Men by Effingham and Powder Springs Police

I have been meaning to report on a number of police taser torture incidents in the color aroused and bigoted state of Georgia.

Take for instance the taser torture at the hands of Georgia’s Effingham Police. 

Police video shows two of their cops sucker punching and attacking a Black man while in his car. Then comes the taser torture!

As reported by The Light NC.com Bernard Wallace was on his way home with brother Calvin Lee, when the police pulled them over on a routine traffic stop. While Lee and Wallace were arguing in the car, the police approached with guns drawn. Lee attempted to drive off while Wallace tried to cooperate. Wallace ended up being tasered and physically attacked by the police officers.


That's not the only incident. Check out this one out of Powder Springs, Georgia:




This one was out of Powder Springs, Georgia. Check this out, police are (so-called) investigating a man's claims that an officer grabbed his genitals and shocked him with a stun gun during a traffic stop, Channel 2 Action News reported last week.

"It was very frightening," 23-year-old Brice Wilson told Channel 2.

As reported by the AJC, Wilson said the officer pulled him over at the intersection of Old Austell Road and Atlanta Street because his license plate light was out. The officer then asked Wilson to step out of his vehicle because he smelled marijuana. Wilson denied having any marijuana and none was ever found, the report said.

After the officer called for backup, the dashcam video of the incident appears to show the officer grabbing Wilson's genitals while searching him. Wilson grabbed the officer's hand before being put into a chokehold and subdued by both officers. The officers said they used a stun gun because Wilson wouldn't be still. Wilson still faces a resisting arrest charge, the report said.

"Once we became aware of the incident we immediately launched an internal affairs investigation," Maj. Matt Boyd told Channel 2.  More HERE

Read more at Tasered While Black and African American Pundit