"Don't tase me, bro" cops cleared
http://www.wftv.com/news/14413428/detail.html
University Of Florida Police Cleared In Use Of Taser On Student
POSTED: 12:10 pm EDT October 24, 2007
UPDATED: 1:49 pm EDT October 24, 2007
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- University of Florida police were justified in using a Taser against a student who refused to stop questioning Sen. John Kerry on campus last month, according to a state investigation released Wednesday.
http://www.wftv.com/sh/images/ibs_icon/popup.gifSLIDESHOW: Student Tasered During Press Conference
http://www.wftv.com/sh/images/ibs_icon/video.gifRAW VIDEO: Student Shot With Taser During Press Conference
http://www.wftv.com/sh/images/ibs_icon/popup.gifREAD: FDLE Report On Tasering Of UF Student (PDF)
Some had questioned the use of force in using the stun gun against student Andrew Meyer, leading to the investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. A summary of the agency's report was released Wednesday. (PDF: Read Full Report)
"In short, the FDLE determined that our officers acted well within state guidelines," university President Bernie Machen said in a letter to students, faculty and staff.
Two officers who were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation were reinstated Wednesday, Machen said.
Rob Griscti, Meyer's attorney, said he had not yet reviewed the report and had no immediate comment. The journalism major is known for posting practical jokes online on his Web site.
The scuffle between Meyer and police started during the Sept. 17 speech by Kerry when Meyer refused to leave the microphone after his allotted time was up, police said. The videotaped altercation and Meyer's cries of "Don't Tase me bro!" were played frequently on the Internet.
The report says the officers' intent was to escort Meyer from the auditorium, but he broke away and refused to follow the officers' instructions.
"Officers decide not to escalate to hard empty hand strikes, kicks, knees or baton ... (it) would have looked like the officers were beating Meyer into submission," the report said.
The report, which has Meyer's name and that of other students blacked out, said the officers did what was necessary to control the student.
"Our purpose is, and has always been, to ensure a civil and safe environment where the many types of campus activities and open discourse can occur," said Police Chief Linda Stump.
Meyer has been charged by police for resisting an officer and disturbing the peace, but the State Attorney's Office has not yet decided whether to file formal charges.
Spencer Mann, a spokesman for the State Attorney's Office, said the decision may be made some time next week.
Could have been worse, I guess
At my alma mater, the university police were running down little old ladies with their police cruisers in marked crosswalks a while back (no shit, it actually happened and killed 2 older ladies).
No charges filed there either....
One more from the Western Rockies
From:
[see the added captions]
http://voiceofutah.blogspot.com/2007...h-two-hot.html
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=2190410
http://www.ksl.com/graphics/kslcom_print.gif
Man Tased for Refusing to Sign Speeding Ticket
November 20, 2007
http://media.bonnint.net/slc/284/284.../move_headline
Randall Jeppsen and Whit Johnson reporting
A video of a Utah Highway Patrolman is getting big play all over the Internet. So, is the trooper in the right or the wrong?
The man has filed a complaint and is threatening to sue the Utah Highway Patrol for being wrongfully tasered. He got his hands on the trooper's dash-cam video and posted it all over the Internet.
This whole thing started with a speeding ticket that escalated into much more very quickly. The Utah Department of Public Safety is now trying to figure out whether or not the trooper's actions were justified.
Posted on popular Web sites like YouTube, a trooper with the UHP shows the world what can happen if you resist arrest. The incident happened near Vernal in mid-September. Jared Massey, the driver of an SUV was pulled over for speeding. His wife was in the passenger seat; his toddler was in the back.
In the video Massey clearly becomes frustrated about the citation, demanding to know how fast he was going.
The trooper said, "Well, you're going to sign this first."
Massey replies, "No, I'm not. I'm not signing anything officer."
And the trooper says, "OK, hop out of the car." He then attempts to place Massey under arrest. "Turn around, put your hands behind your back."
You can see in the video that Massey ignores the command and proceeds to walk toward the car. He's then tasered.
Massey spoke to KSL Newsradio. He says, "I'm laying there on the ground, and I start coming to and I hear him yelling at me another command, and before I can process it, he's telling me to roll over, he hits me with the Taser again.
"I gashed my head open and had cuts and bruises on my back, and they had to take me to the hospital."
He's threatening legal action.
Meanwhile, the Utah Department of Public Safety is trying to answer some questions of its own. Sgt. Jeff Nigbur said, "I do not know what that particular trooper was thinking about, what he was concerned about, whether he felt his life was in danger, whether he was worried about the driver's life so close to traffic. I don't know."
If you refuse to sign a citation, troopers can give you another citation or, in some cases, they can place you under arrest. That's what happened in this instance.
The investigation should be complete sometime next week.
UN calls Tasers "torture"- finally...
I heard a blurb on NPR about this over the weekend, and finally found a source to verify.
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegrap...rom=public_rss
Tasers a form of torture, says UN
Article from: Agence France-Presse
From correspondents in Geneva
November 24, 2007 04:44pm
TASER electronic stun guns are a form of torture that can kill, a UN committee has declared after several recent deaths in North America.
"The use of these weapons causes acute pain, constituting a form of torture,'' the UN's Committee against Torture said.
"In certain cases, they can even cause death, as has been shown by reliable studies and recent real-life events,'' the committee of 10 experts said.
Three men, all in their early 20s, were reported to have died in the United States this week, days after a Polish man died at Vancouver airport after being Tasered by Canadian police.
The man, Robert Dziekanski, 40, fell to the ground and died after the police officers piled on top of him.
There have been three deaths in Canada after the use of Tasers over the past five weeks.
The company that makes the weapons has said that similar deaths have been shown by "medical science and forensic analysis'' to be "attributable to other factors and not the low-energy electrical discharge of the Taser".
The UN committee made its comments in recommendations to Portugal, which has bought the newest Taser X26 stun gun for use by police.
Portugal "should consider giving up the use of the Taser X26,'' as its use can have a grave physical and mental impact on those targeted, which violates the UN's Convention against Torture, the experts said.
Pregnant Woman Tased in Ohio
CNN Video
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/...o?iref=24hours
Article
http://www.onnnews.com/?sec=&story=s...564114117.html
FBI Investigates After Officer Uses Taser On Pregnant Woman
Southwest
Nov 28 2007 8:17PM
TROTWOOD, Ohio -- The FBI is investigating after a Trotwood police officer used a Taser on a pregnant woman.
Trotwood Public Safety Director Michael Etter said the incident happened on Nov. 18. He said the woman arrived at the police department asking to give up custody of her 1-year-old son.
Etter said his officer spoke with the woman as she held on to the child outside the police department.
"(He) attempted to obtain information on both the mother and the child, at which time the mother refused to give any information and became very agitated," Etter said.
Surveillance video from the police department shows the woman try to leave with the child. The officer then grabs her coat in an effort to get her to stop. Etter said the officer was doing what he thought was in the best interest of the 1-year-old boy.
The video shows the woman struggle with the officer, who then takes the child from her and gives the boy to another officer. The first officer then forces the woman down on her stomach, and he then deploys a Taser on her neck.
Etter said the officer did not know the woman was pregnant.
"She did not disclose, even after she was arrested, that she was pregnant," Etter said. He said the woman was wearing a large winter coat and had her child on her lap when she was talking to the officer.
Etter said the department is cooperating with the FBI investigation, and there is also an ongoing internal investigation to see if the use of force was warranted for the situation.
Etter said the officer involved is still on duty.
Trotwood's use of force policy states officers should "greatly evaluate each situation with discretion when anticipating the deployment of the Taser on young children, elderly persons, and pregnant females."
News Center 7 spoke with the woman involved in the case, but she declined the opportunity to make a statement, saying only that she feels "unjustly served."
Officers said the 1-year-old boy was put into the custody of a family member after the incident.
Copyright 2007 by WHIOTV.com.
