Showing posts with label Tasered While Black. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tasered While Black. Show all posts
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
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
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
Friday, September 18, 2009
NAACP Joins Fight For Federal Taser Standards
The Publisher of Tasered While Black says: Finally the National Office of the NAACP is discussing the issue of Black folks getting Tasered While Black. We salute the fact that Ben Jealous has joined in this fight. I hope that the National office of the NAACP's new involvement is sincere, and is not just another PR effort that they have been famous for in the past.
Let's see if the NAACP will join the already established effort of the Afrospear and Tasered While Black to gain a Congressional Taser Hearings or will they go it alone, and establish a new effort for PR purposes... Only time will tell.
According to witnesses, the man was surrendering but officials in Rockford, Ill., deny this description of events, saying Mark Anthony Barmore attempted to grab an officer's gun after they cornered him in the church.
However, both sides agree Barmore ran when officers approached him in the church parking lot, highlighting the suspicion and fear that can poison relationships between police and minority communities across the country.
"There are no national standards for the use of force (or) training for use of force," Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, said Sept. 11. MORE HERE
Let's see if the NAACP will join the already established effort of the Afrospear and Tasered While Black to gain a Congressional Taser Hearings or will they go it alone, and establish a new effort for PR purposes... Only time will tell.
Benjamin Jealous
According to witnesses, the man was surrendering but officials in Rockford, Ill., deny this description of events, saying Mark Anthony Barmore attempted to grab an officer's gun after they cornered him in the church.
However, both sides agree Barmore ran when officers approached him in the church parking lot, highlighting the suspicion and fear that can poison relationships between police and minority communities across the country.
"There are no national standards for the use of force (or) training for use of force," Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, said Sept. 11. MORE HERE
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Portland, Oregon Police Department Tasering Mentally Illl and Blacks at High Numbers says report
Tasered While Black publisher says, "This is a damn shame. This report is revealing that 29 percent of people who are the receiving end of force from a police officer are African American. Get this, thirty four percent of people who have a gun pointed at them by a police officer are also black, according to the report.
As reported the Portand Observer, a city auditor report on the use of force by police has drawn mixed reactions from city officials.
The report analyzes data from 2007 through 2008 to provide a snapshot of police use of force in Portland, revealing trends that have garnered praise as wells as alarm.
Complaints concerning the use of force by police are down substantially, from 118 in 2004 to 50 in 2008. The report also showed that Portland police use force in less than one percent of all calls for service and less than five percent of arrests.
However, the report also revealed more disturbing trends.
It revealed that 29 percent of people who are the receiving end of force from a police officer are African American. Thirty four percent of people who have a gun pointed at them by a police officer are also black, according to the report.
The report also concluded that while police are using force on fewer mentally ill suspects overall, their use of Tasers on this population has risen, with 26.4 percent more reports. It notes that people with mental illness tend to be armed more frequently, and more combative.
It also showed disparities in where police use force. Twenty nine percent of all use of force reports were generated in the police bureau's East Precinct, while only 10 percent came from North Precinct.
Forty one percent of all use of force reports were generated by just 15 percent of all officers who submitted more than five use of force reports.
Police Chief Rosie Sizer received a sanguine reception when presenting the report to Portland's Citizen Review Committee, a nine-member panel that helps improve police accountability. The committee was so pleased with the drop in police use of force that there was talking of breaking out champagne glasses, and barely touched on the more negative findings in the report.
"I think this whole effort has been extraordinarily good for the Police Bureau, and it's been extraordinarily good for our relationship with our community," said Sizer, who attributed the drop in use of force to the implementation of recommendations made by a task force in 2007 that called for better training for officers.
The only criticism came from Dan Handelman of Portland Copwatch who pointed out that the bureau had no new recommendations to further improve the Police Bureau's use of force numbers. He also complained that the figures don't count the pointing of a Taser weapon toward a suspect as a police use of force.
Sizer also presented the report to City Council last week.
Mayor Sam Adams raised the issue of the African Americans being disproportionately on the receiving end of force by police, which Sizer said the bureau would continue to look into, which was reinforced by Michael Bingham, the chair of the Citizen Review Committee. More HERE
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As reported the Portand Observer, a city auditor report on the use of force by police has drawn mixed reactions from city officials.
The report analyzes data from 2007 through 2008 to provide a snapshot of police use of force in Portland, revealing trends that have garnered praise as wells as alarm.
Complaints concerning the use of force by police are down substantially, from 118 in 2004 to 50 in 2008. The report also showed that Portland police use force in less than one percent of all calls for service and less than five percent of arrests.
However, the report also revealed more disturbing trends.
It revealed that 29 percent of people who are the receiving end of force from a police officer are African American. Thirty four percent of people who have a gun pointed at them by a police officer are also black, according to the report.
The report also concluded that while police are using force on fewer mentally ill suspects overall, their use of Tasers on this population has risen, with 26.4 percent more reports. It notes that people with mental illness tend to be armed more frequently, and more combative.
It also showed disparities in where police use force. Twenty nine percent of all use of force reports were generated in the police bureau's East Precinct, while only 10 percent came from North Precinct.
Forty one percent of all use of force reports were generated by just 15 percent of all officers who submitted more than five use of force reports.
Police Chief Rosie Sizer received a sanguine reception when presenting the report to Portland's Citizen Review Committee, a nine-member panel that helps improve police accountability. The committee was so pleased with the drop in police use of force that there was talking of breaking out champagne glasses, and barely touched on the more negative findings in the report.
"I think this whole effort has been extraordinarily good for the Police Bureau, and it's been extraordinarily good for our relationship with our community," said Sizer, who attributed the drop in use of force to the implementation of recommendations made by a task force in 2007 that called for better training for officers.
The only criticism came from Dan Handelman of Portland Copwatch who pointed out that the bureau had no new recommendations to further improve the Police Bureau's use of force numbers. He also complained that the figures don't count the pointing of a Taser weapon toward a suspect as a police use of force.
Sizer also presented the report to City Council last week.
Mayor Sam Adams raised the issue of the African Americans being disproportionately on the receiving end of force by police, which Sizer said the bureau would continue to look into, which was reinforced by Michael Bingham, the chair of the Citizen Review Committee. More HERE
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Saturday, May 16, 2009
April Griffin, Tasered While Black, Beaten, and abused ?
Hat Tip to Antoinette over at her new blog, Antoinette's "Point of View," She is reporting on the awful situation of violence against women, in particular as it applies to April Griffin, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Antoinette writes about how "Vice-President Joe Biden's 1994 law for Violence against Women Act does not apply to April Griffin, in Milwaukee" More HERE
April Griffin
![[4aprilgriffinnetwork.jpg]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5cpSdG9c-ny4UxdEvynzwTKsDEX3vwEsmv4rC-BlK7pyBNnqXU2U1HisRiJLxRisHHm9aa4Vu09cg4fz070egVMkPGmAmI37nkSLXOcqUBcZiepXIl0xmeznTOdp-WXU2wJ5K8hfXn0Y/s1600/4aprilgriffinnetwork.jpg)
This is a case that was started over two years ago. It was reported by Diana Sroka in a local newspaper that, "Two weeks after a Milwaukee County judge awarded sole custody of a 10-month-old boy to his father, the child's mother remains jailed for refusing to reveal the baby's whereabouts. April Griffin, 28, of Milwaukee has been in jail since mid-May for contempt for refusing to tell Circuit Judge Michael D. Guolee where to find the baby, Jesse. More HERE
UPDATE: Time on-line has been following the case saying it is "The case of the missing Milwaukee baby, and the mother who chose eight months of jail over joint custody." News accounts were that the baby, malnourished and with two broken bones, has been found, and the mother, 29-year-old April Griffin, is back in jail, only this time she's facing felony charges that could keep here there for four years or more. Blogtalk Radio host Queen Ifama on Blog Talk Radio has been following the case and reports on the status of the case of April GriffinThe Times reports Griffin attracted a legion of supporters last year with her desperate refusal to accept a judge's order that her son's father be given a chance to share custody. She sent the boy into hiding in May 2007 and showed up at the Milwaukee County courthouse and told District Judge Michael Goulee to go ahead and put her in jail. He did just that and sent deputies searching her family members' homes, threatening to arrest anyone found helping hide the child. But as the months passed, nothing changed. Griffin remained in jail, and her son, Jesse Moses Griffin-Sebuliba, remained missing.
When Goulee released Griffin earlier this year, citing her fast-deteriorating health in jail, he did so with a warning. The child, he said, "will be found. And he will be found with someone, and that someone will be charged with a crime." The patience of the law won out in the end. Last Friday night, Milwaukee police, acting on a tip about the location of 2-year-old Jesse, entered an apartment on North Richards Street. They found the boy in his mother's arms.
It's not clear whether she had been living with her son or was only visiting when police arrived. But when they showed up, officers asked Griffin if the boy she was holding was her missing son. She refused to answer, according to a formal complaint filed by the Milwaukee County District Attorney. "The defendant refused to respond or identify the baby boy," according to an affidavit from Milwaukee police detective Christopher Moews. "As he and other officers engaged Griffin in conversation, she began putting clothes on the boy and stated she was going to leave with the child," the complaint reads. She told the detective, "Don't you [expletive deleted] touch me," and attempted to walk past him. "Don't you [expletive deleted] touch my baby."
Police say Griffin then wrapped her arms about Jesse so tightly that they feared for the toddler's safety. "She pulled the baby into her chest like a bear hug. She then turned away from officers while bending over at the waist, turning her body in an attempt to prevent the officers from taking the child." When another officer stepped in, Griffin began swinging back and forth urgently, causing Jesse to begin to cry and his head to lurch violently back and forth, the complaint reads. "The detective was concerned that the baby would not be able to breathe. Using force, he and another officer were able to get the child away from the defendant." At that point, police say, Griffin reached for her purse, and police used a Taser gun and a pepper-spray-like weapon to subdue her. More HERE
AAPP: Sounds like the police and the courts are on the wrong side of the law on this one. the judge in this case seems to be out of control. What do you think?
More links to the story below. The question remains, who beat the baby, the mother of father?
From the Archive: The April Griffin Case Part 1
From the Archive: The April Griffin Case Part 2
Listen to the Tasered While Black Show on Black Talk Radio and BlogTalkRadio
Saturday, November 15, 2008
taser abuse gains international attention
The Villager at Electronic Villager is keeping us up to date on the unfortunate Case study: The Death of Darryl Turner. Villager reports:
Amnesty International is tracking taser abuse as a human rights abuse issue in the United States. Since June 2001, more than 320 individuals in the United States have died after being shocked by police TASERs. Most of those individuals were not carrying a weapon. Amnesty International is concerned that TASERs are being used as tools of routine force -- rather than as an alternative to firearms.
They recently posted a case study about the taser-related death of Darryl Turner.
Hat/Tip and shout out to Villager for always keeping us informed.
Amnesty International is tracking taser abuse as a human rights abuse issue in the United States. Since June 2001, more than 320 individuals in the United States have died after being shocked by police TASERs. Most of those individuals were not carrying a weapon. Amnesty International is concerned that TASERs are being used as tools of routine force -- rather than as an alternative to firearms.They recently posted a case study about the taser-related death of Darryl Turner.
Hat/Tip and shout out to Villager for always keeping us informed.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
16 Year Old Girl Tasered while driving with 74-Year-old
OK, I'm not sure if the victim of the tasing is black or not, but this was truly wrong. What happen to common sense policing? how about calling a relative to come get the 72 year old, and the car, and give the 72 year old a ticket. No that would be too easy.
Get this folks, as reported by chicago breaking news.com a 16-year-old Aurora girl was Tasered Monday by a police officer during a traffic stop after she interfered with an arrest, police said. The teen and the officer who used the Taser were treated for cuts and scrapes to their faces. Why are so many people in the Chicago area getting tased?
Remember the tasing death of the man for drinking a beer
The teen was taken to the Kane County Youth Home after being charged with aggravated battery to a police officer and resisting arrest in connection with the incident that happened about 4:15 p.m. near McCoy Drive and Kautz Road.
The girl was a passenger in a vehicle driven by a 74-year-old relative that was pulled over by police for speeding. The driver was in the process of being arrested for attempting to obstruct justice and not having a valid license when the teen allegedly left the vehicle and physically interfered with the arrest, police said.
The arresting officer Tasered the girl allegedly after she got into a physical altercation with him.
The situation was brought under control after backup officers were called to the scene, police said. The driver was charged with resisting arrest and speeding. Police are not releasing the driver's name in order to protect the identity of the juvenile. More HERE
TWB Publisher: Something just does not smell right. What do you think?
Get this folks, as reported by chicago breaking news.com a 16-year-old Aurora girl was Tasered Monday by a police officer during a traffic stop after she interfered with an arrest, police said. The teen and the officer who used the Taser were treated for cuts and scrapes to their faces. Why are so many people in the Chicago area getting tased?
Remember the tasing death of the man for drinking a beer
The teen was taken to the Kane County Youth Home after being charged with aggravated battery to a police officer and resisting arrest in connection with the incident that happened about 4:15 p.m. near McCoy Drive and Kautz Road.
The girl was a passenger in a vehicle driven by a 74-year-old relative that was pulled over by police for speeding. The driver was in the process of being arrested for attempting to obstruct justice and not having a valid license when the teen allegedly left the vehicle and physically interfered with the arrest, police said.
The arresting officer Tasered the girl allegedly after she got into a physical altercation with him.
The situation was brought under control after backup officers were called to the scene, police said. The driver was charged with resisting arrest and speeding. Police are not releasing the driver's name in order to protect the identity of the juvenile. More HERE
TWB Publisher: Something just does not smell right. What do you think?
The publisher of this blog is also the publisher of African American Political Pundit.com
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
Friday, October 3, 2008
15 Year Old Hurricane Ike Survivor - Tasered While Black By Tyler Texas Police
TWB Publisher Says: What the hell is going on in Tyler Texas?
As reported by KVIA.com As Hurricane Ike blew through Texas last month -- a different kind of storm was brewing inside a former Wal-Mart in Tyler. The site was hastily converted into a shelter for evacuees.
The Associated Press reports the building, which had been vacant for two years, quickly became a cauldron of tension. About 1,600 people were crammed into a structure with a leaky roof, few indoor bathrooms and almost no privacy. Fights soon broke out, and one ended after Tyler police allegedly used pepper spray on dozens of evacuees and a Taser on a 15-year-old boy. Accounts of what happened in the building were drawn from interviews and public records obtained by AP.
Tyler officials stand by their actions, saying they acted properly.
A spokeswoman for Governor Rick Perry says the state provides buses, police and military support, but shelter decisions are made by local officials.
Days before Ike hit the Gulf Coast on September 13th, more than 3,000 Beaumont residents were taken by bus to Tyler.
Tyler had told the state it could accommodate only about half that number. More HERE
The publisher of this blog is also the publisher of African American Political Pundit.com
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
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Differing Black Opinion on Taser Issue
Tasered While Black publisher says: Not all bloggers agree with the "Tasered While Black" issue. Just like the United States does not see it as a weapon of torture as the U.N. does.
Some people don't believe that police do any wrong. Take for an example, the blog Your Black Writers, a blog that says it is a group of Black Writers that get together and share their work.
Well on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 one of the writers wrote about The All-Too-Avoidable Tasing
In the post the writer says: It’s easy for many Blacks to assume the victim posture whenever an “innocent, hard-working, joy-filled, wouldn’t harm a fly” brotha is tased, either during or immediately after some crime has been committed. It would be simple to deried the actions of cops and utter the cry of “electrical sanctioned lynching” or “tased while black” or other myopic nonsense.But here’s the truth, harder and colder than the coroner’s table at the morgue: Follow rules, or get tased. Now, who can’t remember that? Oh yeah: Felonious, belligerent brothas.Hint: If you pretend that you’re deaf, you may receive a 50,000 volt hearing aid for your troubles.Another hard truth: These tasings provide black humor for those such as myself who are normally repulsed by the low comedy of Megroes.
We laugh because in our minds these Megroes deserve every farad of capacitance, every volt of electricity that taser has to offer. They deserve it because we’re tired of Megroes ruining the quality of our lives with their doggerel, their out-dated coonery, their incivility. So when they are tased, we think back to all the times they’ve driven through our hoods at night cranking Soulja Boy at 100 decibels at 2 AM and we exclaim and laugh internally, “Well, you wanted our attention, so here it is!”To all of the cops who righteously tase: Continue to keep the good work up! I’m with you all the way! Keep the laughs coming! Try to tase them until their pants actually come up above their waist! Try to tase their braids out! Tase 'em to a diploma!A Detroit buddy of mine, a cop, recently dealt with a Megro the old-fashioned way: 9 mm bullet to the head. Trust me: there’s no entertainment value there. Only brutal resolution.Lead in one hand, ‘lectricity in the other! Both are excellent conductors in their own right.I’m not saying this to be serious—this is cynical venting here…I don’t wish death upon anyone—but you have to admit there are some glaring common denominators involved here, and it isn’t the seeming sainthood of ghetto-gone-bad brothas, either.
In many of these cases, it’s the celestial convergence of some many secret pinings: spectators thoroughly enjoy the timeless entertainment value of the kinetic Megro getting a 50,000 volt lesson in listening comprehension; a tasee with a life-long death wish being granted one; the actuality of Megroes who have been getting away with metaphorical murder actually being drawn closer to death; weed, alcohol and drugs; cops who have to endure the manure from human debris as a job description finally having a moment of catharsis; frustrated citizens and family members seeing the regrettable yet long-awaited egress of a bad person from their private worlds.If this isn’t win-win, nothing is.As a teacher,
I instruct young people daily in ways to prevent being tased, but you know “urban” kids! Gotta have the last word; he ain’t my daddy—my daddy don’t even tell me what to do; watch me I’m gonna fight back; he bed’not tase me. And so on.Two recent tasings in NC involved brothas. The first brotha, naturally, predictably, was characterized as a hard-working, fun-loving young man getting his life together. It was only after we see video of this Ghandi shoving a display rack behind the manager’s counter and throwing an umbrella at them do we see a more accurate picture of this peacemaker.
The footage was entertaining, but we never saw the tasee writhing on the floor from the effects of the taser. He left with a police officer; he was tased; he later died.They also found weed on him, but that’s not important.The second incident began at a Food Lion, when a brotha tried to leave the store with a cart full of food.
Hundreds of people do just that, but this brotha was "offended" when his debit card didn’t work. So instead of leaving the cart he worked so hard to fill, he felt it necessary to take it with him.Now what’s so unreasonable about that, Food Lion? Ya’ll always effin with a brotha!When the unfeeling, unsympathetic officers caught up with the brotha, lo and behold, he was carrying an Applebee's gift card from the store that hadn't been paid for! Will cops stop setting up brothas for crime they didn’t commit? I mean, after all, the brotha left the food cart in tha parking lot for goodness sake!The brotha was booked for, well, breaking the law and it was somewhere in there, that nebulous grey area of opportunity that brotha became “physically aggressive and was communicating loudly.” After all, isn’t it a birthright for brothas to “swell up” at the po-po?That's when the po-po tased brotha to get him “back under control.”
Brotha never fully recovered from the incident and later died in a local hospital.Of course you realize the duality of this brotha before it’s even mentioned. 1) Previous record(s) and 2) His family maintains an alternate image of this brotha.1) Previous records: Jailed previously – mostly on charges such as possessing marijuana—there’s that weed again, simple assault and misdemeanor larceny, all of which were dropped by a district attorney, according to court documents.
In 1999 and again in 2000, he was found guilty of violating a domestic violence protective order. In 2006, he pleaded guilty to driving while impaired, documents show.2) Alternate image: “He was a very happy, joyful person – the life of the party type of person who lit up a room when he walked in,” said his uncle, Jerry Moore. “Whether he used or had used substances, we don't know.” Davidson's family said they weren't aware of him using or having a problem with drugs or alcohol.So what are some of the rules of engagement?
Rule #1: When the police—you know, the one holding up the law, the one with a baton, pepper spray, Glock and the law on his side—professionally ask you to stop doing something, just stop doing it! I mean, really, how hard is that? Yes, this includes cursing, kicking, swinging wildly, urinating and biting.
Rule #2: If you plan to get high, stay at home, otherwise you are just begging to get tased!
Rule #3: If you have a criminal record, understand you’re a walking taser candidate already.
You’re on borrowed time. Plan around this by having pictures of you looking civilized readily accessible for your funeral program. This goes further than pictures of you standing with your crew flashing signs while smoking a blunt with your baby mama. The civilized picture would actually evoke pity.
Rule #4: Don’t utter certain switch phrases like “I ain’t goin’ out like no punk” or “f--- ya’ll m-----f---- police” or “why don’t you make me spread my legs.”
Rule #5: If you have “locs” and you’re wearing a beater, and you’re saggin’ see rule #3 for the endgame.Rule #6: If you’re attending or have graduated from an alternative high school, you need to know you’re not actually living in an alternate universe. See Rule #5 for your projected endgame.Here’s a lesson for those with half a brain: Do what cops ask you to do THE FIRST TIME and watch your taser potential decrease dramatically. More HERE
Then there is the blog Mirror on America, who recently wrote about Tasers: Not As Simple As Black & White
In that post the blogger wrote: I'm a little torn on the issue of taser use. I have a clear understanding of use-of-force issues from my experience in the God forsaken private security industry and from my college studies. The Taser was adopted as an alternative to pepper spray and the asp, or as sort of a middle ground between the two, designed to be a more effective means of controlling suspects. On one hand, the taser can be an effective law enforcement tool and has been shown to be safe in some studies. On the other hand, high profile deaths, and misuse by police officers have raised too many questions in the last few years.Black bloggers have started a campaign of sorts against the use of tasers. They are looking at this problem through the narrow prism of race, as a Black/White issue. I take more of a middle ground. I have been in situations where I have had to fight & wrestle with suspects and I wished I had a taser. My life and well-being aren't worth putting at risk for the job.I am glad they are raising this issue, although I may not agree with all of their conclusions.
I know the problem of Taser abuse and misuse can't be completely separated from the wider problem of police misconduct and Race, but there have been plenty of people from all stripes who have been victims of taser misuse. Recently they have framed several deaths after police/taser encounters as racially motivated incidents where victims were "tasered to death". While I understand their frustration, these depictions may not be accurate. Framing this problem as a race issue doesn't move the discussion forward.
Race will always dominate the discussion while issues of public policy, improving procedures, and finding solutions will be overshadowed.There are three fundamental problems with how the issue of tasering is being viewed by some bloggers, Black bloggers in particular.1. These cases are clumsily lumped together. But each tasering incident is different....they come with different facts and circumstances and should be looked at individually, free from bias and prejudgment.2. In most cases, suspects do not die from the actual tasering, but they die from some other circumstance, such as known or unknown medical conditions, drugs, a form of trauma, or from a complication of the taser that is not yet well understood (I will come back to that later). But to say in blanket fashion that people are being "tasered to death" is probably inaccurate. In years past, there have actually been more injuries from asps and batons. In fact, a Canadian study found just that- more injuries from batons than from Tasers.
This is a fact that is often missed in the discussion.... many of those who are looking at this issue and who are critical about tasers don't have this important point of reference and therefore many of the discussions lack the proper perspective.3. Many don't consider the acts of the suspects. What events led to the tasering? In most cases, critics are reading newspaper articles or they are getting information from one side. Video may not be available in all cases. Bloggers may be too quick to take the side of the suspect. Critics are not at every scene where a taser is employed, and video is not always sufficient. They are not at these events, yet they make blanket statements as if they were eye witnesses. And they also bring their bias to each event.... (and I point back to item #1... look at the merits of each individual case.).
More HERE
What do you think? Do these two bloggers make valid points?
Some people don't believe that police do any wrong. Take for an example, the blog Your Black Writers, a blog that says it is a group of Black Writers that get together and share their work.
Well on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 one of the writers wrote about The All-Too-Avoidable Tasing
In the post the writer says: It’s easy for many Blacks to assume the victim posture whenever an “innocent, hard-working, joy-filled, wouldn’t harm a fly” brotha is tased, either during or immediately after some crime has been committed. It would be simple to deried the actions of cops and utter the cry of “electrical sanctioned lynching” or “tased while black” or other myopic nonsense.But here’s the truth, harder and colder than the coroner’s table at the morgue: Follow rules, or get tased. Now, who can’t remember that? Oh yeah: Felonious, belligerent brothas.Hint: If you pretend that you’re deaf, you may receive a 50,000 volt hearing aid for your troubles.Another hard truth: These tasings provide black humor for those such as myself who are normally repulsed by the low comedy of Megroes.
We laugh because in our minds these Megroes deserve every farad of capacitance, every volt of electricity that taser has to offer. They deserve it because we’re tired of Megroes ruining the quality of our lives with their doggerel, their out-dated coonery, their incivility. So when they are tased, we think back to all the times they’ve driven through our hoods at night cranking Soulja Boy at 100 decibels at 2 AM and we exclaim and laugh internally, “Well, you wanted our attention, so here it is!”To all of the cops who righteously tase: Continue to keep the good work up! I’m with you all the way! Keep the laughs coming! Try to tase them until their pants actually come up above their waist! Try to tase their braids out! Tase 'em to a diploma!A Detroit buddy of mine, a cop, recently dealt with a Megro the old-fashioned way: 9 mm bullet to the head. Trust me: there’s no entertainment value there. Only brutal resolution.Lead in one hand, ‘lectricity in the other! Both are excellent conductors in their own right.I’m not saying this to be serious—this is cynical venting here…I don’t wish death upon anyone—but you have to admit there are some glaring common denominators involved here, and it isn’t the seeming sainthood of ghetto-gone-bad brothas, either.
In many of these cases, it’s the celestial convergence of some many secret pinings: spectators thoroughly enjoy the timeless entertainment value of the kinetic Megro getting a 50,000 volt lesson in listening comprehension; a tasee with a life-long death wish being granted one; the actuality of Megroes who have been getting away with metaphorical murder actually being drawn closer to death; weed, alcohol and drugs; cops who have to endure the manure from human debris as a job description finally having a moment of catharsis; frustrated citizens and family members seeing the regrettable yet long-awaited egress of a bad person from their private worlds.If this isn’t win-win, nothing is.As a teacher,
I instruct young people daily in ways to prevent being tased, but you know “urban” kids! Gotta have the last word; he ain’t my daddy—my daddy don’t even tell me what to do; watch me I’m gonna fight back; he bed’not tase me. And so on.Two recent tasings in NC involved brothas. The first brotha, naturally, predictably, was characterized as a hard-working, fun-loving young man getting his life together. It was only after we see video of this Ghandi shoving a display rack behind the manager’s counter and throwing an umbrella at them do we see a more accurate picture of this peacemaker.
The footage was entertaining, but we never saw the tasee writhing on the floor from the effects of the taser. He left with a police officer; he was tased; he later died.They also found weed on him, but that’s not important.The second incident began at a Food Lion, when a brotha tried to leave the store with a cart full of food.
Hundreds of people do just that, but this brotha was "offended" when his debit card didn’t work. So instead of leaving the cart he worked so hard to fill, he felt it necessary to take it with him.Now what’s so unreasonable about that, Food Lion? Ya’ll always effin with a brotha!When the unfeeling, unsympathetic officers caught up with the brotha, lo and behold, he was carrying an Applebee's gift card from the store that hadn't been paid for! Will cops stop setting up brothas for crime they didn’t commit? I mean, after all, the brotha left the food cart in tha parking lot for goodness sake!The brotha was booked for, well, breaking the law and it was somewhere in there, that nebulous grey area of opportunity that brotha became “physically aggressive and was communicating loudly.” After all, isn’t it a birthright for brothas to “swell up” at the po-po?That's when the po-po tased brotha to get him “back under control.”
Brotha never fully recovered from the incident and later died in a local hospital.Of course you realize the duality of this brotha before it’s even mentioned. 1) Previous record(s) and 2) His family maintains an alternate image of this brotha.1) Previous records: Jailed previously – mostly on charges such as possessing marijuana—there’s that weed again, simple assault and misdemeanor larceny, all of which were dropped by a district attorney, according to court documents.
In 1999 and again in 2000, he was found guilty of violating a domestic violence protective order. In 2006, he pleaded guilty to driving while impaired, documents show.2) Alternate image: “He was a very happy, joyful person – the life of the party type of person who lit up a room when he walked in,” said his uncle, Jerry Moore. “Whether he used or had used substances, we don't know.” Davidson's family said they weren't aware of him using or having a problem with drugs or alcohol.So what are some of the rules of engagement?
Rule #1: When the police—you know, the one holding up the law, the one with a baton, pepper spray, Glock and the law on his side—professionally ask you to stop doing something, just stop doing it! I mean, really, how hard is that? Yes, this includes cursing, kicking, swinging wildly, urinating and biting.
Rule #2: If you plan to get high, stay at home, otherwise you are just begging to get tased!
Rule #3: If you have a criminal record, understand you’re a walking taser candidate already.
You’re on borrowed time. Plan around this by having pictures of you looking civilized readily accessible for your funeral program. This goes further than pictures of you standing with your crew flashing signs while smoking a blunt with your baby mama. The civilized picture would actually evoke pity.
Rule #4: Don’t utter certain switch phrases like “I ain’t goin’ out like no punk” or “f--- ya’ll m-----f---- police” or “why don’t you make me spread my legs.”
Rule #5: If you have “locs” and you’re wearing a beater, and you’re saggin’ see rule #3 for the endgame.Rule #6: If you’re attending or have graduated from an alternative high school, you need to know you’re not actually living in an alternate universe. See Rule #5 for your projected endgame.Here’s a lesson for those with half a brain: Do what cops ask you to do THE FIRST TIME and watch your taser potential decrease dramatically. More HERE
Then there is the blog Mirror on America, who recently wrote about Tasers: Not As Simple As Black & White
In that post the blogger wrote: I'm a little torn on the issue of taser use. I have a clear understanding of use-of-force issues from my experience in the God forsaken private security industry and from my college studies. The Taser was adopted as an alternative to pepper spray and the asp, or as sort of a middle ground between the two, designed to be a more effective means of controlling suspects. On one hand, the taser can be an effective law enforcement tool and has been shown to be safe in some studies. On the other hand, high profile deaths, and misuse by police officers have raised too many questions in the last few years.Black bloggers have started a campaign of sorts against the use of tasers. They are looking at this problem through the narrow prism of race, as a Black/White issue. I take more of a middle ground. I have been in situations where I have had to fight & wrestle with suspects and I wished I had a taser. My life and well-being aren't worth putting at risk for the job.I am glad they are raising this issue, although I may not agree with all of their conclusions.
I know the problem of Taser abuse and misuse can't be completely separated from the wider problem of police misconduct and Race, but there have been plenty of people from all stripes who have been victims of taser misuse. Recently they have framed several deaths after police/taser encounters as racially motivated incidents where victims were "tasered to death". While I understand their frustration, these depictions may not be accurate. Framing this problem as a race issue doesn't move the discussion forward.
Race will always dominate the discussion while issues of public policy, improving procedures, and finding solutions will be overshadowed.There are three fundamental problems with how the issue of tasering is being viewed by some bloggers, Black bloggers in particular.1. These cases are clumsily lumped together. But each tasering incident is different....they come with different facts and circumstances and should be looked at individually, free from bias and prejudgment.2. In most cases, suspects do not die from the actual tasering, but they die from some other circumstance, such as known or unknown medical conditions, drugs, a form of trauma, or from a complication of the taser that is not yet well understood (I will come back to that later). But to say in blanket fashion that people are being "tasered to death" is probably inaccurate. In years past, there have actually been more injuries from asps and batons. In fact, a Canadian study found just that- more injuries from batons than from Tasers.
This is a fact that is often missed in the discussion.... many of those who are looking at this issue and who are critical about tasers don't have this important point of reference and therefore many of the discussions lack the proper perspective.3. Many don't consider the acts of the suspects. What events led to the tasering? In most cases, critics are reading newspaper articles or they are getting information from one side. Video may not be available in all cases. Bloggers may be too quick to take the side of the suspect. Critics are not at every scene where a taser is employed, and video is not always sufficient. They are not at these events, yet they make blanket statements as if they were eye witnesses. And they also bring their bias to each event.... (and I point back to item #1... look at the merits of each individual case.).
More HERE
What do you think? Do these two bloggers make valid points?
The publisher of this blog is also the publisher of African American Political Pundit.com
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
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