Taser Death: Richard Kokenos (Warren MI)

It happened again! The story is confusing ... but, the outcome is not. 27-year old Richard Kokenos was pumped with 50,000 volts of electrcity up to three (3) times by Warren police officers. The young man was unarmed, in custody and in handcuffs at the time of the taser use by the police.   It appears that the dozen or so police officers were too wimpy to get the young man help.  In fact, the police turned away an ambulance that rushed to the scene.


Kokenos died shortly after the last taser blast into his body.

Kokenos died around the corner from his Warren home in front of a neighbor’s home. The neighbor shared what she heard between Warren police officers and Kokenos in the minutes before he died. [SOURCE]

"The police said Richard, stay on the ground and do not get up. They told him several times. They were telling him if he didn’t stay down they would have to tase him,” said the woman who didn’t want to be identified.

Another neighbor ... the one who called the police ... said that she was home with with her daughter and 11-year-old grandson when a man slammed his body against the house and tried to get in. It happened just before midnight. She said the man was sweating while pounding on the windows and screaming to get inside. She said he kept trying different doors until police arrived.


The dozen or so Warren police officers involved in this taser-related death have not been identified.

This is not the first taser-related killing by the Warren Police Department. Villagers may recall that they were involved in the tragic taser-related killing of teenager Robert Mitchell a couple of years ago.

Taser Lawsuit: Robert Mitchell (Warren MI)

Villagers may recall the taser-killing of Robert Mitchell. Mitchell, a Detroit Kettering High School sophomore, was killed by taser-torture in the abandoned home following a foot chase. He had fled from the car in which he was a passenger that Warren police stopped near Eight Mile and Schoenherr.

The police reports show at least three Warren and three Detroit officers were inside the house when an exhausted and unarmed Mitchell, who was sweating and breathing heavily, came down the stairs with his hands raised as officers instructed.

William Goodman, the attorney hired by the Mitchell family, claims that one of the officers grabbed Mitchell by the wrists moments before 50,000 volts of electricity were jolted into his body by a police taser gun. The officer let go of the one wrist he was still holding so his fellow officer could fire the taser at Mitchell. [SOURCE]

Goodman plans to amend a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in May -- adding details and counts of use of excessive force by specific officers based on police officers' reports about the April 10 incident.

"It's clear to us that the use of a Taser was excessive force," Goodman said. "They could have readily subdued him. There is nothing in the statements of any of these officers that suggest there was a need to Taser that kid."

Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer has defended his officers' actions and said in June that an internal investigation exonerated the officer who fired the taser gun.

An autopsy listed the cause of Mitchell's death as "indeterminate." The report identified a heart condition that was likely aggravated by the taser torture.

I'm glad that the Mitchell family is aggressively pursuing their lawsuit. I imagine that a large settlement in favor of a person tortured with a police taser gun may help to change police abuse of the 'use of force continuum' policy. Some villagers think that I shouldn't use the term 'torture' when discussing this issue. However, in this case we have a youngster who stood 5'2" tall ... weighed 130 pounds ... unarmed ... hands raised in surrender. Doesn't the term 'torture' seem appropriate in a situation in which six police officers used a taser gun on this youngster?

What say u?

Autopsy Report: Taser Contributed to Death of Robert Mitchell

We had some movement in the death-by-Taser case of 16-year old Robert Mitchell. Villagers may recall that this was the 5'2" teenager chased into a vacant house by Warren (MI) police officers a couple of months ago. The youngster was unarmed. The police decided to pump Robert Mitchell with 50,000 volts of pure electricity instead of following the 'Use of Force Continuum' policy to gain custody of this diminutive teenager.

The medical examiner says that a heart condition most likely aggravated by the use of a Taser caused Mitchell's death. Mitchell is one of 22 people dead-by-Taser so far this year in America.

The manner of death for 110-pound Robert Mitchell is listed as "indeterminate" in a 10-page autopsy report completed by forensic pathologist Cheryl L. Loewe and signed May 28 by Macomb County Chief Medical Examiner Daniel Spitz. [SOURCE]

"The heart condition is the immediate cause of death," said Loewe. "Certainly, we cannot ignore the time relationship when Robert was Tasered and then found unresponsive and went into arrhythmia, coupled with the fact that Taser probes were applied over the chest.

"In a healthy adult, it's unlikely an arrhythmia may have been precipitated by a Taser. This is a unique case because of the underlying heart disease."

Of course the Warren Police Department has already moved on. The taser-wielding officer had a 3-day weekend after the killing. There is no further effort to punish the man who killed this young Black child.

Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer said "We do support the officer that used the Taser. It was justified, there had been an internal investigation conducted," Dwyer said. "The (Macomb County) prosecutor's office also ruled he's exonerated. The prosecutor agrees with us -- it was justified."

Mitchell's mother, Cora Renea Mitchell, who also picked up the autopsy report, said she's hoping the information will bring answers and closure to her family.

"Today is a new day," she said. "I want to go over it and really see what I find."

The autopsy said Mitchell suffered two Taser probe-related injuries -- above and below the nipple -- on the left side of his chest. The autopsy didn't reveal any other signs of injury to Mitchell's body.

"We know the Taser contributed to his demise. We want justice," Mitchell's grandmother, Charlotte McGlory, said this morning. "We want them (police) charged with first-degree murder and prosecuted."

The police had this child under control. They were patting him down. The youngster is small (5'2") and doesn't weigh much (110 pounds). These are factors that the district attorney will need to consider as decision to file charges against the Warren police officer are made. What possible justification can there be to kill this kid with a taser?

Family of Robert Mitchell Call for End to Taser Torture

Robert Mitchell is the teenager killed by taser fire from Warren (MI) police officers. The powers-that-be have yet to provide clear answers or accountability for his untimely death. More than 100 family members, friends and anti-brutality advocates assembled yesterday for a peaceful march they hope will change taser torture policies in the local police department.

"Robert Mitchell is going to be the catalyst for peace. He didn't die for nothing," Sandra Hines of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality told the crowd. "It's so important to bridge together between Warren and Detroit. We want peace."

The protestors also called for the termination of Warren police officers who chased Robert Mitchell into an abandoned house in Detroit on April 10 after he fled police during a traffic stop.




You can read more here and here.

Police Demonize the Teenager Killed by Taser Torture

Robert Mitchell is the 16-year old youngster who was killed with tasers from Warren police officers. Everyone is waiting on the autopsy results to understand the cause of death. However the police couldn't wait to let the public know that Mitchell had marijuana in his system.

Warren -- Toxicology testing conducted on a Detroit teen who died shortly after being shocked with a Taser by Warren police showed marijuana in his system at the time of his death, police said today.

The final autopsy report for 16-year-old Robert Mitchell is still pending with the Macomb County Medical Examiner's office.

Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer said at this point, it is unknown if the drugs found in the teen's system played a role in his death.

Police allege that on April 10, the Detroit Kettering High School sophomore bailed out of the Dodge Stratus he was riding in during a traffic stop for an expired license plate on Eight Mile near Schoenherr. Police say he discarded his jacket before leading officers on a half-block chase to a home on Pelkey.

He was stunned one time for resisting when officers attempted to pat him down.

Mitchell's family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Warren April 20.

My perspective is simple. The young man didn't deserve the death penalty for running or "discarding his jacket". The police don't have the right to electrocute a teenager for these things.

What say u?

Warren Mayor Jim Fouts Calls for Independent Investigation Into Robert Mitchell Taser-Killing by His Police Officers

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Warren mayor Jim Fouts questioned whether police should continue using Tasers in his city, following the death last week of 16-year-old Robert Mitchell. [SOURCE]

Fouts called for an independent investigation to determine whether Tasers are safe.

“You can’t overlook the tragic death of a human being,” Fouts said.

"I'm not a critic of the Taser nor am I a devotee," he said. "What I am interested in (are) the facts," Fouts said. "Anytime there is a tragic death you need to re-evaluate. We want to make sure we have a safe, crime-free city and balance that with no tragic, needless death."

I wish that Mayor Fouts went a step further and demanded the resignation of the two officers involved in Mitchell's death.





Mitchell, a sophomore at Kettering High School in Detroit who had a learning disability, was riding in a car driven by his cousin. The car was pulled over for an expired license plate. Mitchell was unarmed, 5'2" tall and weighed all of 110 pounds. There was simply no need for the Warren police offers to taser him to death.

"It was just senseless," said his grandmother Charlotte McGlory of St. Clair Shores. She described Mitchell as a quiet boy who stayed out of trouble. "That was a misuse of power," she said. "We want justice."

Can anyone provide an explanation for why this young teenager had to die?

Robert Mitchell's Mom Tries to Find Forgiveness for Taser-Killing Cops

The mother of the teenager who died last week after he was struck by a Taser said she is trying to find forgiveness in her heart for the Warren officers involved. [SOURCE]

Cora Mitchell said her 16-year-old son, Robert Mitchell, was a special education student who probably panicked when police pulled over a car driven by his friend Friday and he jumped out of the car and ran.

"These police officers have just flipped the tables on not only me and my family, but their wives and children as well," she said while standing on the porch of her home in northeast Detroit as a steady stream of friends and relatives stopped by.

"I am a Christian woman and in my heart I'm trying to find forgiveness for them because they're going to have to live with this for the rest of their lives — forever," she said.

Robert Mitchell was a front-seat passenger in a 1996 Dodge Stratus that was stopped by police for an expired license plate. When the driver pulled over, Mitchell bolted from the vehicle and ran across all four lanes of Eight Mile into Detroit. He was eventually confronted at a vacant house on Pelkey in Detroit where pursuing Warren officers fired a Taser at him once.

Mitchell fell to the ground and became unconscious. He was treated at the scene by emergency personnel and later died at Henry Ford Hospital, Warren Campus.

It's not known why Mitchell ran from the officers. He did not have a warrant out for his arrest and was not carrying any contraband.

"We spoke with the driver and he said Robert admitted he was going to exit and flee," said Detective Lt. Michael Torey of the Warren police. "The driver inquired why he was going to run and there was no response."

An autopsy conducted on Saturday was inconclusive but there were no signs of outer trauma to the body, officials said. Macomb County Medical Examiner Dr. Daniel Spitz said he is waiting for the results of toxicology tests before a cause of death is determined.

The two unnamed officers involved in the Taser incident had been placed on administrative leave over the weekend, but returned to duty as police administrators determined they used appropriate force because Mitchell physically confronted them after the chase.

Cora Mitchell said she believes officers may need more training with the weapon that may have killed her son.

"Gas by itself is not dangerous but when used improperly, gas could blow up the whole block," she said. "This was a kid who posed no danger to anyone. I was told at the hospital that he had his hands up to surrender when he was hit."

One of eight children, Robert Mitchell was a student at Kettering High School but had hoped to transfer to a school district in neighboring Warren. His mother said he loved bowling, and old school movies and video games.

"I have had car trouble and I'm going to school to become a medical assistant and he'd sometimes walk me to school," Cora Mitchell recalled. "He was a good boy who loved his church. We have a big family, so he was good with the other kids. We always had a team of boys ready to bowl or whatever."

Funeral arrangements for Robert Mitchell are being directed by Fisher Funeral Home in Redford. Donations to help the family pay for funeral services may be addressed to the Robert Mitchell Memorial Fund at any Fifth Third Bank branch.