Billey Joe Johnson and Mississippi Justice

OK, This case is not about the Tasering. But it so so bad, that I had to post it on this blog.


Why are black bloggers, the afrospear, the afrosphere, black news outlets, black media, Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights, Progressive White Bloggers, Black Journalist, Black Investigative Reporters, Old School Civil Rights Icons, Black Activist, The National office of the NAACP and yes, major news outlets not talking about or investigating the death of  Billey Joe Johnson, Jr.? 


Why is the U.S. Department of justice not investigating this 21st century Civil Rights Crime or better yet, human rights crime? Maybe if the family of Billey Joe Johnson had an open casket, and Jet Magazine had a copy of the photo in its magazine people would have been outraged. Yes, maybe a public funeral service with an open casket to show the world the brutality of the killing would have worked. But that didn't happen, there was not tens of thousands attending Billey Joe Johnson's funeral or viewing his casket and images of his mutilated body were not published in black magazines, black blogs and black newspapers. No, no rallying black support and white sympathy across the US for Billey Joe Johnson.


OK, well act like this picture is a picture of Billey Joe Johnson and not Emitt Till. But it's not 1955, this happened, yes, again in Mississippi in 2009. 



































This gruesome photo of Emmett Till helped spark the civil rights movement. It demonstrated the brutality of southern violence towards African-Americans, and created outrage across the nation. Emmett's mother, Mamie, insisted at his funeral that he be given an open-casket, so others could see what they had done to her boy. Photo Courtesy of the Chicago Defender

Today in Lucedale, Mississippi, hundreds of concerned citizens and community advocates rallied at the George County Courthouse to echo calls for the Department of Justice to bring charges in the death of Billey Joe Johnson, Jr. 

You remember the case of Billey Joe Johnson, Jr. REWIND  Feb 13, 2009, I reported about the case of Billy Joe Johnson on this blog. Here is what I reported back in 2009:

Billy Joe Johnson - A Foul Play? The Killing of Billy Joe Johnson in Mississippi

UPDATE: The Killing of Billey Joe Johnson in Mississippi

You remember the story about Billy Joe Johnson, star running back for George County High, Mississippi, who died on a December morning in deep Mississippi alleged by a "self-inflicted" gunshot wound during a traffic stop.

As reported by NCAA Foot Ball Fan House Billy Joe Johnson was considered one of the top high school football recruits in Mississippi, as well as the country, until his shocking death early Monday morning.

Johnson, hailing from Jackson, Miss., rushed for more than 1,500 yards his last season, totaling over 4,000 for his career, and received scholarship offers from a number of major schools including Alabama, LSU and Mississippi as a top-rated recruit by both Scout and Rivals.

Johnson died of a (possibly self-inflicted) gun wound early Monday after being pulled by a sheriff's deputy. (UPDATE: The NCAAP, in an independent investigation, has ruled out suicide as the cause of death.)

It's not clear why 17-year-old Billey Joe Johnson was stopped in Lucedale, but authorities say the junior tailback shot himself with a shotgun after the deputy walked back to the patrol car to run a license check.

"The deputy was sitting in his patrol vehicle ... when he heard a gunshot and saw the victim laying on the ground by the driver's side door of the vehicle that Johnson was driving. A shotgun was lying on the victim," according to a statement from the George County Sheriff's Department.

Authorities would not immediately say whether they believed the shooting was a suicide or an accident.

The last portion of that quote is particularly perplexing, because it is hard to believe that Johnson would have attempted to pull a shotgun on police officers ...although equally confounding is the notion that Johnson would kill himself at what, according to all current reports, appears to be a basic traffic stop.

Nothing is ever certain, but this story appears to be so odd, at least in the manner of death, that it would be even more shocking if further details didn't at least emerge as to why the young man apparently panicked and pulled a gun that resulted in the tragic and early end to his life. More MORE

Many in the black community suspect foul play.



Billey Joe Johnson Sr. has a difficult time accepting the police department’s explanation of his son’s death. “They must have tortured my baby,” he says.

(Dan Wetzel/Yahoo! Sports)

As reported by yahoo sports local authorities stopped Billey Joe for a traffic violation on the morning of Dec. 8, and they say the truck is simply the site of a terrible tragedy. But to the elder Johnson, it’s a crime scene. Nearly two months later, only one fact is certain: Instead of running out of George County as a football hero, Billey Joe was buried beneath it at the age of 17.

---

The George County Sheriff’s Department claims that on that fateful morning, Billey Joe attempted to break into the home of an on-again, off-again girlfriend in the nearby city of Lucedale. According to the sheriff’s department, he left the scene and ran a red light at 5:34 a.m. After a 1½-mile pursuit, Billey Joe got out of his truck, met sheriff’s deputy Joe Sullivan and handed over his license. Then Billey Joe returned to his truck, put a 12-gauge shotgun he used to target deer to his head and committed suicide. It was 5:40 a.m.

Sullivan’s patrol car was not equipped with a camera, and his is the only account of the event. Billey Joe’s friends and family don’t believe the story.

Billey Joe was black. Sullivan is white. The case, as such, is shrouded by race in this small community in the Deep South. Everyone wants answers. No one is getting them. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the local district attorney – the two bodies in charge of the case – have issued neither a ruling nor many pertinent details.

Tony Lawrence, the district attorney running the state’s investigation, met with the family Dec. 19 and urged patience.

“I have said from the beginning that this investigation will be exhaustive and not based on any timeline other than that which leads to the truth,” Lawrence said at the time. His office declined further comment this week.

With no answers and a state investigation that is dragging on, the region has descended into a cauldron of speculation, suspicion and conspiracy. Theories are easy to find, the truth all but impossible.

Johnson fixates on the truck that is stained with what is left of his son. The day after the incident, police returned it to the family as is. Rather than wash it, junk it or sell it, Johnson keeps it in a garage, driving it out to re-examine. He stares at it. He imagines his son.

He’s convinced someone forced Billey Joe on his knees, shoved the shotgun barrel in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

“They must’ve tortured my baby,” Johnson says.

---

Here is what the police say about Billey Joe’s death: During a routine traffic stop, Billey Joe Johnson Jr. shot himself in the head.

Billey Joe’s truck had notes from multiple female admirers, and his friends said he enjoyed the attention offered to a star athlete. He’d already run for 4,000 yards in his high school career and helped make George County a state powerhouse. Everyone knew him. Many wanted to be with him.

One girl, whom Yahoo! Sports will not name since she is a minor, had been around the longest. It was a typical high school relationship – “they’d break up every day and then get back together,” said one of his friends, Drew Bradley. The fact that she was white bothered some people.

“It’s George County, it’s a little Southern town,” said Bradley, who is white. “You’ve got a bunch of racist people down here. You have people who hated on them because it was black and white.”

Timeline

The alleged timeline of events on Monday, Dec. 8, 2008, leading up to the death of Billey Joe Johnson:

4:30 a.m. – Billey Joe Johnson Sr. hears his son showering and preparing to leave the family’s Benndale, Miss. residence. He believes his son plans to go hunting before heading to school.

5:34 a.m. – George County Sheriff’s Deputy Joe Sullivan witnesses Billey Joe Johnson’s maroon Chevy Silverado run a red light at the corner of Church Street and Winter Street. He pursues the truck with his blue lights flashing and witnesses the truck running a stop sign at the 4-way stop of Winter Street and Old Highway 63.

5:37 a.m. – The Lucedale Police Department receives a 911 call from Esther Parker, who says her daughter called her and informed her that someone was attempting to break into a trailer where her daughter and ex-husband were living. Parker informs the LPD that her daughter is home alone.

5:39 a.m. – After a pursuit of nearly 1½ miles, Sheriff’s Deputy Sullivan witnesses the truck pulling into a service entrance near Benndale Carpet. Billey Joe Johnson exits the truck and informs Deputy Sullivan that he was on the way home “because his mother was sick”. Deputy Sullivan takes his license and instructs Johnson to return to his vehicle.

5:40 a.m. – While attempting to call in the license number, Deputy Sullivan informs dispatch that Johnson has shot himself and requests assistance.

5:40 a.m. – LPD Sgt. James O’Neal arrives at the trailer and secures the perimeter. He makes contact with Parker’s daughter, who informs him that the person who attempted to enter the residence was Billey Joe Johnson Jr. She says Johnson left before police arrived, but that she would like to go to the police station and “sign charges” against him.

5:48 a.m. – LPD Sgt. O’Neal departs for the police department, following Parker and her daughter in a separate vehicle. While in transit, he is informed by dispatch that Johnson had shot himself at service road near Benndale Carpet.

5:50 a.m. – LPD Sgt. O’Neal arrives at Benndale Carpet, where he observes the vehicle of deputy Sullivan as well as Johnson’s maroon Silverado, which is parked with the door open. As he pulls forward to make room for the pending arrival of an ambulance, O’Neal observes Johnson lying on his back on the ground, with his head pointed away from the open door of vehicle. Sgt. O’Neal observes a shotgun on top of Johnson’s body, and blood on the ground around his head.

5:55 a.m. – Paramedics arrive on scene. Dispatch is informed that Johnson is DOA.

More HERE

UPDATE: Get this, A grand jury has ruled that his death was accidental. Many in the black community, including this AAPP still suspect foul play. What do you think?

AAP: That was then, thisis now: FAST FORWARD TO TODAY, Family members rallied hoping to encourage witnesses to come forward with evidence and testimony.  Billey Joe Johnson, Jr. was the highly recruited football star from Benndale, MS who was mysteriously killed during a traffic stop with a George County Sheriff’s deputy on December 8, 2008.  Even after independent investigations raised serious questions about the plausibility of Johnson’s wounds being self-inflicted, the local justice system ruled this incident an accident and charges have yet to be brought. READ MORE HERE

Community members are renewing their efforts because Johnson’s death and subsequent investigations leave more questions than answers.  Given the long history of corruption and cover-ups in George County law enforcement, many community members feel law enforcement and the District Attorney’s office colluded to execute a wide spread cover-up.  Community members also point to what they call a pattern of racial profiling and the use of fear and intimidation on behalf of law enforcement.  “Law enforcement’s investigation left a lot of holes and many of us believe there was foul play.  Because of the amount of discrimination we experience every day, we have little faith in the local justice system,” said Mr. Bobby Perryman of Immaculate Heart Community Development Corporation.

Johnson’s family calls on the Lucedale community to come forward with information about the case and believe many have stayed quiet for fear of retribution or being shunned by friends and family members.  “Nobody wants to tell on their neighbor, but the fact is that a young man was killed and his family and this community need closure,” said Pastor Garrett of Prince Garrett Ministries.  George County is a very small community and is still very segregated.  A few large families and their extended networks own most of the businesses and play influential roles in city and county government.  George County, where the incident occurred, is 89% white with very few Black residents. “We know there are good folks in George County who have knowledge about the incident.  We know you are afraid but we need you to come forward.  Black or white - none of us are free when there is a suspicion of murder,” Garrett added. 

“We are tired of the corruption, the cover-ups and the abuse we suffer at the hands of police,” said Ms. Lucy Wilson, President of the Human Rights Taskforce of George County.  The Human Rights Taskforce is one of key local organizations calling for the event.  It was established as a result of the travesty of justice felt by many around the Johnson case as well as growing tensions between the Black community and law enforcement.  The event is co- sponsored by George County Human Rights Taskforce, Immaculate Heart Community Development Corporation, George County NAACP, and American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi.

Caravans of concerned citizens traveled from Atlanta, Jackson, Mobile and New Orleans.  Speakers at the event include Ms. Nsombi Lambright, Executive Director of the ACLU-MS, Ms. Lucy Wilson, President of the George County Human Rights Taskforce and a spokesperson for Billey Joe Johnson, Jr.’s family.


AAP says: I'm glad the family is taking a stand. Don't you think it's time America did? It's time for the Justice Department to get involved. That's my thought. Write the U.S. Attorney General and President Barack Obama, and let them both know how you feel.

Tasered While Black

Tasered While Black

TODAY!

Teen with Mind of 7 or 5-year-old Tasered To Death

Patrick Johnson, who had mental-health problems, died after being hit by Taser cartridges during a confrontation with police on Souder Street (background).

Get this, according to ABC Local News, and Philly.com, 18-year-old Patrick Johnson, a graduate of Our Lady of Confidence day school, was known in the neighborhood as 'stick boy' because he was always playing or waving some kind of stick. "He's severely retarded. He was having a tantrum and my grandmother couldn't handle him, so she called the police," the teen's cousin Michelle Rynkiewicz said. Rynkiewicz says Johnson had the mind of a 7 or 5-year-old. Relatives say Johnson had a history of volatile behavior and fits of anger and there was never a warning light that went off before it happened. "Very big strong boy and then when he gets excited, the adrenaline pops up and he goes into a rage.

I thought I had him under control, but I guess I didn't," Patrick's stepfather Steve Zielinksi said. Just before 12:30 p.m. Thursday on the 6900 block Souder Street, relatives say Johnson's grandmother caught him trying to light sticks on fire on the kitchen stove and was having a tough time trying to get him to stop.

"He was having a tantrum and my grandmother couldn't handle him so she called police to come out," Rynkiewicz said. Meanwhile, the stepfather says he tried to stop him.

"I got him, pinned his arms behind his back, he broke out. By that time, the cops were here. The cops told him four times to drop the sticks or they were going to Tase him. He lunged at the cops and they Tased him," Zielinksi said.


Zielinski says Johnson then broke through a basement door that was locked, ran down the steps and collapsed. He was rushed to Nazareth Hospital where he later died.


"I can't believe he's gone," Zielinksi said.


Tasers have become a tool that more law enforcement agencies have come to rely on. Every time an officer pulls the trigger, 50,000 volts are injected into the target. More HERE

We usaully cover incidents involving the tasering of black folks, but this one has to be reported, even though the person killed was not black.

It's up to us to support us!

103 taser-related deaths in the United States in 2009-2010

103 Taser-Related Deaths in the United States

The publisher of the blog Electronic Village has been pointing out incidents of police taser torture for quite awhile. Electronic Village says: "The work done over the past few years by Patti Gillman and Cameron Ward continue to be the inspiration for our work." Gillman and Ward documented over 500 taser-related deaths in North America on their blog. The publisher of Tasered While Black agrees. Patti Gillman and Cameron Ward are truly an inspiration.

According to Amnesty International, between 2001 and 2008, 351 people in the United States died after being shocked by police Tasers.  Electronic Village has documented 103 taser-related deaths in the United States in 2009-2010

Read more HERE

Taser Torture Freddie Lockett

As reported Villager at the blog Electronic Village, It has happened again. Freddie Lockett, 30, electrocuted to death by taser fire from an unidentifed Dallas police officers. The man was trying to flee police officers who were answering a robbery call earlier today.

According to a police incident report, a man told officers he was sitting inside his vehicle at a gas station in the 2900 block of South Westmoreland around 4 a.m. Saturday morning when Lockett approached the car and asked for money. The man in his car said he didn’t have any money and began to roll up the driver’s side window.

That’s when the driver said Lockett opened the door and started punching him in the face. Afraid, the victim told officers he crawled across his car and got out using the passenger side door. He ran inside the gas station and asked for someone to call police.

While he was in the store, he said the suspect went into his car and took his cell phone. Police said when they got to the area, they saw a man matching the description of the suspect. When they tried to talk to him, he ran away; but officers were able to catch up to him.  More HERE

Taser Torture Memorial Creators Under Fire!

Church shows leadership on issue of Taser Torture in America. 

Memorial with crosses at New Mount Calvary Baptist Church represent people killed by a Taser torture in America. 

Special to the Star-Telegram/Richard W. Rodriguez

As reported by the Star-Telegram.com each of more than 450 crosses outside New Mount Calvary Baptist Church represents a person who was killed by a shock from a Taser, according to a sign announcing the National Taser Memorial. 

 

Some people who live nearby said it looks more like a cemetery. And they want it dismantled. 

City code compliance officers who visited this week left without issuing the church or its pastor a citation, a city official said. 

Highland Hills Neighborhood Association members acknowledge that the city may be restricted in regulating the number of crosses that a church can have on its property, but still, they want their objections noted. 

"I don't think that our neighborhood should have something in it that looks like a national cemetery," said Laura Meeks, beautification chairwoman and past president of the association. 

"It really does not say anything good about our neighborhood." 

The memorial was established in January at the church in the 5800 block of Oak Grove Road in far south Fort Worth. A large cross bears the name of Michael Jacobs Jr., a mentally challenged man who died in April 2009 after a Fort Worth police officer used a Taser on him for nearly a minute. 

The city of Fort Worth settled a lawsuit with the Jacobs family for $2 million in May after the Tarrant County medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.

"I really think the big boys downtown do not want this symbol of the $2 million settlement that they had to pay to remain," the Rev. Thomas Franklin, pastor of New Mount Calvary, said Friday. 

But Eunice Givens, president of the neighborhood association, said neighbors object to the clutter the memorial brings to the neighborhood.

"We are trying to clean the community up," she said. "We are out here trying to encourage folks to keep their community clean. And instead of [Franklin] trying to improve the community, he's adding something that takes away from our efforts.

"If he was concerned about others in this community, he would never have put it up. It creates a bad image for our community."

Franklin said that in Louisiana, where he is from, members got a burial plot when they joined a church. The memorial is neat and the grass is cut, he said.

"There are almost 500 people who have been tortured to death by Taser devices, not counting the ones who have been wounded," Franklin said.

"This is our way of showing our respect for those families and showing that someone really cares." 

Kyev Tatum, president of the Tarrant County chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, who helped create the memorial, said the Police Department makes the point that Tasers save lives, but the memorial shows that Tasers kill people."The memorial makes such a powerful statement," Tatum said.

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/08/06/2389795/some-neighbors-want-crosses-representing.html#ixzz0vwhbGkty

UPDATE: Community leaders and human rights advocates from across the country are being urged to come out to support Pastor Tom Franklin at the Community Empowerment Service on Sunday, August 15, 2010 at 3:00pm at the New Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church 5800 Oak Grove Road, North, Fort Worth, Texas 76134. 

The government tried to tax and take his Church for twenty years, starting in 1988, they are trying to steal his historic house, and now they are trying to make him dismantle one of the most powerful memorials in world for people who have been victimized by police officers taser abuse. 

Your support is encouraged. 

CONTACT and SUPPORT Pastor Tom Franklin at 817-298-2394 or frenklinart@aol.com

Pregnant Black Woman "Tasered While Black"

H/T to Villager of at Electronic Village for following the horror of the tasering of a Pregnant black Woman by the California Highway Patrol.

Did a California Highway Patrol officer violate the department's own policy on Taser use?

Tanisha Black was seven months pregnant. I don't imagine that she ever thought that she would feel 50,000 volts of electricity being shot through her body. Tanisha learned a lesson that was already taught to Valreca Redden.

Tanisha Black of Union City and her 3-year old son were pulled over by a CHP officer. [SOURCE]

"He says I am pulling you over because you were on your cell phone," Black recalled

.But that wasn't all. Unbeknownst to her she said her driver's license had been suspended because she missed a court appearance on traffic tickets. And so, Black said the officer told her, "I am going to tow the vehicle because your license is suspended as well and I need your keys." More HERE

Clarence Thomas' Nephew Tasered While Epileptic

Talk about High Tech Lynching...

A New Orleans TV station, USA Today, The Washington Post, Democratic Underground, Tasered Nation along with alternative news outlets are reporting that hospital security beat down Clarence Thomas' Suicidal, Epileptic Nephew. Ouch!

The nephew, Derek Thomas, is epileptic and suffered a seizure after being stunned, his family told ABC-affiliate WGNO.

He was taken to West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero after a possible suicide attempt yesterday. His family said that after he refused to put on a gown, guards punched him in the lip, grabbed his hair and shocked him.

The family said doctors knew Thomas is epileptic but directed that he be stunned to restrain him. No comment from the hospital so far.

The station says Justice Thomas is expected to travel to New Orleans "as soon as possible." 

OMG, maybe the tasering of Americans will get some attention now that  nephew of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been tortured with a taser. 

Bloggers such as, Pam's  House Blend, The Afrospear, The Police Brutality Blog,  Tasered While Black,  Hullabaloo, Tasered Nation, Electronic Village,Wonkette, Black Women in Europe™  Blog, THE  INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY,Jack and Jill Politics, Electrocuted While Black, and a number of other bloggers have been paying close attention to the issue of Taser Torture for many years. 

It's too bad Clarence Thomas was not concerned , until now...

When I tried to get the conversation about taser abuse going at the so-called liberal blog, the Daily Kos.. there was limited concern until the nephew of Clarence Thomas got tasered. I guess it news worthy for now.

2010: 60 Taser-Related Deaths in the United States since the beginning of last year.

Villager, at Electronic Village is tracking Taser Deaths in America.  Another black man dead by taser torture. As reported by electronic Village, there were 60 Taser-Related Deaths in the United States since the beginning of last year.

Villager, Publisher of Electronic Village says: "We have tracked taser-related deaths in the United States since January 1, 2009. Today we added Delano Smith (Elkhart, IN) as the 60th victim on our list."

 

Villager went on to say: "America's police force is killing people on a weekly basis with taser guns. There are not many states in the nation who have not been involved in a taser-related death this year. Tasers are now deployed in law enforcement agencies in 29 of the 33 largest U.S. cities."  Read More HERE

Shocking Pain: Limiting Police Taser Abuse

Here is a great post on the whole tasering issue. I'm glad international anti-taser activist, Francis Holland is working on the Tasers and Miranda rights issue.

HatTip to Colin Starger

 

Colin Starger writes: If pop culture were your only guide, you'd probably think that tasers are hilarious. Scenes of hapless souls squirming after being "tased" often play with a laugh track in Hollywood comedies. Real-world taser bloopers get thousands of hits on on the net. These images, however, are deeply deceptive. Tasers actually cause excruciating pain and police abuse of the weapon is a deadly serious problem. For this reason, I welcome the recent federal civil rights ruling that may help reform police taser policies.

The federal case arose out of a particular encounter in California between a police officer and a motorist during a traffic stop for a seat belt violation. The driver, Carl Bryan, was unarmed and indeed wore only boxer shorts and tennis shoes. Bryan was agitated, upset, and muttering gibberish. He exited his car but did not attempt to flee. Neither did he physically or verbally threaten the  cop. However, because Bryan allegedly failed to obey an order to return to his car, the officer -- who was standing 20 feet away -- discharged his taser. The electric current made Bryan fall flat on his face, fracturing four teeth and causing contusions. Read more on Shocking Pain: Limiting Police Taser Abuse

New 'Miranda Rights' against taser abuse,"

"These are new 'Miranda Rights' against taser abuse,"
says Atty. Francis L. Holland

There's been a ground-breaking decision by the 9th Circuit US Federal Court of Appeals against taser abuse, entitled Bryan v. McPherson.  This decision was announced on December 29th, between Christmas and New Years holidays but it deserves our immediate attention and dissemination via our EasyWidgets:

The decision writes into federal caselaw many of the arguments and advocacy that we afrosphere bloggers have been making at our Days (months and years) of Blogging for Justice Against Police Pre-Trial, Extra-Judicial "Taser" Shock, Electrocution and Execution devices.  The Easy-Widget HTML code below enables us to educate the public of their newly announced rights.

The 9th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals agreed with us that:

". . . we must “balance the amount of force applied against the need for that force.”  Bryan v. McPherson, 9th Cir. Fd. Ct. App., December 29, 2009.

This decision has direct legal effect throughout the 9th Circuit, consisting of populous California, Alaska, Washington, Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Hawaii and Guam, and influential in other parts of the country.  Nearly 20% of America's population is within the jurisdiction of the 9th Circuit.  The Court announced what we have long insisted:

"A reasonable police officer . . . would have foreseen these physical injuries when confronting a shirtless individual standing on asphalt. We have held that force can be unreasonable even without physical blows or injuries." Bryan v. McPherson

We've got widgets up at 123 afrosphere blogs telling the public that, in many cases, when "Tasers" are used, "The price is too high". Now, lets post Easy-Widgets to inform the public that one of the most influential federal circuit courts of appeal in the country agrees with us that:

"The presence of non-minor physical injuries like those suffered by Bryan, however, is certainly relevant in evaluating the degree of the Fourth Amendment intrusion."  Bryan v. McPherson

Let's celebrate! Here's a new EasyWidget that takes readers to our anti-electrocution blogs. This Easy-Widget HTML (immediately below) links to Electrocuted While Black, but there are visibly identical widgets below that lead to Tasered While Black and the Police Brutality Blog.

The result is better than that for which many of us had hoped. Instead of arguing locally for changes to voluntarily enforced police taser policy, Bryan's lawyers in this case, and bloggers making similar arguments, convinced the 9th Circuit Federal Appeals Court to write these requirements and limitations into Federal caselaw, which is probably faster, better and politically safer than having the restrictions enacted into law by the US Congress. 

Afrosphere bloggers and the Ninth Circuit encourage other circuits to follow this example by observing that:

"We, along with our sister circuits, have held that tasers and stun guns fall into the category of non-lethal force.   Non-lethal, however, is not synonymous with non-excessive; all force—lethal and non-lethal—must be justified by the need for the specific level of force employed."   Bryan v. McPherson

Not everyone -- blogger or reader -- has had a chance to read the whole Bryan v. McPherson case. So, the Easy-Widget quotes the most powerful language of the decision and links to our afrosphere blogs for more information.

In Bryan v. McPherson, the 9th Circuit Federal Appeals Court basically wrote into federal caselaw many of the arguments that we taser opponents have been arguing. But this is better than what many of us had sought, because instead of it being a change in local optionally enforced "guidelines," it's a change in obligatorily obeyed federal case law for the states in the 9th Circuit, and also, as the decision alludes, the 9th Circuit has enormous influence on other "sister" circuits courts.

Please join Electrocuted While Black in celebrating this decision by posting a widget that tells readers their rights and takes them to a blog where they can learn more, be it Electrocuted While Black or the Police Brutality Blog. Installation of the Easy-Widget below is a quick and easy way to quote some of the best parts of the case for your readers.

References:

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/81381.html

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2009/12/28/08-55622.pdf

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/content/view.php?pk_id=0000000135

http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/stop-the-electrocutions-and-executions-175px

http://police-brutality-blog.blogspot.com/2009/12/important-taser-case-is-must-read-for.html

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/14353/stop-taser-torture-blogging-for-justice-day

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/13151/taser-abuse-how-many-have-to-die-before-something-is-done-about-it

http://francislholland.blogspot.com/2009/12/important-taser-case-is-must-read-for.html

http://stoptasertorture.wordpress.com/about/

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=taser+abuse&btnG=Google+Search

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Day+of+Blogging+for+Justice%22+taser&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Tasered+While+Black%22&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

Landmark Taser Torture Court Ruling In America - Special Post

I have come out of Semi-Blogger Retirement from my blog African American Political Pundit to write this special post on Taser Torture in America. I want to thank Rikyrah for the link, and Hudson Sangree and Kim Minugh at SACBEE.com for their excellent reporting of this landmark decision.  As reported by SACBEE.com, A federal appeals court on Monday issued one of the most comprehensive rulings yet limiting police use of Tasers against low-level offenders who seem to pose little threat and may be mentally ill.

In a case out of San Diego County, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals criticized an officer who, without warning, shot an emotionally troubled man with a Taser when he was unarmed, yards away, and neither fleeing nor advancing on the officer.

Sold as a nonlethal alternative to guns, Tasers deliver an electrical jolt meant to subdue a subject. The stun guns have become a common and increasingly controversial tool used by law enforcement.

There have been at least nine Taser-related fatalities in the Sacramento region, including the death earlier this month of Paul Martinez Jr., an inmate shot with a stun gun while allegedly resisting officers at the Roseville jail.

As lawsuits have proliferated against police and Taser International, which manufactures the weapons, the nation's appellate courts have been trying to define what constitutes appropriate Taser use.

The San Diego County case is the latest ruling to address the issue.

The court recounted the facts of the case:

In the summer of 2005, Carl Bryan, 21, was pulled over for a seat-belt violation and did not follow an officer's order to stay in the car.

Earlier, he had received a speeding ticket and had taken off his T-shirt to wipe away tears. He was wearing only the underwear he'd slept in because a woman had taken his keys, the court said without further explanation.

During his second traffic stop in Coronado, he got out of the car. He was "agitated … yelling gibberish and hitting his thighs, clad only in his boxer shorts and tennis shoes" but did not threaten the officer verbally or physically, the judges wrote.

That's when Coronado Police Officer Brian McPherson, who was standing about 20 feet away watching Bryan's "bizarre tantrum," fired his Taser, the court said.

Without a word of warning, he hit Bryan in the arm with two metal darts, delivering a 1,200-volt jolt.

Temporarily paralyzed and in intense pain, Bryan fell face-first on the pavement. The fall shattered four of his front teeth and left him with facial abrasions and swelling. Later, a doctor had to use a scalpel to remove one of the darts.

Bryan sued McPherson, the Coronado Police Department and the city of Coronado, alleging excessive force in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights.

The officer moved to have the claim dismissed, but a federal trial judge ruled in Bryan's favor.

A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit affirmed the trial judge's ruling on Monday, concluding that the level of force used by the officer was excessive.

McPherson could have waited for backup or tried to talk the man down, the judges said. If Bryan was mentally ill, as the officer contended, then there was even more reason to use "less intrusive means," the judges said.

"Officer McPherson's desire to quickly and decisively end an unusual and tense situation is understandable," Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw wrote for the court. "His chosen method for doing so violated Bryan's constitutional right to be free from excessive force." . Read More HERE

AAPP, publisher of the blog, Tasered While Black and Stop Taser Torture said: "This is a great landmark ruling. I'm glad to hear that this Federal Judge had the guts to stand up for what is right, rather than to follow the script layed out by Taser International and Police Departments for so many years. We still need to work hard to get these weapons of American Torture outlawed in the United States.  Limiting the use of tasers by police is one gigantic step forward in that regard."

We will be talking about the taser torture decision tonight on my blogtalk radio program. Join us, to find out what average black Americans think about the taser torture issue and other issues impacting America.

Stop Taser Torture – Blogging For Justice Day” Dec 4 2009.

 

Today is Stop Taser Torture blogging for Justice Day.  

I join this effort in solidarity with so many bloggers of all walks of life concerned about taser torture in America. Speaking of Taser Torture, now we learn from Raw Story, for at least the second time in three weeks, police officers have shocked an unruly 10-year-old child, and, once again, the child's adult guardians are supporting the move. 

According to Raw Story Sheriff's deputies in Pueblo, Colorado, Tasered a 10-year-old boy after arriving at the child's home Monday evening, after the boy had threatened them with a stick and a length of pipe. As of Thursday evening, the boy remained in a youth jail, according to KCNC channel 4 in Denver. The deputies involved described the boy as an "out-of-control juvenile." The Colorado incident follows a similar case last month, when a 10-year-old girl in Ozark, Arkansas, was Tasered after kicking an approaching officer in the groin. In that case, the girl's mother had suggested to the officer that he use a Taser. More HERE

"A two-foot piece of pipe can do a lot of damage, I don't care who's swinging it," Daniel Bilby told KCNC. Bilby said the police could have done more harm to his foster son -- whose name is being withheld because of his age -- if they had tried to tackle him.

Capt. Jeff Teschner of the Pueblo County Sheriff's Department told the Pueblo Chieftain that the officers were justified in their use of force.

"They followed all policies and procedures. This was appropriate use of the Taser device," Teschner said.

The Chieftain reports:

Deputies Mark Myers and Randy Mondragon were sent to foster parent Daniel Biby's home to help with an "out of control juvenile" who was reportedly destroying property. Mondragon said the boy had threatened Biby with a pipe and a stick, and had thrown a landscape timber at Biby.
Mondragon said that when deputies arrived, the boy ran away from them holding a 2-foot-long pipe.
"This lad, we have a long history of (him) running away. I don't know what his entire psychological profile is, but obviously he has emotional distress," Teschner said.

The recent incidents of Taser use on children will likely spur debate on the ethical and safety issues involved in using conducted energy weapons on youths.

AAPP says: The problem is, it's not just kids that police are tasing, many police departments are using tasers to torture even nonviolent    people who are often those who are incoherent,    hallucinating, wheelchair    bound, suicidal,    unarmed, deaf, handcuffed,    blind, pregnant, students,     or just didnt move fast    enough for an officers liking. Taser torture in America is continuously growing not only in volume, but in the level of how liberally, unwarrantedly, and excessively tasering is being used across the U.S and many other countries."

What can we do?

As reported by Amnesty International,Taser policy is most often a local issue. Individual law enforcement agencies – city and state policy, sheriff’s departments, and campus police -- decide if they are going to employ the weapons, and what rules will govern their use. You can help lobby your own city or town to suspend use of Tasers pending thorough safety research, or to limit their use to situations where they are an alternative to deadly force.

***

To improve your town’s Taser policy, you first need to establish the facts. If your city uses Tasers already, what policies are in place to govern its use? One place to start is writing to your police department to request information about how Tasers are employed and to get a copy of the use-of-force policy used by the police.

Use-of-force policies vary widely. Some departments allow the weapons to be used in cases of “passive resistance,” including when the individual is refusing to obey a verbal command. These policies allow for the weapons to be used in situations where, in many cases, no weapon would otherwise have been used (See the case of Darryl Turner, a 19 year old in North Carolina who died after being shocked by a Taser. He was not holding any weapon and had his hands by his side Case Study of Darryl Turner. Many departments authorize officers to employ the weapons when an individual is “actively resisting.” This is better, but still short of Amnesty International’s recommendation, given the unanswered safety questions with Tasers.

If you find that your town uses Tasers but does not require all of Amnesty International’s recommended policies on their use, you can work to get your local police to revise the use-of-force policy so that Tasers may only be used in more extreme circumstances. Amnesty International's list of recommendations to law enforcement agencies on Tasers.

Get the word out about Tasers in your city, gather public support, and work to convince your local authorities that it is within the interest of public safety to improve the policy on Tasers!

For a packet of further resources for campaigning on Tasers, please contact your AIUSA regional office Contact Information for Regional Offices

Support the Stop Taser Torture Movement

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Also, you could support the efforts of these great organizations and bloggers:

Ft. Worth Chapter


You can also sign the petitionTaser Torture In America - A Call For Congressional Hearings Just do something! Please...