trek2.3bike

https://www.wral.com/news/local/story/10415249/
Don't act foolish now. They might kill you. Gotta keep cops safe.

rydabent

While I generally support the police, in this case it was just plain stupid to stun someone on a bicycle. The cop should have known it would cause the cyclist to crash, and possibly injured.

Buddha4

I guess the stun gun was safer than spike strips.

dynodonn 

Something tells me that there's going to be an update on police protocol in using tasers on cyclists, especially when the city gets the civil court bill.

SBRDude

A seriously idiotic move by the cop who did that.

As far as the original poster goes, let's not pretend that cycling is an capital offense in NC.

Chris516

A stun gun should ONLY be used if the individual is an ACTUAL threat to the officer!!! Stun guns have become the 'quick fix' when the police come upon ANY situation!!!

gmt13

Story was a bit one sided. I'd guess from the comment about putting his hand to his mouth, the cop thought he was trying to destroy evidence. I think the problem is less the police and more that innocent people are "suspicious" based on where they are and what time it is. If they are engaging in an "antisocial" activity like cycling, it's probably even worse.

-G

unterhausen

victim was deaf. He probably didn't think the cop was trying to stop him

CB HI

To me means someone has a hard time understanding what people are saying, not that they cannot hear a siren.

Digital_Cowboy

Given that the article said that the cyclist also suffered from seizures it's reasonable to think that he was taking his medication. Sounds as if the LEO jumped the gun. Also according to the article the LEO has only been on the job for a month, where was his training officer?

Chicago Al 

I'm going to take a wild guess (but no wilder than suggesting the cyclist was killed because he was on a bike): a big part of the offense was CWB, a variant on DWB. Look it up if you don't know what that means. That + deaf (not responding immediately to police call), + seizure condition/medication (unusual affect/manner) and an inexperienced and poorly trained officer, and you get that kind of tragic but completely preventable situation.

Chris516

That is pretty accurate.

Chris516

Another case of 'shoot first, ask questions later'.

Digital_Cowboy

It sounds like it.

I have to wonder just what is the SOP that the police have for dealing with deaf/hearing impaired individuals.

It is also reasonable to think that given that the cyclist suffered from seizures, that that is why he fell? And that he wasn't drunk?

Even if he was drunk if he fell in an empty parking lot how is that a crime? Shouldn't the officer have pulled in front of the "suspect" and again lit up his lights?

herctrock

Couldn't they have passed him and turned on the cherry while blocking him? Na, I'll just use this stun gun.

DX-MAN

This.

Generally, unless it's to block foot escape after terminating a high-speed chase, cops don't generally pull in front of a 'person of interest'; but a wobbly older man on a bike...? REALLY? You couldn't get his attention in a peaceful way? You felt so threatened that you TASED him? I probably would have been shot, just for being a smartass.

Peace to the family, and RIP to the victim. CWB, for sure.

shawmutt

Yet another witch hunt. Tazers are evil and those pigs are just abusing them! Look at all the stories that make the news! This cop acted like judge, jury, and executioner

It's easy to judge a cop and his actions based on a local news story.

mconlonx

Um, wut?:


Richmond to pay $1.5M in suit over police killing
Will Kane, Chronicle Staff Writer, Thursday, November 24, 2011

The city of Richmond has agreed to pay $1.5 million to the family of a mentally ill man killed in a struggle with police in 2008, officials said Wednesday....
Four officers used pepper spray, shock weapons and batons to subdue him. At one point they administered a Taser shock for 72 seconds straight, followed by several additional jolts, Dach's attorneys said.

------------------

UHP to pay man shocked with Taser during traffic stop $40,000
BY MELINDA ROGERS, The Salt Lake Tribune, First published Nov 23 2011 01:19PM, Updated Nov 23, 2011 07:08PM

A Salt Lake City man who sued a state trooper in federal court after she shocked him with her Taser during a traffic stop has received a $40,000 settlement in the case.

----------------------


Chattanooga Police Officer Arrested In Road Rage Incident
posted November 21, 2011

A Chattanooga police officer was arrested on a warrant for assault following a road rage incident on Brainerd Road this weekend. Officer Greg Chambers turned himself in to the Hamilton County Jail on Sunday in response to the charge.

Christopher Smith of 5512 Pearl St. in Ooltewah filed a complaint with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department against the officer in which it is alleged that Officer Chambers went to his home and pulled a taser on him Saturday night.

--------------------

Former Tuscaloosa Sheriff's sergeant pleads guilty to charges of wrongful Tasing
By Chris Pow, Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 4:38 PM, Updated: Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 6:33 PM

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- A former Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's sergeant pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to three counts of assault with a deadly weapon while acting under color of law for using a stun gun on jail detainees in separate incidents in 2008, the U.S. Justice Department announced.

-----------------------------

^^^ This is just tasering incidents that made the news in the past couple weeks. Want to hear about the cop beatings and peppersprayings that made the news? How 'bout the cop DUIs and sexual assaults?

FYI, here's one day. Of what's reported.

National Police Misconduct NewsFeed Daily Recap 11-24-11 to 11-25-11

[Unterhausen: covered by creative commons notice at the bottom of the injusticeeverywhere.com site]

November 25th, 2011
Since I took the day off yesterday I decided it’s only fair to make today’s review of police misconduct reports a live blogging edition. So I posted them as I found them.

So, here are the 16 reports of police misconduct tracked in our National Police Misconduct News Feed for Thursday and Friday, November 24-25, 2011:

Richmond CA settled a lawsuit for $1.5mil to the family of a mentally ill man who died after tasered for 72 seconds straight and beaten with batons by 4 police officers.

Marco Island FL settles suit for $50k to a man who was punched then peppersprayed along with his two friends by a cop while they were cuffed in a police cruiser, as shown in the above video.

Chatham-Kent ON cop was charged with assault causing bodily harm after man suffered serious facial injuries while detained, no details about the actual incident were released.

A Kinston NC cop working an off-duty security gig at WalMart is accused of pepperspraying a man who accidentally fell into a cellphone display at that store. The spray affected at least 20 other shoppers and one news article decided to go with an Orwellian “Police use pepperspay to calm crowd” headline… I’m pretty sure that was pepperspay, not camomilespray.

In the same incident, Kinston NC police are being accused of arresting an ex-cop for complaining about that cop’s use of pepperspray inside a crowded store. Use of pepperspray in an enclosed area like that is generally discouraged because it takes a long time to dissipate and has an increased likelihood of affecting bystanders. This is considered a separate complaint from the use of pepperspray itself.

Buckeye AZ cops are accused of injuring a 54-year-old man, shown in the above video, by slamming him face-first into the concrete floor at a Toys-R-US after allegedly mistaking his attempt to save his grandson from being trampled by a Black-Friday shopping mob for an attempt at shoplifting. Generally, you can’t charge someone for shoplifting until that person tries to leave the store with the merchandise. Police say the officer did nothing wrong despite witness statements to the contrary.

Del City OK police accused of using excessive force by tackling #OccupyOKC protesters from behind for doing mic checks at Walmart store

Waterloo Regional ON police ordered to return property & pay $32k to man in suit over unlawful raid, arrest & strip search after police found nothing in his home.

Canyon Co ID sheriff and chief deputy sued by ACLU alleging retaliation against jail detainees who filed complaints about that jail in an apparent effort to derail a lawsuit alleging unconstitutional conditions there.

Nogales AZ cop suspended while investigated on allegations he had sex with a 17-year-old girl who was participating in that department’s explorer program. UPDATE: That officer has now been charged with 13 counts of sexual conduct with a minor based on those allegations.

Montreal QC police officer arrested on 2 charges of luring a child on the internet, no other details released

Stanislaus Co CA sheriff’s lieutenant on paid leave after charged with 2 counts of felony welfare fraud

Houston TX cops sued for racial profiling alleging they cuffed & searched a man for being white in black neighborhood

Barrie ON cop arrested on drunk driving charges while stopped for speeding, he was charged for drunk driving in 2005 as well but that case was dropped.

Clayton County GA cop was arrested for doing 108mph in a 55mph zone, he claimed he was afraid of a desolate road he was on and wanted to hurry up and get past it.

Mount Gilead OH cop was convicted on 18 of 20 theft charges despite his astounding defense that claimed that a ghost stole the city’s property, including 12 air conditioners, that were found in the basement of his home.

That’s finally it for today. Stay safe out there!

---------------

16 reports of police misconduct. That made the papers. In one day.

Sure, only a few bad apples...

How come cops sexually assault at a rate twice what the general public do?

genec

Just a guess here... but my understanding is that sexual assault is a crime of power and not sex; could it be that some cops are just not feeling the power trip that wearing a badge may bring.

I wonder too if there is any corresponding connection between being a politician and sexual abuse... for similar "power" reasons.

shawmutt

All of which have nothing to do with the OP story.

mconlonx

Actually, it does. Original reportage was included in one of the day's police misconduct roundups. And while there were no other tasering incidents that particular day, there were another 27 reports of police misconduct, including sexual assault, excessive force, DUI, etc., not including the incident in the OP...

But really, if you want to split hairs, my post has as much to do with the OP as yours. I.e. general commentary on police (mis)conduct.

shawmutt

Actually, my post has to do with the demonizing of an effective tool and the people who are authorized to use it. The OP, and the news story, has no real information--but a tazer was used so the cop must have been wrong. Posting all the alleged misconduct on a daily basis doesn't prove anything.

Mr Danw

Effective killing tool:
https://truthnottasers.blogspot.com/2...ere-known.html

mconlonx

So your original post had about as much to do with the OP as my response to your post. Which you had the audacity to contest as not relevant. I would not have responded in kind if you had not raised the unrelated issue in your post, first.

While the cop in question might have been authorized to use a proven-lethal "effective tool", his valid use in this case is very much in question. <-- point of the OP and supported on the "invalid use" side of things in this case with my linkages to other cases of alleged or actual misuse of said "effective tool" and others.

BTW, if you look through the injusticeeverywhere.com site, you'll notice that a lot of what is reported is not just alleged, but actual--either convicted or settled--cases of police misconduct.

shawmutt

You are trying to arrange my argument to fit your agenda. Read the comments following the article in the OP. Read the OP title--use hyperbole much? It's nothing but a witch hunt.

Some of what is reported, just enough to make their site look legit.

Policy should be decided on facts, not cooked up blogs with an agenda. How many lives were saved by not using the previous "pre-tazer" level of force?