Oregon Officers Justified in Taser Deaths of Walter McKelvey and Gregory Price

A Douglas County grand jury has found that police officers in two separate incidents were justified in using taser guns against unarmed men -- both of whom died when their paths crossed with police.

The findings, released by the Douglas County District Attorney's office, involve a March 3 incident in which Douglas County Sheriff's deputies used a Taser on Walter Ray McKelvey, 26, and a June 22 incident in which Roseburg Police officers used a Taser on Gregory Allen Price, 56.

Read the rest of the OregonLive article.

This blog will continue to track taser-related killings that occur in America from time to time. However, we are unable to maintain the daily vigil on this issue that we once kept. Please feel free to let us know if you have any taser-related news that you think we should share in the future.

Taser Death: Phyllis Owens (Clackamas County, OR)

Two grown-azzed deputy sheriffs felt so scared of an 87-year old woman that they electrocuted her to death on July 8 in the front porch of her Oregon home. The victim is Phyllis Owens. She is unhealthy and suffered from dementia.

Clackamas County sheriff deputy Steve Shelly and his unidentified partner were involved in the taser-related killing. They indicate that she was reaching for a handgun. It seems to me that the police would use a gun if they thought that their lives were in danger from a suspect with a gun. However, in this case Deputy Steve Shelly hid in the shrubs on the front porch and used 50,000 volts from a taser gun ... it just doesn't seem credible that they were in fear of their life. Anyhow, the two deputies have been placed on administrative leave until things can be sorted out.

Dr. Larry Lewman, deputy state medical examiner, said an autopsy revealed that Owens suffered from heart disease and had a pacemaker. He said he needed more information on when she had the pacemaker implanted to determine whether that played a role in her death.

"But let me put it this way: A healthy person would not have died from this," Lewman said.

According to Clackamas County sheriff's deputies, Owens threatened the mobile home park manager with a handgun shortly after 2 p.m. When deputies arrived, Owens was on her porch, still holding the gun. They negotiated with her, trying to calm her down and persuade her to surrender the gun.

Owens put the gun down briefly on her porch railing. But when the deputies advanced, she reached to pick it up again. That's when Deputy Steve Shelly shot Owens with a Taser.

Owens immediately collapsed. Deputies performed CPR in an attempt to revive her. However, she died at a Gresham hospital about an hour later.

It should be interesting to see how this pre-judicial electrocution turns out. In the meantime, I encourage you to share your thoughts. What say u?

Gregory Rold Dies After Police Shoot Him With a Taser

I'm sad to report that we have another taser-related death in America. This is the 20th taser-related death at the hands of police officers since the beginning of the calendar year. Here is the initial report:

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Salem man dies after police shoot him with a Taser
by Stephen Beaven, The Oregonian

A purported trespasser died Saturday night after he was shot with a Taser as Salem police officers tried to arrest him.

Gregory Rold, 37, died at Salem Hospital shortly before 9:30 p.m., police said today.

Officers were called to an apartment on Royvonne Avenue SE in Salem about 7:38 p.m. following a report of a man who was trespassing. They encountered Rold, who resisted arrest, prompting officers to shoot him with a Taser and beat him with their batons. After he was handcuffed, officers said Rold was unconscious.

Four officers were placed on administrative leave while Rold's death is being investigated.

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It is interesting to note that Gregory Rold cannot contradict the 'resisting arrest' or 'trespassing' charges. He's dead. I don't know all aspects of the law ... but, I'm fairly comfortable that we don't have the death penalty in America for those that 'resist arrest or trespass. Four police officers couldn't control this guy with something less than deadly force? The only response that they could come up with was extra-judicial death penalty?

Villagers, we are 20 weeks into the calendar year and we already have 20 taser-related deaths in America. Isn't it time for you to sign our online petition calling for congressional hearings on this taser torture?

What say u?

Oregon Campus Lynches Life-Size Figure of Barack Obama

We still have some in America who think that lynchings are a legitimate form of expression. Officials of a small Christian university say a life-size cardboard reproduction of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was hung from a tree on the campus, an act with racial undertones that outraged students and school leaders.

George Fox University President Robin Baker said a custodian discovered the effigy early Tuesday and removed it. University spokesman Rob Felton said that the commercially produced reproduction had been suspended from the branch of a tree with fishing line around the neck. In other words, someone on this campus thought it a good idea to lynch the Black man running for President.

Taped to the cardboard cutout of the Black senator from Illinois was a message targeting participants in Act Six, a scholarship program geared toward increasing the number of minority and low-income students at several Christian colleges, mostly in the Northwest.

The message read, "Act Six reject."

About 1,800 students are enrolled at the campus in Newberg, southwest of Portland. It also has centers in Portland, Salem and Boise.

The odd thing is that law enforcement says that even if they find the ones who did this ... it may not even be a crime. It seems that intimidation of voters and students should be a crime of some sort ... perhaps even a hate crime.

What say u?