August 15, 2011

Taser Death: Gregory Kralovetz (Kaukauna, WI)

It happened again! This time a 50-year old man was electrocuted-to-death by Kaukauna (WI) police officers. The man, Gregory Kralovetz, was reported to police for allegedly "yelling for help". I'm unsure when "yelling for help" became punishable by the death penalty ... but, then again, the police in Wisconsin may be operating under a different set of laws than the rest of us.

Kaukauna police said Kralovetz behaved strangely when officers approached him, possibly exhibiting signs of a drug overdose. Have you noticed that it never takes long for the police to mention 'drugs' whenever there is a taser-related killing?

On the way to the scene, officers spotted Kralovetz running nude down the street. Police called for an ambulance to provide Kralovetz immediate medical attention, but he became agitated when the ambulance arrived and ran away.


Officers were initially unable to physically restrain Kralovetz and used a Taser to subdue him while medical personnel treated him. Am I the only one who thinks that the police simply didn't want to put their hands on a nude 50-year old man? Instead of showing compassion and finding a way to help this unarmed citizen ... the police pulled out their taser guns and electrocuted Kralovetz with 50,000 volts of electricity.

He was knocked down and out. The paramedics were able to take him to the local hospital at 5:15 am on Saturday, August 6. He was declared dead within the hour.

The police then went to Kralovitz's apartment. Of course, the police were giddy to tell reporters that they found evidence of recent drug use at the apartment. The type of drug and quantity will be confirmed through testing.


It could just be me ... but, I think that the police are simply to trigger-happy with their taser guns. This was the 3rd person to be killed on Saturday, August 6th in America from taser-happy police officers. When will we figure out that something is wrong when tasers are killing unarmed people on a weekly basis in America?

4 comments:

Russ said...

The reason cops use Taser devices on drug users is because pain compliance doesn't work so baton, OC and pugilistics are useless. They could tackle him and force him into cuffs but the probablity of injury is high. LVNR is a good option but more dangerous than the Taser device. Cocaine, drugs and neuro disorders and other illnesses kill people. Their crazy behavior have people calling police for help. Police arrive, use force and they die. Become a cop and go handle a man in a drug induced craze without a Taser! Then you will have credibility. I support the use of the Taser devices when they are warranted. I'll give you that many officers use them when not warranted. Those cases are the minority. Case law going through litigation will have departments changing policies appropriately to not use on passive resistance, flight with minor crimes and multiple activations in addition to the already existing recommendations reguarding at risk populations/situations.

Unknown said...

Russ - I must say that I agree with your post 100% and it was educational for the non-LEO peeps like myself. It is better to take a moment to educate (as you've done with this comment) than to simply assume that non-LEO types are perpetually ignorant and unwilling to be reasonable in our analysis.

I am too old to "become a cop", however, I have gone on police ride-alongs in the past. I appreciate the hard work and challenges faced by police. I also appreciate that taser guns are killing people at a much higher rate than batons, OC or pugilistics ever did. Tasers appear to be used for convenience rather than when they are actually needed to protect human life.

Anyhow, thanks for taking time to share your insights. It is appreciated!

Theason said...

I was there when this incident happened. I'm 6'4" 322lbs and I was scared of this guy. It seems to me some people read a head line and go off on a rampage. You really have NO idea what your talking about. Shut up!

Unknown said...

Theason - Is the fact that your 'fight or flight' hormones were in overdrive a good enough reason to take the life of another human being? I accept you were scared ... but, was your life in danger?