Gallatin Police Department Finally Identify the Names of the Officers Involved in Taser-Death of Jeffry Woodward

Soulclap to the Gallatin News Examiner for getting their hands on the 199-page internal police investigation report into the taser-death of Jeffry Woodward. [SOURCE]

Villagers may recall that Woodward was killed in October 2009 by three unidentified Gallatin police officers.   It always amazes me that the police officers involved in these weekly taser-killings around the nation are so rarely identified in the initial press conferences and news articles.   In this case, the names remained unknown to the public for over a year.

According to the internal report, the Gallatin Police Department officers involved in the incident were Sgt. Chris Shockley, Officer Mark Hill, Officer Kris Ford and Officer James Perry.

The report backs up the department’s claim that Woodward was combative with officers, who used shackles, a K-9 dog and Tasers to bring him under control, even after he was handcuffed. Officers said Woodward exhibited “superhuman” strength while struggling, which was attributed to methamphetamine use.  The police figure that his death was tragic ... but, it didn't violate any police department policies or procedures.

The Woodward family disagrees.  Woodward’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Sumner County Circuit Court on October 26 — nearly one year to the date of the 33-year-old’s death — and the suit was moved to the U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee on November 9.

The victim’s mother, Sandra Rutter and the victim’s widow, Andrea Woodward, seek a total of $21 million in compensatory and punitive damages from both the city and Taser International.

Taser Lawsuit: Jeffry Woodward (Gallatin, TN)

Jeffry Woodward died as a result of electro-shock torture from Gallatin police officers last year.   Readers of this blog recall that Mr. Woodward called police on October 27, 2009 "to report a home invasion and that his mother was in danger."   He thought that someone had kidnapped his mother.

The police arrived.  They checked his home and saw that his mother was unharmed.   The police decided to arrest Woodward for "filing a false police report."    The video news report on what happened next is horrifying.

Unidentified Gallatin police officers took Woodward out of the car ... they allowed their police dog to bite him and they tasered him multiple times.  Not surprisingly, Mr. Woodward went into cardiac arrest and was soon dead.

All of this was witnessed by neighbors and Woodward's mother.   A recent lawsuit filed by Woodward's mother states,

"While on the ground with a police canine on top of him, officers subjected him to multiple Taser applications.  Eyewitnesses report that during this time, Mr. Woodward was crying out, 'Help me! Help me!' and that she was pleading with officers not to kill her son. ... (T)he gratuitous use of force by the defendant officers against the decedent was unnecessary and resulted in severe injuries and death."

Woodward's wife and mother have filed a lawsuit against Taser International (claiming it misrepresents its products as non-lethal and safe) and the Gallatin Police Department (history of allowing its officers to use excessive and illegal force on civilians, failing to discipline the officers for it, and covering for them by falsely claiming that the beatings were "justified and proper.")

Woodward's family are represented by Joe Bednarz of Nashville.   This blog is hopeful that successful lawsuits against Taser International will drive them into bankruptcy ... and that successful lawsuits against the police department will cause them to use tasers more responsibly.

Taser Death: Jeffry Woodward (Gallatin, TN)

I wonder what goes through the head of a police officer involved in these taser-related killings? Does their adrenaline get flowing so much that they lose control of their senses? Police are killing citizens at a rate of once per week in America with these taser guns.

The police in Gallatin, Tennessee decided to jump on the taser abuse band wagon. They used a taser and a police dog to take down 33-year old Jeffry Woodward after he 'filed a false police report'. [VIDEO]

The police are engaged in damage control right now.

"This person did not immediately die as a result of being Tased," said Sgt. Bill Storment, public information officer for Gallatin police. "He died a short time later."

Three unidentified Gallatin police officers responded to a home invasion call. En route to the scene, police encountered Woodward. According to police, Woodward was walking down the street carrying a knife. After surrendering the knife, Woodward reportedly told officers that someone was holding his mother in her house against her will.

Upon investigation, Woodward’s mother was found to be OK, resulting in police arresting Woodward for filing a false report.

As officers attempted to arrest Woodward, police say, he began to fight with officers. This gave the police all of the excuse that they needed to jolt Woodward with 50,000 volts of electricity from their taser guns. The police brought Woodward to the ground and handcuffed him.

It was soon after that that police believed Woodward was suffering from a medical problem and called for an ambulance. Woodward was transported from the scene to Sumner Regional Medical Center, where he died soon after.

The three police officers involved in the killing of this citizen are not being placed on suspension or administrative leave during the investigation.

"They will be back at work on their next tour of duty," Storment said.

The police may have a hard time slipping this taser-related death under the rug. There was a witness to the killing this time. [SOURCE]

Shawn Hill, 22, of Gallatin, said he was trying to get a little extra sleep Tuesday night before going to work, hitting the snooze button on his alarm clock when he heard a struggle outside.

Stepping out of his home, Hill said he witnessed the struggle between Woodward and police.

Hill said he watched as Woodward ran from the police and dove onto the hood of a police car.

"All I could hear was tick tick tick tick tick (the sound made by the Taser). That was when he was on the ground."

Hill said Woodward’s mother pleaded with officers not to kill him. He said Woodward himself was also yelling.

"He was yelling, ‘Help me, help me,’" Hill said. "I won’t ever forget that."

Hill said that police deployed the K-9 unit against Woodward after he jumped onto the hood of the patrol car and was taken to the ground by several officers.

"While he was on the ground, they let the dog out to get on top of him," Hill said.

Storment said a K-9 was there, but as of Wednesday afternoon, Storment was unsure whether a K-9 dog made contact with Woodward.

While police are investigating what happened, Storment said he doesn’t believe any charges will stem from the investigation and that they have no reason to believe the officers used excessive force.

Hill, however, disagrees.

"For somebody to die, you did too much," he said.

We have raised awareness of the continued taser torture in America. It is time that we take our protests and concerns to a new level. There are two upcoming events that I encourage all villagers to support and publicize.

1. November 7 - March for Dignity in Ft. Worth, TX. The SCLC is calling for 10,000 people to join them in a march to protest the aftermath of the taser-related death of Michael Jacobs.
   
2. December 4 - The AfroSpear is asking all bloggers to support a Day of Blogging for Justice: Stop Taser Torture.

What say u?