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TASER STORIES MULTIPLY The use of Tasers by law enforcement seems to be increasing at an alarming rate, while Taser International suffered its first loss in court. In June, a San Jose, CA jury awarded $200,000 in compensatory and $5 million in punitive damages against Taser Int. to the estate and parents of a man who died after being tasered multiple times (Bloomberg News, June 7). Taser Int. put out a seven page news release insisting it was their own poor training materials, and not the electroshock device itself, that lost them the lawsuit. On June 12, Portland police officers used a Taser multiple times on a bicyclist, Rev. Phil Sano, who was reportedly physically confrontational with the officers, (KGW-TV). He has retained attorney Mark Ginsberg and "they are considering all their options" (Portland Mercury, June 19). Also on June 12, Clifton Brooks was tasered by Portland police. He had been waiting for the bus to take him to work when he was confronted and assaulted by two individuals coming out of a bar on Southeast 48th and Belmont. They ran away but Brooks and several others called 911. While awaiting the police, Brooks, in frustration, hit a wall and a window with his hand. As soon as the police arrived, he was "put on the ground and Tasered." He subsequently lost his job, being unable to get there on schedule because of the incident. He filed a complaint with the "Independent" Police Review Board (Portland IndyMedia, June 15). Five days later, Dan Halsted was walking from a bar on NE 26th and Broadway, and was suddenly confronted with a bright shining light and the excalmation: "Get 'em." Halsted was then tasered by Officer Ben Davidson (#36108). The officers mistakenly thought Halsted was tagging and arrested him for criminal mischief and resisting arrest. The District Attorney's office declined to prosecute on either charge. Halsted retained the services of attorney Dan Engler (Mercury, July 3). On May 21, Keizer police used a "stun gun" on a man who "didn't follow their orders" although they later determined that he was not a suspect (Oregonian, May 23). On May 30, Eugene police officers arrested pesticide protester Ian Van Ornum. Police Chief Robert Lehner stated that Van Ornum was "taken into custody with the aid of a Taser" (Eugene Weekly, June 19). On July 10, Salem police officers tasered a patient who had escaped from the Oregon State Hospital (Oregonian, July 11). Days later, Washington County Sheriff's deputies used "sponge rounds" and a Taser "to subdue" an incoherent man armed with a hammer who had been banging on doors and threatening people in Aloha. The man's little finger was severed by a sponge round during the episode (Oregonian, July 17). In June, a U.S. District Court jury in Oregon awarded Mary MacQuire $80,000 in damages for having been brutalized and tasered four times by two Gresham police officers. MacQuire, who was living in a homeless camp which was being cleared, objected to how officers were treating another person. She was subsequently punched in the stomach, thrown to the ground by her hair and given four 50,000-volt taserings. MacQuire was charged with resisting arrest and obstructing an officer, but was found not guilty. Officer Jeffrey Durbin, who administered the shocks, testified that "she dared me to" (Oregonian, May 1), which speaks to the cavalier attitude of law enforcement regarding the use of Tasers. On June 25, Amnesty International issued a statement regarding the Justice Department's interim report into deaths caused by Tasers and similar devices. While the interim report found "no conclusive medical evidence" of a high risk of death or injury from these devices, it did acknowledge that aspects of safety were not well known when used on populations other than sober, healthy adults. Amnesty's report indicated "the risk of death or serious injury could be higher in certain populations, including children, the elderly, pregnant women, people with heart disease and those who show signs of 'excited delirium'" (described as "a syndrome characterized by psychosis and agitation"), and that many of the deaths were associated with prolonged or repeated discharges. Amnesty believes the findings support their call for stricter limits on Taser use due to safety concerns and the fact that "at risk" groups are those who commonly come into contact with police. Amnesty called on police departments to either cease the use of these devices or to limit their use narrowly to situations where officers are faced with an imminent threat of death or serious injury to themselves or others. Since June 2001, more than 300 people in the US and at least 20 in Canada were reported to have died after the use of electroshock devices. While medical examiners have listed unrelated causes of death, in several dozen cases they found that Taser shocks were a contributory factor. Following the Eugene incident, the Oregon ACLU called for stricter limits on the use of Tasers by the Eugene Police Department (Eugene Weekly, June 19).
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September, 2008
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Portland Copwatch Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.
People's Police Report
#45 Table of Contents
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