Police Refuse to Take Responsibility in Taser-Killing of Rory McKenzie

We told you a few days ago that the Kern County coroner ruled 'homicide' in the taser-related death of Rory McKenzie. The Kern County Sheriff's Office didn't like the negative publicity from the coroner's decision. So, the Sheriff's Office convened a group this past Monday to review the case. After a quick review, the Sheriff's Office announced that the four officers involved in the taser-killing operated "within department policy".

You may recall that these four police officers attempted to take McKenzie into custody on July 2, 2009. He physically resisted arrest. During the struggle, a deputy deployed a Taser as McKenzie continued to physically resist arrest. A Kern County Sheriff’s Office K-9 was utilized and McKenzie was bitten on the right leg, allowing deputies to take him into custody.

After McKenzie was taken into custody, deputies noticed he was having difficulty breathing and called for medical aid. McKenzie stopped breathing and deputies administered CPR. McKenzie was transported by ambulance to Kern Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

The four officers are Sergeant Otis Whinery (24 years with the Sheriff's Office), Senior Deputy Alan Fullerton (21 years with the Sheriff's Office), Deputy Douglas Jauch (8 years with the Sheriff's Office), Deputy Patrick McNeal (5 years with the Sheriff's Office) and Deputy Edward Tucker (12 years with the Sheriff's Office).

The penalty for resisting arrest should not be death ... and it should not be "within department policy". I hope that the Kern County District Attorney files criminal charges in this case.

In the meantime, I encourage all villagers to see if they can get a copy of the 'use of force continuum' policy from their local police department. We may need to deal with this issue on a local level. What say u?

Taser Death: Rory McKenzie (Bakersfield, CA)

I missed this taser-related death when it occurred on July 2, 2009. It turns out that a woman, Latoya McKenzie, 20, flagged down patrol deputies just after midnight claiming her husband assaulted her. She said her husband, 25-year-old Rory McKenzie, had broken out a car window with a baseball bat while she was sitting in the car.

Deputies went to an apartment in east Bakersfield and used a Taser and sheriff's dog when Rory McKenzie resisted arrest, according to a sheriff's office news release. Deputies noticed he had stopped breathing and took him to Kern Medical Center, where he died.

Another Black man dead from taser-wielding police officers. When will an investigation take place on a national scale?

Witnesses indicate that the young man did not resist arrest and that it was unneccessary for the six officers on the scene to use the taser on the unarmed man. After all, nowhere in America is the death penalty appropriate for a simple assault case.

Latoya McKenzie said she wasn't home when her husband was arrested, but she said her three children were there. She criticized deputies for their handling of the situation.

"There's about six, seven police officers and just him," Latoya McKenzie said, "and a canine dog, but they felt so threatened that they had to Taser him with two rows, or whatever."

The incident is under investigation, but Sr. Deputy Michael Whorf said deputies are allowed to use one higher level of force that a suspect is using in order to subdue to suspect.