Taser ruling sets standards for police, claims

SF Chronicle



Police need reasons to believe a suspect is dangerous before firing a
Taser and can't use their stun gun simply because the person is
disobeying orders or acting erratically, a federal appeals court in San
Francisco ruled Monday.

The decision by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sets judicial
standards for police and for people who claim they were victims of
excessive force after police hit them with a Taser dart.

"The objective facts must indicate that the suspect poses an immediate
threat to the officer or a member of the public," Judge Kim Wardlaw said
in the 3-0 ruling.

Though stun guns may offer a valuable, nonlethal alternative to deadly
force in defusing dangerous situations, Wardlaw said, they inflict a
"painful and frightening blow" and must be used only when substantial
force is necessary and other options are unavailable.

"It's a significant use of force, not like cuffing someone or using pain
compliance or pepper spray," said Eugene Iredale, a lawyer for a San
Diego-area man who was Tasered by a police officer who had stopped him
for not wearing a seat belt. "It's not to be used promiscuously or lightly."

The ruling allows Iredale's client Carl Bryan to go to trial in his
damage suit against Brian McPherson, a policeman in Bryan's hometown of
Coronado. McPherson's lawyers were unavailable for comment.

Tasers enjoy wide support among law enforcement officials, including
George Gascón, San Francisco's new police chief, who is considering
recommending the devices for his officers and has ordered a study of
past police shootings to see whether stun guns would have made a
difference. On the other hand, Amnesty International says 334 people
died in the United States from 2001 to August 2008 after being hit by
Tasers.

McPherson stopped Bryan's car on a summer morning in 2005 as the
21-year-old was driving home. Wearing only boxer shorts and tennis
shoes, and upset at himself for forgetting to fasten his seat belt,
Bryan swore at himself as he stepped out of the car, and was shouting
gibberish and banging his thighs as he stood 15 to 25 feet away from the
officer, the court said.

McPherson said Bryan then took one step toward him. Bryan denied it, and
the court said the evidence indicated that Bryan was facing away from
McPherson when the officer fired his Taser. Bryan fell on his face,
breaking four front teeth, and needed a hospital visit to remove the
electronic dart, the court said. He was charged with misdemeanors of
resisting and opposing an officer, but prosecutors dropped the charges
after the jury deadlocked.

Upholding a judge's refusal to dismiss Bryan's civil suit, the appeals
court said a jury should decide whether the officer had used too much
force to subdue someone who was not threatening him.

Bryan was clearly unarmed and did not challenge McPherson verbally or
make any menacing gestures, Wardlaw said. She said McPherson's claim
that Bryan had ignored an order to stay in the car - an order that Bryan
denied hearing - would not justify a Taser shooting, nor would the
officer's concern that Bryan might be mentally disturbed.

Other factors that could support a claim of excessive force, Wardlaw
said, were the minor nature of the traffic offense, McPherson's failure
to warn Bryan that he might be Tasered and the fact that other officers
were on the way to the scene.

- - -

Kudos to the court.

Harry wrote:
Taser ruling sets standards for police, claims

"It's a significant use of force, not like cuffing someone or using pain
compliance or pepper spray," said Eugene Iredale, a lawyer for a San
Diego-area man who was Tasered by a police officer who had stopped him
for not wearing a seat belt.


Pain compliance? Arm twisting, kneecapping, breaking bones, a poke in
the nose,
a knee to the groin, beating senseless with a baton.



McPherson stopped Bryan's car on a summer morning in 2005 as the
21-year-old was driving home. Wearing only boxer shorts and tennis
shoes, and upset at himself for forgetting to fasten his seat belt,
Bryan swore at himself as he stepped out of the car, and was shouting
gibberish and banging his thighs as he stood 15 to 25 feet away from the
officer, the court said.


The citizen was wearing only skivvies and tennis shoes. How odd.
I don't know about you folks, but a man in his skivvies shouting
gibberish and slapping his thighs just 15 feet from where I was
standing, would put me on high alert.



McPherson said Bryan then took one step toward him. Bryan denied it, and
the court said the evidence indicated that Bryan was facing away from
McPherson when the officer fired his Taser. Bryan fell on his face,
breaking four front teeth, and needed a hospital visit to remove the
electronic dart, the court said. He was charged with misdemeanors of
resisting and opposing an officer, but prosecutors dropped the charges
after the jury deadlocked.


Video evidence would have been nice.


Bryan was clearly unarmed and did not challenge McPherson verbally or
make any menacing gestures, Wardlaw said. She said McPherson's claim
that Bryan had ignored an order to stay in the car - an order that Bryan
denied hearing - would not justify a Taser shooting, nor would the
officer's concern that Bryan might be mentally disturbed.


SAY WHAT?


Kudos to the court.

Naturally. Whoever you are, you are as mentally disturbed as skivvies boy.


--

I get so upset by these spoofers, that I think I am going to make more
crossposts between rec.boats and numerous unrelated newsgroups, because
at least that is not detrimental to rec.boats. This group needs some
new blood, and that is always a good way to get some new posters who
enjoy boating as much as i do.

On 30/12/2009 8:48 AM, Harry wrote:
Harry wrote:
Taser ruling sets standards for police, claims

"It's a significant use of force, not like cuffing someone or using
pain compliance or pepper spray," said Eugene Iredale, a lawyer for a
San Diego-area man who was Tasered by a police officer who had stopped
him for not wearing a seat belt.


Pain compliance? Arm twisting, kneecapping, breaking bones, a poke in
the nose,
a knee to the groin, beating senseless with a baton.

About time. The Canadian RCMP is in a huge coverup right now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05vuY-kqp9o

BTW, he was tasered 5 times, not the two claimed by the RCMP. At the
inquiry, one officer said "...taser him until he didn't move..."...
Think about that for a moment taser pundits. I dare you to get tasered
until you don't move. Electric shock means you move if you are alive.

They still haven't annouced their findings. Even though thewhole
incident is on film, as he was mardered.

The above was whitewash for the media smoothing. Warning, the following
video contains the actual event in it's enirty that resulted in murder
and you will see the RCMP do it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wYEB...eature=related

You judge. Tasers might not be as damaging as a 45 but not that far
from it that officers should not have to file written reports.

Did this man deserve to die because in over 8 hours in the airport not
one idiot would not help him find his mother not 100 feet away on the
other side of customs! Know he is supposed to be in a secured area and
he could not speach english!!!

Did he deserve 5 taser shots??? Older male, speaty, dehydrated, no one
to help him for 8 hours...

This to me is he most graphic police murder ever caught on camera.

Canuck57 wrote:
On 30/12/2009 8:48 AM, Harry wrote:
Harry wrote:
Taser ruling sets standards for police, claims

Canuck57s response was a spoof.
please disregard.

"Canuck57" wrote

This to me is he most graphic police murder ever caught on camera.

Five trained POs could not bum rush this guy and subdue him? If they could
not, they need to be in some other line of work. There are special
extrication squads in prisons that can go in and subdue ANYONE and handcuff
them. Why not a special squad for these situations, or at least a few cops
who are willing to get their uniforms dirty?

Near where I live in Utah, nearly the same thing happened. A bipolar man
was traveling with his family in a car. Became agitated. They stopped. He
got out ranting and raving. Took off his clothes. Running up and down the
highway. Cops got there. Tasered him although he had no weapons and
noplace on his body not visible to officers. Tasered him until he died.
Several cops couldn't take down one unarmed naked guy? C'mon.

Police were cleared of all charges.

Steve

On 30/12/2009 8:15 PM, Harry wrote:
Canuck57 wrote:
On 30/12/2009 8:48 AM, Harry wrote:
Harry wrote:
Taser ruling sets standards for police, claims

Canuck57s response was a spoof.
please disregard.

Sad to say, it was no spoof. It was real.

Think, if you watched the second one, you saw Cops kill him, as in dead.

And couldn't even bother to get medical help for many minutes afterwards.

And think, I am even all for cops roughing up REAL criminals. But above
is a horror story in what happened. Cops went far to far and not one
has seen a jail cell.

On 30/12/2009 8:25 PM, Steve B wrote:
wrote

This to me is he most graphic police murder ever caught on camera.

Five trained POs could not bum rush this guy and subdue him? If they could
not, they need to be in some other line of work. There are special
extrication squads in prisons that can go in and subdue ANYONE and handcuff
them. Why not a special squad for these situations, or at least a few cops
who are willing to get their uniforms dirty?

And watch carefully, he never did swing at the cops.

Near where I live in Utah, nearly the same thing happened. A bipolar man
was traveling with his family in a car. Became agitated. They stopped. He
got out ranting and raving. Took off his clothes. Running up and down the
highway. Cops got there. Tasered him although he had no weapons and
noplace on his body not visible to officers. Tasered him until he died.
Several cops couldn't take down one unarmed naked guy? C'mon.

Police were cleared of all charges.

Steve

Isn't much different than the gestapo with bats is it? Outcome is all
the same. Government BSes us about tasers being safe when in fact it si
clear as day, taser until they stop moving has the same effect as a 45
would if shot until they stopped moving.

He didn't even swing at them, look close at that part. If you know
squat about europeans you know they wave their hands a lot. And even a
10 year old can tell teh differnce between hand waving and a pile drive.

Contrary to Harry the Statist worshiper, it was governemtn police,
federal goverment police no less. These were not hick town throwbacks,
these are supposed to be our best. This really happened and would be
totally whitewashed if it were not for a cell phone camera and someone
who knew how to use it.

It wasn't a re-enactment either. That was real footage that should be
played at a manslaughter trial.

Government is increasingly ignoring the people, we are just a herd being
managed at this point just that we haven't all figured it out yet.