| ||||||||||||
Judge, Jury and Executioner
FREDERICK COUNTY, MD - Investigators still don't know why a young Frederick man died after a deputy used a taser on him. However, they do know more about just what happened that night and what condition the man was in.
The sheriff of Frederick County says Jarrell Gray was legally drunk when a deputy used a taser on him. He later died at the hospital.
"I can only say I believe it would probably have an effect on the system somehow. Is it a direct contributor to Mr. Gray's death, I don't know that."
Amnesty International blames dozens of deaths on police use of stun guns.
Sheriff Jenkins also released the name of the deputy. Corporal Rudy Torres is a 13 year veteran of the force. He responded to Gresham Court East after reports of a large fight.
Sheriff Jenkins adds, "We received four 911 calls coming from Gresham Court East regarding the fight. Some of those comments were 'There's pushing and shoving,' They're falling on cars,' 'They're taking their shirts off.'"
Corporal Torres ordered the four people fighting to show their hands. When Gray didn't listen he was tased while standing.
"For 23 seconds, Corporal Torres continues to give Mr. Gray commands to show his hands before he administers the second shock. The second shock does occur when Mr. Gray is on the ground, there's no disputing that," Sheriff Jenkins says. More HERE
WaPo reports, It is the first incident in the county in which the use of a Taser might have resulted in someone's death, according to Bailey. She said Taser use by the sheriff's office has consistently risen: Stun guns were deployed 12 times in 2005 and 24 times in 2006. Yesterday's incident was the 26th time this year in which a Taser was used by sheriff's deputies, she said.
