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.
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
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