another taser incident

[bustyluster]

the cops were fearful of their lives....from what a smack with a wet towel.......
Donnell Williams had just gotten out of the bath tub, wearing only a towel around his waist, when he turned the corner to see guns pointing right at him.

"I ain't never been so scared," says Williams.

Police forced entry into Williams home while responding to a shooting, but it turned out to be a false call. They had no idea at the time the call wasn't real and that Williams is hearing impaired. Without his hearing aid he is basically deaf.

"I kept going to my ear yelling that I was scared. I can't hear! I can't hear!"

Officers were worried about their own safety because at the time it appeared Williams was refusing to obey their commands to show his hands. That's when they shot him with a Taser.

Deputy Chief Robert Lee of the Wichita Police Department says, "This one occurred on the worst of calls, that being a shooting. The first few minutes getting control of the scene are very, very important."

Once the facts were all sorted out, officers repeatedly apologized to Williams. Police wish it never happened, but with the information they had at the time, their choices were limited.

"Do I wish there would have been some way they were notified in advance this gentleman was hearing impaired? I certainly do. No one is happy with the way it worked out," says Lee.

Williams was not hurt in the incident. Police say the shooting call came from a cell phone but they still don't know who made it or why.

The case is being reviewed by the department.

and of course there won't be any charges against the cops for using the taser on a helpless individual.

 

[visioneast]

Dumb cop ~ Dumb cop ~
What' ya gonna do ~ What' ya gonna do ~
When they taser you ~

Dumb cop ~ Dumb cop ~
What' ya gonna do ~ What' ya gonna do ~
When they taser you ~

Dumb cop ~ Dumb cop ~

 

[Wet My Noodle]

Dumb cop ~ Dumb cop ~
What' ya gonna do ~ What' ya gonna do ~
When they taser you ~

Dumb cop ~ Dumb cop ~
What' ya gonna do ~ What' ya gonna do ~
When they taser you ~

Dumb cop ~ Dumb cop ~

That s hillarious.

 

[ma1234]

We need a volunteer police force to protect us from the police.

The idiots have a new toy.

 

[SilkyJohnson]

Taser vs Electric chair

apparently the death chair pumps out an astounding 2300 volts and a taser puts out 50,000 volts!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

only diff is the chair is hooked up to your head and ankles. but still what? 20 times as powerfull? in the hands of incompitent police? whats up with cops tasering a woman in a wheel chair 20 times lasting up to 25 secs each? tasering a deaf man. etc. we are the sheep/cattle and tasers are cattle prods, u dont COMPLY u get zapped. Its called pain compliance, officer asks u to do something, u dont BZZZZZZZZAAAAAPPPP. These cops are armed with tasers, guns, pepper spray, batons, body armor and they cant handle an old man whos lost at an airport, and cant speak english. All i gotta say is DONT GIVE UP YOUR GUNS. the police state is here in canada already, you just havent been paying enuff attention. Look at the usa and china, were next............

 

[Pantherdash]

You DUMB FUCKS!! Would you have prefered if the guy was shot with a .40 calibre pistol!?!? These cops are protecting their own lives. They want to go home to their wives and kids. Give them a break.

Panther

 

[j.bassi]

You DUMB FUCKS!! Would you have prefered if the guy was shot with a .40 calibre pistol!?!? These cops are protecting their own lives. They want to go home to their wives and kids. Give them a break.

Panther

why would they need to protect themselves when the guy is saying i cant hear i cant hear.

does that mean i could shoot a cop who entered my house and me not knowing its a cop i come out blasting? i hate dumb fucks who stick up for the cops they are as crooked as crooked gets.

i got arrested at crush (a nightclub) and the cop took $5000 cash out of my pocket, my diamond studs and my watch after that day i have no respect for them whatsoever.

 

[Krustee]

You DUMB FUCKS!! Would you have prefered if the guy was shot with a .40 calibre pistol!?!? These cops are protecting their own lives. They want to go home to their wives and kids. Give them a break.

Panther

Who's the dumb one?

Cops have been abusing their authority for well over a century in this country.

As in any occupation there are those who have integrity & those who make a snake look respectable.

So your gonna tell me that every incident the cops are questioned on they were just doin their job?

Cops are morally superior to the rest of us because they wear a badge so we just should never question them?

Your gonna tell me that letting the RCMP investigate themselves is perfectly normal & that justice will undoubtedly be served because they are all so honorable that to even question them is blasphemy?

I lived with a cop for 3 years as a roomate & can tell you the way they talk the way thy act & how they think.

The vast majority of cops join the force because they are interested in the thrill of the job. The adrenaline rush of an arrest or car chase "gettin some action".

Been to a few of their parties & I can tell you a captains house had some very interesting & illegal items.

Oh & before you think of ratting me out that was not in this province.

Taser-Related Deaths = 306
NINE people, including 2 Canadians, have died so far in November after they were tasered. In October, TWO people died in Canada and FOUR in the US. FOUR people died in September in the US. NINE people, a bear and a dog died in August. SIX people died during the month of July. THIRTEEN people died in May. At least 306 people have died in North America proximal to taser use since 2001. The taser has been identified as either a cause or contributing factor in many of the deaths. NINETEEN people have died in Canada since 2003.

http://truthnottasers.blogspot.com/search/label/amnesty international

Amnesty International position on tasers:

What we believe:
1) The safety implications of Tasers require urgent independent and unbiased study.

2) Until such time as independent and unbiased study into the safety implications of Tasers has been properly completed, a moratorium must be imposed upon these weapons.

3) If, after independent and unbiased study has been completed, the Taser is going to remain in the police arsenal, it must be placed at a level equal to lethal force on the continuum of force and used only as a second-to-last resort.

4) Safety standards must be developed for Tasers. There are currently no Canadian safety standards in place for this weapon.

5) Police must not be allowed to investigate themselves but must be subject to independent and unbiased civilian oversight.

6) Families of people who die in police custody in Canada must be provided with funding so that they may be properly represented by legal counsel.

 

[IQof10]

You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky'. Well do ya, punk?"

Dirty Harry, now that's my idea of a cop.

Fuck the taser blow the fucker away.

 

[Pantherdash]

why would they need to protect themselves when the guy is saying i cant hear i cant hear.

does that mean i could shoot a cop who entered my house and me not knowing its a cop i come out blasting? i hate dumb fucks who stick up for the cops they are as crooked as crooked gets.

i got arrested at crush (a nightclub) and the cop took $5000 cash out of my pocket, my diamond studs and my watch after that day i have no respect for them whatsoever.

What did you get arrested for? And why the fuck were you carrying $5000 cash for in a nightclub? Whenever someone carries that much cash on him, it's indicative of dealing, or something illegal. You hate cops, so it's their fault. Right! You deserve what you got!

Panther

 

[j.bassi]

What did you get arrested for? And why the fuck were you carrying $5000 cash for in a nightclub? Whenever someone carries that much cash on him, it's indicative of dealing, or something illegal. You hate cops, so it's their fault. Right! You deserve what you got!

Panther

How do you know i deserve what i got?

I was inside and they took me outside in regards to a fight that happened earlier that they accused me of being involved with, the bouncer there even told them i had nothing to do with it, after they questioned me they arrested me for being drunk in public, the funny part is they were the ones that took me outside on the sidewalk to talk to me.

As for the $5000 it doesnt matter what its indicative of, last time i checked you can carry as much cash as you wanted. even so they should have arrested me and put that in a file and then i could have had my lawyer give them an explanation for it and got the money back. the funny thing is it was my gf's birthday and our tab was like 3200 and they had no money to pay it so how embarassing would that be? luckily they know me well enough there to know that i would come back and pay it


whatever you may think of me or even if i did deserve it what makes it his right to fucking take the money? is that really who you want protecting the streets? that crooked motherfucker made off with a good $15000 that nite. he probably gave the 1ct studs to his fucking wife or girlfriend.

 

[j.bassi]

What did you get arrested for? And why the fuck were you carrying $5000 cash for in a nightclub? Whenever someone carries that much cash on him, it's indicative of dealing, or something illegal. You hate cops, so it's their fault. Right! You deserve what you got!

Panther

and i didnt hate cops before that incident only after. So whose fault was it that he took the money and didnt report it? yours? You know what no matter how much you support cops even you cant say they were right in what they did.

 

[Pantherdash]

There's good and bad everywhere. I just don't like people bashing cops because generally they are good people.

You should lodge a complaint with the Police Complaints Commission. But I don't think you'll get far.

I guess that was the last time you carried that much cash on you.

Panther

 

[mikey666]

I for one have lost all respect for the cops, after seeing the yvr incident.

Also I find it funny,whenever there is an internal investigation,the outcome is never their faults.

 

[dustytrails]

You DUMB FUCKS!! Would you have prefered if the guy was shot with a .40 calibre pistol!?!? These cops are protecting their own lives. They want to go home to their wives and kids. Give them a break.

Panther

I agree with everyone speaking on this subject EXCEPT the idiot, Pantherdash.

What kind of irrational comeback is that. An immature stupid reply to intelligent and compassionate contributors on this board. Just because you don’t agree does not give you the right to insult and malign their opinions. Calling people on this board, “Dumb Fucks” is rude and disrespectful and suggests, at least in your mind, that we’re all stupid and, somehow you’re the genius.

Give them (the cops) a break you say. “Would you have prefered if the guy was shot with a .40 calibre pistol!?!? These cops are protecting their own lives etc”….

Protecting themselves from whom I ask. Give them a break?? I’m sure somewhere on this planet that some cops indeed may be `Taser-Justified` but not in the situations we’re discussing. Far too many Taser-Totting idiots with badges and runaway testosterone. The deaf man in Wichita (Donnell Williams),.. the lady in the wheelchair,.. the recent death in the Maritimes,.. the poor motorist in Omaha. The list is long and if you paid attention, it isn’t very flattering. Of course we can’t forget our very own Taser-Happy RCMP at YVR .

“Thou doth protest too much” (Hamlet) You fit the profile. You protest too much. Are you married to a cop?... Are you a cop?... Maybe you’re an auxiliary cop, but not a `real` one. Maybe you fantasize about being a cop. Or, maybe, just maybe you are what most of us realise,…just an idiot.

And finally. Police investigating themselves is about as ridiculous as allowing Brian Mulroney to investigate himself.

 

[mikey666]

Well said, I totally agree.

 

[CJ Tylers]

I'm not sure how much of a threat a naked, deaf, senior citizen posed to police officers trained in hand to hand combat. There should definately be an independant commission to investigate all of this, and come up with some serious repercussions for the combined forces for their "excessive use of force", on this and many other incidents.

It amazes me that officers would draw a taser with such reckless abandon, when they wouldn't draw a gun in the same fashion. The thing with a gun is that you can fire at a non lethal section, shooting to disable, with only a minor chance of a fatality. With tasers, you don't have the same point control of the hit location... and you have no control over the heart condition of the victim... and what about the cops that stopped the firemen from uncuffing a dying victim? Well, he died alright... in police custody from police tasers while they prevented first aid attendants from doing their job.

Right on boys in blue! Way to do your job, MURDERING innocents. Let's bandy about that word a bit, because that is truly what they have been engaged in.

MURDER

Hell, I don't care if some drug dealing scumbag or politician gets whacked, but innocent bystanders? Come on, I think the police can do better than that.

 

[Irishlad]

I have been reading all the posts on the taser issue with interest. I will refrain from taking sides but do wish to point out some errors and misconceptions.

1) The previous poster suggests police could aim at non lethal areas with their handguns. I cannot believe that this myth still exists. All police are trained to shoot at centre mass because most shootings occur within a few yards of each other and are over in a couple of seconds. With adrenalin pumping, fear raging, heart pounding, one cannot "aim" with any accuracy at a smaller target such as an arm, leg, or hand. The odds are overwhelming that the bullet will miss and could potentially strike an innocent person behind the scene. Secondly, the officer may only have time for one shot and they are taught not to chance trying for a small moving target like a hand...they may not be alive to try a second shot.

2) All this talk about 50,000 volts....it is not the voltage that does the damage, it is the amperage. Your standard amp in your house in your fuse box is 15 amps. The taser uses only .2 milliamps. That far less than what is used in hospital cardiac paddles. It doesn't matter that it's 20,000 volts, 30,000 volts, or 70,000 volts....its the amperage and the taser has very little.

3) Some people want to stop all use of the tasers! Recent published figures show that over the course of the last 5 years in North America there have been nearly 10,000 discharges of tasers. In BC there have been 6 recorded deaths after a taser use. 4 of those deaths the medical doctors conducting the autopsies along with the Coroner's office ruled that death was by lethal doses of drugs in the system combined in some cases with excited delerium. Of the two remaining cases, 1 was used when the suspect was climbing a fence and after being tasered, fell and struck his head on the pavement. He died from the head injury, not the electrical shock of the taser. The remaining case is our infamous Vancouver case which has yet to play out. Now, if tasers were banned altogether, in the vast majority of those thousands of cases across North America, the police would have been left with little choice but to utilize their handguns. I wonder how many of those thousands of cases would have been fatal with a bullet ripping through a body at 1500 feet per second.

4) Should tasers be banned...no. Should the police have better training...absolutely. Have their been horrible instances of misuse of the taser by police....absolutely. Do I condone those instances of misuse.....absolutely not. But lets not make ridiculous statements such as having a moratorium on the use of all tasers. Hundreds and hundreds of people would have otherwise been dead if not for the use of tasers.

I am not trying to make controversey here....just putting my two cents in. Whether you agree or not, we all have a right to our opinions and thats mine.

Oh....by the way....all those politicians who are pounding their fists over this Vancouver incident....do we really believe that they are doing so out of moral outrage or are they seeing an opportunity to whack the government and garner political gain for their own well-being. Likewise, the media.....the little old lady selling pies at a bake sale doesn't exactly sell papers, but controversy does and the longer they can keep this going and the more outrage they can muster....the more $$$ they make. I have little respect for the media and less for politicians. I have tremendous sympathy for the family of the Polish immigrant.

 

[Olmac]

4) Should tasers be banned...no. Should the police have better training...absolutely. Have their been horrible instances of misuse of the taser by police....absolutely. Do I condone those instances of misuse.....absolutely not. But lets not make ridiculous statements such as having a moratorium on the use of all tasers. Hundreds and hundreds of people would have otherwise been dead if not for the use of tasers.

I have tremendous sympathy for the family of the Polish immigrant.

I am in total agreement with your point four.

I did some research into the training required by the Calgary Police Service and their use of tasers. Interestingly enough, they have quite a few officers fail the course (some multiple times) and are never issued a taser. Seems to be pretty serious training with some very stringent policies and they do not pass anyone that is not qualified to use one. That being said, they are looking at the policy and making the guidelines for the use of them even tighter. I do not recall any deaths or complaints of their misuse in Calgary, but CPS is responding to the public's concern about the use of tasers.

I share your thoughts for the family as well.

Awesome post...thank you.

 

[CJ Tylers]

1) The previous poster suggests police could aim at non lethal areas with their handguns. I cannot believe that this myth still exists. All police are trained to shoot at centre mass because most shootings occur within a few yards of each other and are over in a couple of seconds. With adrenalin pumping, fear raging, heart pounding, one cannot "aim" with any accuracy at a smaller target such as an arm, leg, or hand. The odds are overwhelming that the bullet will miss and could potentially strike an innocent person behind the scene. Secondly, the officer may only have time for one shot and they are taught not to chance trying for a small moving target like a hand...they may not be alive to try a second shot.

Perhaps the inability to strike a less lethal spot is simply due to inadequate training, eh? Perhaps you forget that prison gaurds are trained to aim for the feet, using the richochet to disable a prisoner? Skill, training, nerves... it isn't a physical imposibility.

Now, onto the subject of lethal weapons...in general, it seems that police officers are not properly trained in their use. They use them at times when a simple physical take down or less offensive method of conflict resolution is a better choice.

That the forces are treating tasers as a "non lethal" alternative is a serious problem, as they do have lethal repercussions to an unknown target. Some will be fine, others won't.

Here's a good one for you... current isn't the only thing you have to watch out for. Voltage doesn't do your body good. Sure, the amperage is the more lethal... but after every shock above 240V, you need to get yourself down to a physician as it *can* cause cardiac arrest up to an hour later. Regardless of the current drawn, the strain on your body (read heart) is measurable.

Now, even if you don't die on the scene, or within the next 24 hours.... chances are, you now have a shortened life expectancy.

It is something of a fallacy that low current doesn't kill. Low current/low voltage (probably not, unless you are particularily vulnerable for some extremely odd reason). For heart palpitations to occur (ie, for you to cook), you are still looking in the milliamp range...

Never treat any source of electricity as "not dangerous" simply because it's low voltage or low current.