Jury Awards 10 Million against Taser International for Death of Darryl Wayne Turner

It's been a long time since updating this website. We apologize for the time lapse in our reporting of the hundreds of Taser Tortures in America.

At this time we have to give a big shout out and soul clap to the family of the late Darryl Wayne Turner, who was killed by a Taser shock that was fired by a police officer in 2008. We are thankful that the family filed a lawsuit against the Taser maker, Taser International back on Tuesday, March 16, 2010.  The good news, They Won! In the name of their late son Darryl Wayne Turner.

Yes, a North Carolina jury has awarded $10 million in a wrongful death lawsuit against Taser International, Inc., which was filed by the family of a teen who died after being shocked with a Taser stun gun.

The complaint was brought by Devoid Turner and Tammy Lou Fontenot, the parents of Darryl Turner, who was 17 when he died in a supermarket in Charlotte after being shot in the chest by a Taser Model X26 electronic control device on March 20, 2008.

According to the Taser death lawsuit, the manufacturer was negligent in failing to warn law enforcement that shooting their stun gun weapons into the chest of a subject could cause cardiac arrest.

Following trial in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, a federal jury awarded $10 million in damages. More HERE

Tasered While Black gives a big shout out to electronic village, and bloggers like, the police brutality blog, Pam’s House Blend, Excited-Delirium, Electronic Village, African American Pundit, BlackPerspective.net, Tasered While Black, TheDuckShoot.com/blog, From My Brown Eyed View, All About Race, Black Women In Europe. blog, Antoinette’s “Point of View”, Inteligentaindigena Novajoservo, HateCrimeWatch, MyBlackView, A Lovely Promise, The Unapologetic Mexican, This Blk Sistas Page, TNT – Truth … not tasers, Carole Mcdonnell Blog, and Eddie G. Griffin (BASG), who all have covered this unfortunate loss of life as this blog has for many years.

More Background:

Darryl Turner died after a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officer shot him with his Taser in an attempt subdue him.  The officer used the Taser to stun Turner for 37 seconds, after which he ceased moving. The officer stunned the unresponsive Turner again for five more seconds for refusing to put his hands behind his back. According to testimony by the Mecklenburg County medical examiner, Turner was not on drugs nor did he have any signs of heart disease prior to the incident.

The lawsuit contended that Taser International did not warn its users that if a person is Tased near the chest that the outcome could be lethal. The suit centers around Darryl Wayne Turner, 17, who was killed on March 20, 2008 after being shocked by a police officer at a Food Lion store, where Turner had worked, located at Posterity Church Road. Police officials were reportedly called to the store after a Food Lion store manager asked him to leave and he refused.

An autopsy revealed that the 17-year-old’s “heart was pumping so fast and chaotically from the stress of the confrontation and the Taser shot that it stopped pumping blood properly.” An investigation determined that Dawson violated the department’s policy by holding the trigger of the Taser for 37 seconds. Dawson was subsequently suspended for five days without pay and had to complete extra training. Turner’s family received $625,000 from the city of Charlotte in August, in which the city did not admit any wrongdoing. The payout was the largest police-related claim the city has had in 10-years. Read more at Legal News Reporter: Nicole Howley-Legal news for personal injury lawyers.

It's up to us to support us!

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.