Wichita Wants Taser Torture Case to Go Away with $50,000 Payment to Donnell Williams

This blog started following the growing incidences of taser abuse against Black folks back in 2007. One reason for our interest was Donnell Williams. He is the deaf man who was taking a bath in his own home when police busted in and tased him.

The police officers said they had to use the taser because the man wouldn't follow their instructions. Officers say they were concerned of their own safety. Of course, they were never in danger because they were fired up and ready to go on a false alarm.

"I was mad but I was scared and shocked about it," said Donnell Williams in 2007. "I've never had a gun pointed at me." Williams said he had just gotten out of the bathtub, wearing only a towel.

Wichita police now realize that Mr. Williams didn't 'follow directions' because he couldn't hear them - he's deaf!

Anyhow, the Wichita City Council voted to settle a lawsuit with Mr. Williams by paying him $50,000. The city is not admitting to any wrongdoing on the officers' part. But it believes the $50,000 settlement will save time and money.

No word yet on whether or not Mr. Williams will accept the settlement offer. Care to offer your village voice on taser torture (in general) or this Wichita case (in particular)?

What say u?

Taser Victim Donnell Williams Secures Legal Counsel

Many villagers will recall the taser incident involving Donnell Williams in Wichita that took place last year. The police busted down the brother's door and unleashed an unwarranted taser attack because he didn't answer their commands quick enough. It turns out Donnell Williams is deaf.

In any case, we are pleased to report that Donnell Williams now has a legal team working for him. Perhaps one way to get the police to be less laser-happy is to make it cost heavily every time they make a mistake.

Kudos to NAACP Wichita Branch for staying on top of this issue for all of us.

Wichita Police 'Regret' Using Taser on Innocent Deaf Man

Wichita Deputy Police Chief Robert Lee is getting negative feedback from the afrosphere and around the globe for the unwarranted use of a taser gun on Donnell Williams ... an innocent, unarmed, naked nubian inside his own home. Deputy Chief Lee wants to assure people they are looking into the incident. "We regret it. I know he does and our goal is to learn from it, to see if there's anything we need to do to make sure it doesn't happen again," says Lee.

The police plan to meet later this week with a group representing deaf and hearing impaired people. The department has also opened a full investigation into the officers' actions as a result of support provided to Donnell Williams by the Wichita NAACP. There will be a civil rights lawsuit filed with Justice Department in the next few days.

[video source]

Donnell Williams is Deaf Black Man Attacked by Taser-Happy Police in Wichita

Drumbeats from Over Analyze It told us that police responding to a false shooting call broke into a deaf man's apartment and shot him with a taser as the man was getting out of the bathtub. Donnell Williams was wearing only a towel when police entered the bathroom with guns drawn.

Williams kept pointing to his ear and yelling, "I am scared. I can’t hear, I can’t hear!" He is functionally deaf without his hearing aids. When he didn’t obey the unheard police commands he was shot with the taser.

Were the police so frightened of a naked Blackman coming out of his own bathroom, inside of his own house, that they felt a need to use 50,000 volts of pure electricity on him?

Can you imagine how Donnell Williams had to feel at that moment?

After police realized they were at a false call they apologized to Mr. Williams. The police are trying to trace the source of the call and stated only that it came from a cell phone. The case is being reviewed by the department. Anyone have the name of the cop that used the taser on this brother? It wasn't reported in the initial news reports.

Click here to see televised report on taser incident
The Wichita police are begging for forgiveness now (before the lawsuits come down). But, is there any defense for this type of shoddy police work? It ain't happening this way in the 90210 zip code ... only in OUR neighborhoods.

Villagers, how many brothers and sisters do we need to see victimized by the shoot-first, ask-questions-later mentality of these taser-happy cops before we recognize that there is a serious problem going on.

1. Pregnant woman
2. Innocent Blackman with his mother on Thanksgiving day

Now we see it happening to a deaf Blackman. Was he engaged in some illegal activity? Was he out after 3:00 am in the morning acting a fool? Nope, this brother was buck-naked coming out of his own bathtub in his own dayum house. What is wrong in our country?