Watch Out for Charlotte/Mecklenburg Police, You Could Get Tasered

As reported by the website, Best Stun Gun.com, Last year police officers in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg reportedly used Tasers about seven times more frequently than for pepper spray.

In 2007 they used stun guns about 140 times. During the same time frame they used pepper spray only about 20 times.

Due to three Taser-related deaths in recent cases, the devices and their usage are being studied. Current data indicates that this is the third year in which Taser usage has been stepped up as pepper spray has gone down.

Although pepper spray has been used by local authorities since the 1970s, its usage has decreased largely because of the limitations. On the other hand, law enforcement professionals prefer Tasers because they are both safe and effective when needed to bring an end to dangerous situations.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Deputy Chief Ken Miller met with the Police department committee to begin investigating the Taser usage increase. Their plan is to analyze the written accounts of each incident in an effort to figure out why individual officers chose Tasers instead of any of several other options. Read More HERE

The publisher of this blog is also the publisher of African American Political Pundit.com

Tasered While Black.

We are not against taser use as an alternative to deadly force. We are however against taser abuse by police who would use of a taser on the young, elderly, pregnant or physically frail; people offering passive, rather than active resistance; and restrained prisoners.

The publisher of this blog is available to conduct presentations on the issue of taser use for police agencies, governmental bodies, and groups in the U.S. and abroad.

Contact him via email at: tasedwhileblack@gmail.com

Release the surveillance videotape - Stop The Coverup! Why did the 17-year-old Black Kid Bagging Groceries have to die?

The Publisher of Tasered While Black agrees with The Charlotte Observer

Why hide details of probe into police Taser death?

Give public the information needed to evaluate response.
Source: The Charlotte Observer

Here's what we know about how 17-year-old Darryl Wayne Turner died: He had cardiac arrest after a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer shot him with a Taser gun.

Yet what we don't know about that shooting is just as important. Police and prosecutors should say how many times Mr. Turner was shot and make public a surveillance videotape that captured much of the confrontation. That's the only way to settle questions about what happened.

Prosecutors announced last week that Police Officer Jerry Dawson acted appropriately when he shocked Mr. Turner during a March confrontation at a north Charlotte grocery store. Officials said Mr. Turner was shocked more than once after he advanced on the officer.

Yet police and prosecutors have refused to reveal how many times the officer shot Mr. Turner and refused to air a videotape that showed what happened leading up to the shooting.

That secrecy doesn't make sense. If the investigation cleared the officer, those key details would only reinforce that finding.

For one thing, knowing how many times Mr. Turner was shot gives the public a way to evaluate the officer's response in light of some disturbing facts.

A June study by the U.S. Department of Justice reviewed Taser deaths and found that many of them are associated with repeated shocks. It cautioned law enforcement agencies against repeated shockings, saying the medical risks are unknown.

Mr. Turner's autopsy showed the teen's heart was pumping so fast and chaotically from the Taser shot and the confrontation that it stopped pumping blood properly.

In addition, sharing the surveillance video with the public would resolve conflicting accounts of what it shows. A lawyer representing Mr. Turner's family has viewed videotape. He disputes the police account that Mr. Turner walked or advanced aggressively toward the officer before he was shot. More HERE

AARP also tracking story of black 17 year old tasering death

Even the American Association of Retired People (AARP) are tracking how Police, DA silent on Taser death Officials won't say how often a 17-year-old was shocked.

Jul. 11, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Police and prosecutors are refusing to reveal how many times 17-year-old Darryl Wayne Turner was shocked with a Taser gun before he died.

Prosecutors announced this week that Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Officer Jerry Dawson acted appropriately when he shocked Turner during a March confrontation at a north Charlotte grocery store. Prosecutors said only that Turner was shocked more than once after he advanced on the officer during a fight with store managers.

District Attorney Peter Gilchrist has refused to spell out how many times the teen was shocked, saying he does not release such details from investigative files to the public.

Police and prosecutors also have refused to make public a videotape that captured much of the confrontation at the Food Lion (NYSE:DEG) where Turner worked.

"We would like to have all of the information about what happened to Darryl," his mother, Tammy Fontenot, said Thursday. "We definitely want to know the information about how the Taser was used. I think it is important that we know exactly how Darryl died."

Turner family attorney Ken Harris has seen the video and disputes prosecutors' claim that the use of force was appropriate.

"Based on our review of the videotape evidence, we strongly disagree with any suggestion that Mr. Turner walked or advanced in an aggressive manner towards the officer prior to being tased," Harris said.

Across the country, more than 275 people struck by stun guns died over six years ending last September, according to Amnesty International USA.

Studies suggest that multiple stun gun shocks might increase the risk of serious injury.

One study, by the N.C. Taser Safety Project, found that at least three of six people who died in North Carolina after being shocked in 2006 and 2007 had been shocked multiple times.

Stun gun deaths have prompted critics nationally to demand more study and stronger regulation of the weapons, now in use by thousands of law enforcement agencies. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed over the deaths. Last month, a federal jury held Taser International (NASDAQ:TASR) responsible for the death of a California man who was repeatedly shocked, awarding his family $6 million. The decision was the first time the company was held liable.

More HERE.

Black Teenager's Killed - Heart Stopped After Being Tased

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As reported by wral.com and the Charlotte Observer- An autopsy has determined that a teen who died after he was shocked with a Taser by a police officer four months ago suffered cardiac arrest. Turner had worked as a cashier and bagged groceries at the Food Lion store. he got into an argument with the manager, police were called and he was tased to death.

Daryl Wayne Turner killed by Police Officer
Because he argued with his supervisor

The Charlotte Observer obtained the autopsy report Friday. It found the Taser shot and the stress from the incident caused 17-year-old Darryl Wayne Turner's heart to beat so wildly that it stopped pumping blood.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say they were called to the grocery story Turner worked at on March 20 because he was arguing with his manager.

The officer says he fired the Taser at Turned because the teen was ignoring commands and moving toward him.

Turner is the first person to die after being shot by a taser by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg officer.