Stun guns and cops.

[S.A.M.]

Bible-carrying teen dies after stun gun shot
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15496090/

JERSEYVILLE, Ill. - A teenager carrying a Bible and shouting "I want Jesus" was shot twice with a police stun gun and later died at a St. Louis hospital, authorities said.

In a statement obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, police in Jerseyville, about 40 miles north of St. Louis, said 17-year-old Roger Holyfield would not acknowledge officers who approached him and he continued yelling, "I want Jesus."

Police tried to calm the teen, but Holyfield became combative, according to the statement. Officers fired the stun gun at him after he ignored their warnings, then fired again when he continued struggling, police said.

Rise in stun gun deaths
In a report released in March, international human rights group Amnesty International said it had logged at least 156 deaths across the country in the previous five years related to police stun guns.

The rise in deaths accompanies a marked increase in the number of U.S. law enforcement agencies employing devices made by Taser International Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz. About 1,000 of the nation's 18,000 police agencies used Tasers in 2001; more than 7,000 departments had them last year, according to a government study.

Police had used Tasers more than 70,000 times as of last year, Congress' Government Accountability Office said.

Amnesty International has urged police departments to suspend the use of Tasers pending more study. Taser International said the group's count was flawed and falsely linked deaths to Taser use when there has been no such official conclusion.

 

[Prince_James]

Here's an idea: Don't hassle the cops.

 

[S.A.M.]

What if its a person who is unwell? Can the police tell the difference?

 

[Oniw17]

Here's an idea: Don't hassle the cops.

What if they're hassling you? Just go along?

 

[leopold]

What if its a person who is unwell? Can the police tell the difference?

yes they can. if they are ranting and raving and not obeying the cops directions then they are ill, in fact they are crazy.

join the ACLU sam seems like it's right up your alley.

 

[MetaKron]

Some people act as if the police have really good judgement when it is more than obvious that they act with really bad judgement.

 

[S.A.M.]

yes they can. if they are ranting and raving and not obeying the cops directions then they are ill, in fact they are crazy.

Hmm so according to you, anyone who is ranting and raving and not obeying cops directions is ill and should be cured with a couple of shots from a stun gun?

join the ACLU sam seems like it's right up your alley.

Are they anti-fascism?

 

[francois]

Doesn't say anything about the number of lives stun guns save... or anything regarding their efficacy in difficult situations. Those people with weak constitutions who can't handle a little voltage are just collateral damage. It just happens to be that it's easy to count the number of people who have died and report it in the news. That's all. It's just an arbitrary fact.

 

[leopold]

Hmm so according to you, anyone who is ranting and raving and not obeying cops directions is ill and should be cured with a couple of shots from a stun gun?

yes, they are ill, stupid, nuts, you name it.
couple shots from a stun gun? nah, a few slugs from a .45 is better.
regardless of what you may think sam most americans want to live a peaceful tranquil life. and yes the cops in question had every reason to shoot the psyco with a stun gun.

edit
if i did my math right the figures you quoted indicates that 2 tenths of 1 percent were fatalities. a very small number.

edit
oh by the way a taser (stun gun) puts out a grand total of 26 watts.

 

[Oniw17]

But um..of course they should be allowedto have stun guns, everyone should. I can believe somebody actually died from one. That's such a ridiculously pussy way to die.

 

[leopold]

the air force did some tests on pigs using stun guns. the pigs were shot 18 times each. none died. a human will be shot, what, 3 times max?

you people won't be satisfied until our police is totally unarmed.
typical terrorist attitude.

 

[S.A.M.]

the air force did some tests on pigs using stun guns. the pigs were shot 18 times each. none died. a human will be shot, what, 3 times max?

Q:How many cops does it take to subdue one Bible thumping teenager?

A: None, because they'd rather taze him.

you people won't be satisfied until our police is totally unarmed.
typical terrorist attitude.

"There is a widespread and persistent problem of police brutality across the USA. Thousands of individual complaints about police abuse are reported each year and local authorities pay out millions of dollars to victims in damages after lawsuits. Police officers have beaten and shot unresisting suspects; they have misused batons, chemical sprays and electro-shock weapons; they have injured or killed people by placing them in dangerous restraint holds."-Human Rights Watch

The report singled out two high-profile cases involving the New York City Police Department: The torture and sodomy of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima at a Brooklyn precinct house, and the shooting of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed West African immigrant who died after he was hit by 19 of 41 bullets fired by four white officers.

"Unjustified shootings, severe beatings, fatal chokings, and unnecessarily rough treatment by police and sheriffs' officers occur in cities and towns throughout the country," the report said.

http://www.hrw.org/about/initiatives/police.htm
http://www.hrw.org/reports98/police/
http://www.hrw.org/doc/?t=usa_police

 

[S.A.M.]

PROGRAM FOR ACTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

This is a summary of the recommendations for specific improvements in the protection of human rights that Amnesty International is presenting to the US authorities, as a first step towards RIGHTS FOR ALL in the USA.

Amnesty International is calling on the US authorities to :

* Establish independent and effective monitoring bodies to investigate allegations of abuses by police and of abuses in prisons and jails.

* Ban inherently dangerous and cruel restraint procedures, including hogtying and the use of electro-shock stun-belts.

* Ban the routine use of restraints on pregnant women prisoners and all restraints during labour.

etc

http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engAMR510511998

 

[John99]

I read somewhere that the new taser guns were going to be tested in India.

 

[Baron Max]

you people won't be satisfied until our police is totally unarmed. typical terrorist attitude.

I agree. This is just one of many incidence where people seem to think that all cops have to do is fuck around with one crazy prick just to get him off of the streets.

I can just see it now ....anytime a criminal wants to resist arrest, he just act crazy, and the cops step back and let him go ...for fear of raising the ire of mamby-pamby, doo-gooder citizens!

Yeah, and that's exactly the tactics that terrorist supporters use to help the terrorists.

Baron Max

 

[Baron Max]

Q:How many cops does it take to subdue one Bible thumping teenager?

Yeah, that's all cops have to do ...subdue crazy people! And while they're all gathered around subduing that one crazy person, crime continues all over the city ...without any cops in the area! Good tactics, huh?

And if a person wants to resist arrest, the cops should just stand back and let the guy go?! Resisting arrest is also a crime, ladies and gentlemen.

Sam, you'd make a really good, effective leader of police! ...LOL!

Baron Max

 

[S.A.M.]

Yeah, that's all cops have to do ...subdue crazy people! And while they're all gathered around subduing that one crazy person, crime continues all over the city ...without any cops in the area! Good tactics, huh?

And if a person wants to resist arrest, the cops should just stand back and let the guy go?! Resisting arrest is also a crime, ladies and gentlemen.

Sam, you'd make a really good, effective leader of police! ...LOL!

Baron Max

It now makes perfect sense to me why so many Americans are against gun control. Not only can they not depend on the cops to protect them, but apparently they need protection from the cops!

 

[Prince_James]

SamCDKey:

Mentally ill people cannot be handled without a degree of violence. Specifically as insanity often leads to a certain increase in strength and a resilience towards pain.

Oniw17:

FIghting with the cops is a sure fire way to land your ass in prison for virtually no benefit.

 

[S.A.M.]

SamCDKey:

Mentally ill people cannot be handled without a degree of violence. Specifically as insanity often leads to a certain increase in strength and a resilience towards pain.

1. Do you know any mentally ill people?

2. In American hospitals, are mentally ill people tasered by doctors to keep them under control?

 

[thedevilsreject]

Q:How many cops does it take to subdue one Bible thumping teenager?

A: None, because they'd rather taze him.

so you would rather put police officers at increased danger would you sam