Taser Lawsuit: Family of Audrecas Davis File Wrongful Death Lawsuit vs. DeKalb County Police

DeKalb County police killed 29-year old Audrecas Davis with multiple shots from their taser guns on May 9, 2010. An internal police investigation cleared the officers involved of wrongdoing. The DeKalb medical examiner ruled the Taser shocks did not directly cause Davis’ death, and that he had medical problems, including hypertension and heart disease. An autopsy determined he died from cardio-respiratory arrest.


Davis' parents aren't buying it. Davis' family filed a wrongful death suit against DeKalb County police. [SOURCE]

"It doesn’t make sense. It’s just what they did is wrong. It’s plain wrong," said Anne Davis.

Police officers, responding to a call from paramedics, arrived on the scene just in time to electrocute Davis six times. The police report said two officers used their 50,000-volt weapons when Davis resisted being handcuffed to a stretcher, became combative and flailed his arms.

"My son was not a threat to them at all. There was no crime involved. He was sick, he truly needed medical attention," said Davis. "I want them held accountable so they can see how they erred in their procedures, and this won’t be committed again."

The suit seeks unspecified damages.

District Attorney Still Considers Criminal Charges in DeKalb County Taser Deaths

The Internal Review Board cleared the unidentified officers involved in the taser-related deaths of Audrecas Davis and Sukeba Jackson-Olawunmi.

Prosecutors are still reviewing the cases to determine if criminal charges will be filed agains the officers.

Davis' family is reviewing the reports and trying to determine whether they should file a lawsuit.

The board, which is made up of investigators, reviewed the evidence and voted unanimously to clear all of the officers involved. The board voted that no policies or procedures were violated, and there were no safety concerns in either incident, according to the report. [SOURCE]

"As chief of police, I stand behind the use of the Taser as an alternative to deadly force. While both of these incidents were extremely unfortunate in that they resulted in death, I know my officers followed the proper protocols," Chief William O'Brien said.

Villagers recall that the DeKalb medical examiner ruled the deaths of Davis and Jackson-Olawunmi as homicides. Both died in separate incidents in May after being repeatedly tased by DeKalb officers. Police said both were combative and failed to comply with officers' commands during the incidents.

Autopsies found that Davis and Jackson-Olawunmi were under the influence of drugs and had prior medical conditions, including obesity, medical examiner Pat Bailey said.

Davis, 29, died May 10 from cardiorespiratory arrest and had caffeine, nicotine and chemicals found in marijuana in his system. He also suffered from hypertension and sickle cell disease, according to the medical examiner.

Jackson-Olawunmi, 40, died May 15 of a cocaine-induced delirium, the medical examiner said. In addition to cocaine, she had blood pressure medication in her system to treat her hypertension.

Both of these people would be alive today if not for the repeated jolts of taser voltage into their bodies.

Taser Autopsy: Death of Audrecas Davis is Ruled a 'Homicide'

DeKalb County medical examiner Pat Bailey ruled that the death of Audrecas Davis was a homicide and the use of a Taser was one of several contributing factors. [SOURCE]

Other factors that contributed to death were drugs, prior medical conditions and obesity. Davis, 29, died from cardiorespiratory arrest and had marijuana, caffeine and nicotine in his system. He also suffered from hypertension and sickle cell disease.

Physical exertion and morbid obesity also contributed to his death; Davis was 445 pounds when police used their taser on him.

“If you remove the Taser, you can’t say they wouldn’t have died anyway,” Bailey said.

The report showed Davis suffered a seizure and drug hallucinations on May 9. Paramedics called police after Davis became combative, according to a police report.

During the struggle, officers used a Taser on Davis five times to get him to comply with their commands. Officers said in their report that they repeated the shocks because the weapon had no effect on the man.

It was only after paramedics injected Davis with valium that he calmed down. His heart also slowed down after the drug, the report stated. He was pronounced dead about 25 minutes later at the hospital.

The medical examiner also indicated that a Taser had been used on Davis before by Gwinnett Police in 2006 and he had a history of drug-related arrests.

The next step in this process rests with the prosecutors. They need to review the autopsy report and decide whether or not to bring criminal charges against the taser-wielding police officers for their role in this homicide.

Taser Autopsy: Death of Sukeba Jackson-Olawunmi is Ruled a 'Homicide'

DeKalb County medical examiner Pat Bailey ruled that the death of Sukeba Jackson-Olawunmi was a homicide and the use of a Taser was one of several contributing factors. [SOURCE]

Other factors that contributed to death were drugs, prior medical conditions and obesity.  Jackson-Olawunmi, 40, died of a cocaine-induced delirium. In addition to cocaine, she had blood pressure medication in her system to treat her hypertension.

Physical exertion and morbid obesity also contributed to his death; Jackson-Olawunmi was 359 pounds when police used their taser on her.

“If you remove the Taser, you can’t say [she] wouldn’t have died anyway,” Bailey said.

Jackson-Olawunmi died May 14 after a Taser was used on her four times. Police were called to a Clarkson apartment complex after neighbors reported she was frantically shouting that someone was trying to kill her, according to witness statements. She kicked in several doors before falling off a second-floor balcony.

Police arrived to find Jackson-Olawunmi stealing a car and attempting to flee, the report stated. A Taser was used on her after she refused to surrender and fought officers. She remained violent until police used the Taser against her side. Thirty seconds later, she became unresponsive. She was pronounced dead 30 minutes later.

The next step in this process rests with the prosecutors. They need to review the autopsy report and decide whether or not to bring criminal charges against the taser-wielding police officers for their role in this homicide.

Taser Death: Audrecus Davis (Atlanta GA)

I don't have many details on this taser-related death.  What we know is that DeKalb County police offers electrocuted Audrecus Davis five times with their taser guns during a struggle on May 9th.  Paramedics had been attempting to treat the man for a possible drug overdose when he became violent. That’s when police arrived and found the 6′-4″, 375lb man foaming from the nose and mouth and defecating all over the room.

The father of Audrecas Davis said his son had never been violent. [SOURCE]

“I want to say, ‘Do they think he is some type of vicious animal,’” said Jimmy Davis, father of Audrecas Davis, 29, who police say was combative to paramedics who tried help him at a DeKalb motel room. “If a bear comes into the yard and is not harming anyone, you would just let him go into the wild. Why didn’t you just let him go back in his room and call his relatives?”

Davis’ family has hired an attorney and is considering a lawsuit, his father told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday.

Paramedics were called to Audrecas Davis’ room at the Budgetel Inn on Chamblee-Tucker Road on May 9 after motel staff found him passed out. Paramedics summoned police after Davis, who was 375 pounds, awoke during treatment and became combative according to the police report.

During the struggle, officers used a Taser on Davis five times to get him to comply with their commands. Officers said in the report that they repeated the shocks because the weapon seemed to have little effect on Davis. After each stun, Davis continued to fight. One time, he ripped the prongs from the Taser out of his skin, the report indicated.

Police also indicated they found evidence of drug activity in the room.

Jimmy Davis said his son had a previous criminal record involving drugs, but had cleaned up his life.

“I know he was not a violent person,” Jimmy Davis said. “That’s out of character for him. I don’t know if he was hallucinating or what. He is always the one that calms the family down.”

Stephen Apolinsky, a lawyer for Davis’ family, said he is still waiting for more information, but he doesn’t understand why police were trying to handcuff him.

“Why did they use this Taser as a cattle prod to force him in an ambulance? It’s his decision to decline medical treatment,” Apolinsky said.

According to the police report, Davis was foaming at the mouth and nose and had defecated in the hotel room. He became unresponsive after the stuns with the Taser, in addition to two injections of a medication to calm him down.

Apolinsky said Davis had hypertension and may have had clogged arteries, but he is waiting on the autopsy to determine the cause of death.

Audrecas Davis was working with his grandfather on a farm in Albany to make money to help care for his two children. He was in DeKalb County visiting family for Mother’s Day, his father said.

Please let us know if you have any additional information on this taser electrocution.

Taser Death: Sukeba "Sassy" Jackson-Olawunmi (Atlanta, GA)

DeKalb County police electrocuted a second person within 5 days using their taser guns. This time the taser-killing was done to a woman. 39-year old Sukeba Olawunmi was pumped with 50,000 volts of electricity twice after she crashed a stolen car, refused to comply with police commands and became combative.

Police were called into the situation after Olawunmi was accused of attempting to carjack several people. The woman, who was 5-foot-3 and 350 pounds, became unresponsive shortly after the second jolt of taser juice.

We don't have much more information on this taser-killing right now. Please let us know if you learn anything new.