FINALLY: Court restricts police use of Tasers

[QueEx]

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Court restricts police use of
Tasers to immediate threats</font size></center>


<font size="3">Police who use stun guns must first believe their target represents an immediate threat, not simply acts erratically or refuses to obey orders, a federal court has ruled.


The San Francisco Chronicle says that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals' 3-0 ruling "sets judicial standards for police and for people hit by a Taser who claim they were victims of excessive force."

<SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">"The objective facts must indicate that the suspect poses an immediate threat to the officer or a member of the public,"</span> Judge Kim Wardlaw writes.</font size>

http://content.usatoday.com/communi...s-to-immediate-threats/1?loc=interstitialskip

 

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[cthomas0964]

I do think they should look more into procedures regarding police use of tasers but still I would rather get tazed than shot anyday. As long as they don't ban the use of tasers... Overall tasers have saved alot more lives than they have taken.

 

[Lamarr]

I'm glad something is being done! Shit is gettin old

Chicago Cop Tasered Unconscious Diabetic 11 Times

http://rawstory.com/2009/01/chicago-cop-tasered-diabetic-seizure-11-times/

Chicago cop tasered unconscious diabetic 11 timesPolice officers from two Chicago suburbs are being sued after one of them allegedly Tasered a man having a diabetic seizure because the diabetic involuntarily hit the officer while being taken to an ambulance.

Prospero Lassi, a 40-year-old employee of Southwest Airlines, filed the lawsuit (PDF) with a federal court in Chicago last week, following an April 9, 2009, incident in which Lassi was taken to hospital following a violent diabetic seizure -- and being Tasered 11 times while unconscious.

That day, Lassi's roommate found the man on the floor of his apartment having a seizure and foaming at the mouth, according to the statement filed with the court. The roommate called 911 for help, and police officers from the Brookfield and LaGrange Park police departments arrived to help with the situation.

As police officers were helping the paramedics move Lassi to an ambulance, Lassi -- still in the midst of the seizure and described as "unresponsive" -- involuntarily smacked one of the officers with his arm.

"Reacting to Mr. Lassi's involuntary movement, one or more of the [officers] pushed Mr. Lassi to the ground, forcibly restraining him there," the complaint states. "[LaGrange Park Officer Darren] Pedota then withdrew his Taser, an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt a person's control over his muscles, and electrocuted Mr. Lassi eleven times.

"Mr. Lassi remained immobile on the floor and was unable to defend himself during this attack. None of the other LaGrange and Brookfield Defendants attempted to interrupt Defendant Pedota's repeated use of the Taser."

The filing says that Lassi spent five days in hospital, and "as a result of this incident, Mr. Lassi has permanent scars on his skin, including a scar on his face. Mr. Lassi has also suffered, and continues to suffer, neurological and musculoskeletal injuries, among other injuries."

According to Courthouse News, Lassi is seeking "punitive damages for battery, excessive force, and failure to intervene."

 

[QueEx]

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12-year-old Tased outside school</font size></center>

Rothenberg Preparatory Academy in Mount Auburn


By Carrie Whitaker
cwhitaker@enquirer.com
January 22, 2010


MOUNT AUBURN – A Cincinnati police officer used a Taser on a 12-year-old boy Friday afternoon in front of Rothenberg Preparatory Academy, according to police spokeswoman Sgt. Danita Kilgore.

Kilgore said an officer with the city’s Vortex unit was flagged down by someone at the school around 2:15 p.m. to help break up a fight. This led to a Taser being used on the child, she said.

He was charged with disorderly conduct and assault on a police officer and is being held at the juvenile detention center, Kilgore said.

The officer was not injured.

A supervisor that was at the scene said the boy was “twice the size of the officer that Tased him,” according to Kilgore.

“They clearly thought he was older than 12,” Kilgore said. His name will not be released because he is a juvenile.

There are no age restrictions when it comes to police using Tasers on children in Cincinnati, according to CPD policy.

Officers are required to try to control the situation first with “advice, warnings and persuasion,” according to the department’s Use of Force policy.

Proper procedure also would allow the suspect to surrender before force is used, “unless this causes unnecessary danger to the officer or others,” according to policy.

There is no indication that proper procedure was not used in this situation.

Rothenberg Preparatory Academy is a Cincinnati Public School for children in preschool through eighth grade, according to the CPS Web site.

A call to Cincinnati Public School’s spokeswoman has not yet been returned.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100122/NEWS01/301220076/12-year-old+Tased+near+school