it is horrifying.

it reminds me of the reportage nytimes columnist bob herbert used to do - before he became an obama publicist.

this kind of corruption among people in and with power is common throughout not only local police departments but corporations and universities.

those worthies just have to use subtler means of controlling or destroying than tasers.

were i an attorney or judge, i would be instantly suspicious that this killing was deliberately designed to hurt the father emotionally.

Teen Dies After Shot With Taser Gun

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A teenager died after being hit with a police Taser gun for 37 seconds, and the whole thing was caught on tape by surveillance cameras.

Authorities said that Darryl Turner had been in a confrontation with a supervisor at work at a North Carolina grocery store.

When Officer Jerry Dawson arrived, he fired his Taser gun at the 17-year-old and struck him in the sternum.

"The initial use of the (Taser gun) is not in question," said Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Chief Ken Miller.

However, for 37 seconds, Dawson continued to use the Taser gun against the teen.

An autopsy revealed that Darryl Turner died of a heart attack, authorities said.

NBC Charlotte affiliate WCNC reported that Dawson was given a five-day suspension for firing the Taser gun too long.
http://www.nbc4.com/news/16919904/detail...

is the cop, right?

The cop is always in the wrong.

I get it.

We can admit that we're killers ... but we're not going to kill today. That's all it takes! Knowing that we're not going to kill today! ~ Captain James T. Kirk, Stardate 3193.0

to any one thing. I think there's a much bigger problem going on in a lot of these towns and it's part of the untold story of rural small town America. Abuse and tyrannical rule by a few is systemic in a lot places where the same families have literally ruled for a hundred or more years and anyone not under the protection of an old family alliance or money lives at the mercy of those in local power. I'm not sure people that haven't seen it really understand the scope of the problem. I've heard stories of folks who've been prevented from graduating high school, families who've been bankrupted, who've had their power and water shut off even though they've paid, and yes, people who've been abused and/or murdered by those in local power. I never knew how powerful local government in an one stop light town could be until I saw it in action.

There are still plenty of places in America where there is no state or federal law if you don't have the right last name.

I highly doubt that any form of exculpatory evidence is forthcoming. His own department admits the Taser logs show he shocked an unconscious man twice. If that's not lethal intent, I don't know what is.

But I still believe
And I will rise up with fists!!

it's very important to keep pa_lady's comment in mind:

"It's only before the court

Submitted by PA_Lady on Tue, 2008-07-22 11:10.

that one is “presumed innocent until proven guilty.” ..."

"presumed innocent..." is a legal artifice, it is not a logical basis, and not a sound basis, for arguing about wrongdoing.

take donald rumsfeld, for example.

shall i wait until he is proven guilty before condemning his actions vis-vis iraq?

i ain't wait'n.

and public discussion should not wait either.

to find that unjustified use of force is being employed by white cops against blacks in the South. Why, before Tasers black people and white cops got along just fine, never any trouble...oh, wait....

Not supposed to try and convict anyone by public opinion, although I'm not really sure why; just not supposed to, that's all. Still, I’m pretty darn sure that OJ fellah is guilty as sin and the cop in Winnfield LA sounds pretty sketchy too. Without a Taser, it is true, they'd of had to beat him to death which takes more effort, or shoot him which makes a bigger mess, so maybe they’d have thought it through and reconsidered but I doubt it. The culture and the cops in that town haven't changed, SSS; it is only that, as you say, they have new means of abuse.

Inna, IIRC we exercised the Darryl Turner case here before (when Drupal 2.0 is installed, I just know we'll have a site search function). He worked at the Food Lion and had stolen some Hot Pockets, which his mother discovered and told him he had to return to the store and make restitution. Then this happened:

[Mecklenburg Assistant District Attorney Marsha] Goodenow said Monday that when Turner returned to the grocery after lunch, a supervisor told him to remove the sucker from his mouth and tuck in his shirt. [The untucked shirt was an ongoing discipline issue between Turner and the manager.] The teenager began cursing, the prosecutor said. The supervisor, a white woman, [her race is important why?] called the store manager to report what was happening. She said Turner was cursing and angry, and told the manager she felt threatened and was going to call police.

After the manager arrived, Turner began taunting him to get him to fight, Goodenow said. He threw a plastic counter-top display at the manager, she said, then picked up an umbrella and threw that at the manager. Then he advanced on the manager who was behind the customer service desk.

Goodenow said a witness recalled the police officer[also black, since everyone’s race seems to be important], who had witnessed at least part of the confrontation with the manager, yelling: “Freeze. Don't move. Stay where you are.” Turner then began walking toward the officer, who had already pulled his Taser. When Turner was a few feet from Dawson, the officer fired the Taser.

Goodenow said Turner's body stiffened after being shocked, but the teen kept walking. When Turner got to the front of the store he tossed a metal grocery bag holder, she said. It's unclear when the officer fired again or how long the shock lasted.

“He gave the officer a look like he was going to break him in half…,” the manager told police. “I don't know what was bothering him, but he was not himself. The officer told him he needed to stop. And that's the last warning you're going to get. And he just kept on going.”

The whole thing is on the store’s security videotape. Can’t really fault the cop for not wanting to take on a raging young man all by his lonesome; guess he could have used his gun and gotten it over with quicker – probably would have never had to serve that five-day suspension. When you attack other people and then come at a cop, sometimes bad things happen as a result.

Just wouldn’t be a taser discussion without me, would it?

I appreciate the additional information. Security video available, eh?

Young man not himself, aggressive behavior, history of picking a fight with this store supervisor (work supervisor), and it escalated?

Not saying this cop is innocent. Just saying it pisses me right the hell off when the entire planet is perfectly willing to march and raise money for Mumia, but it's ALWAYS the cop who's in the wrong in the public eye.

Had the cop not acted and the kid beaten or killed somebody, that would've been the cop's fault, too.

It's 'damned if you do, damned if you don't.' And for me it's too damned close to deja vu.

We can admit that we're killers ... but we're not going to kill today. That's all it takes! Knowing that we're not going to kill today! ~ Captain James T. Kirk, Stardate 3193.0

I really doubt this asshole would have beaten and Tased a 15-year-old white kid who snuck out at night to hook up with a girl. Call it a hunch if you like, but I'm from a Louisiana town where there are still people willing to not only put up David Duke for Congress signs but also to paper over the swastikas that get spray-painted all over them, in broad daylight, next to Highway 21.

Everyone knows the score down here. It's relevant.

But I still believe
And I will rise up with fists!!

Having sobered up, I see now that your paranthetical comments are solely commentaries on the story you posted. Move along, citizen, nothing to discuss here. :)

But I still believe
And I will rise up with fists!!