You may recall the story of 17-year old Darryl Turner who police killed with a Taser back in March.
We learned this week that Turner's autopsy report says the stress of the situation and the shock from the Taser was too much for his body to handle. It says he died of acute ventricular dysrhythmia and ventricular fibrillation. In other words, his heart was pumping so fast and irregularly that he died.
The report states Turner did not have heart problems and he didn't have drugs in his system except for the medicines emergency workers used trying to save his life.
It stuns me that anyone would think that the police are justified in killing this young man. He did
not have a weapon. Police said Turner had been threatening the officer after having disagreement with his employer. It just seems that the penalty for disagreeing with your Food Lion boss should not be execution.Turner's family has not said whether they plan to sue police. They hired an attorney in March.
Police are doing their own internal investigation to see if the officer who used the Taser followed the rules. That officer is back on active duty after being put on administrative leave following the incident.
I haven't written about taser deaths in a few months. Do you think that the taser issue is slowing down? Have the police been better trained as a result of the incidents we reported on in the past? What say u?
5 comments:
I say there's a world of difference between accidental death and execution.
Woozie - You're right. This has all of the appearances of an execution...
Mmmm why are black males always viewed as threatening even when they have no visible weapons? Why is it that excessive force is always deemed the “right” course of action for dealing with black males that have no visible weapons? What makes the black man (with no visible weapon) threatening to police that armed and trained to kill? Mmmm
I don't understand why a taser is an appropriate weapon. I feel like its like a scapegoat -- instead of trying to figure out a way to "restrain" -- if even needed-- let me just taze b/c its quick & easy.
Jazzy - You are asking the right questions. I don't have any new answers. The reality is that we still live in a society where being Black is dangerous. This youngster didn't do himself any good by getting mad at his Food Lion boss ... however, the penalty should be a suspension or getting fired. The penalty should not be death-by-taser...
Kieya - The police are supposed to follow a force continuum in which other options are used before taser. It seems that the police simply aren't trained very well...
Post a Comment