Comments on: Prisoner Dies At Detention Center After Being TASERed

By: DW

DW — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:09:09 +0000

This post is exactly why I didn’t bother responding to your other post asking for information so you can “see my side.” It looked like you were fishing for information to use and twist at a later date and your response supports my belief that that was all you were doing.

In any case, I think BPB covered it just fine in his post and there’s no need for me to repeat any of it.

As I said earlier, you don’t have any understanding of use of force issues and it’s much more complicated than just a simple “If the suspect does this than the officer can do this.” Use of force situations are very volatile, dangerous, and constantly change. What may be appropriate in one situation may not be in another situation that seems very similar to some with no experience in the field and can easily go from simple verbal commands to a gun fight in less than a second.

By: bigbrown

bigbrown — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:36:02 +0000

Why does noone want to talk about the police being the authority. When you are arrested or being arrested you do what they tell you do it is simple as that! If Mr. Madison had not put up a struggle and been on his own agenda he would be alive today.

By: native, not naive

native, not naive — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:10:36 +0000

Hey Spaz, Are automobiles charged with manslaughter in fatal DUI crashes? Is the car’s fault, or the drunk behind the wheel?

By: vietnam vet

vietnam vet — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:18:25 +0000

BPB:Very well said. It’s as simple, as do as your told. some just can’t seem to under stand that.

By: BPB

BPB — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:41:40 +0000

IF the suspect dies during an arrest then it is the suspects fault, aside from a police officer intending to commit murder. THE SUSPECT DECIDES THE USE OF FORCE USED. Its not the police officers fault if you dont see your day in court. I cant risk being beaten to death, shot or stabbed, just to insure you get your day in court. My job is to arrest you. You comply with my directions and there IS NO FORCE. U want to hurt me, or my friends or family, or INNOCENT PEOPLE, then I have no choice, which is why they give us weapons to defend ourselves. If you have a warrant for your arrest, and you are truly innocent but you fight me doing my job then I will have to use force against you. Afterwards you may go to court and be found not guilty of the original offense, that has nothing to do with me arresting you and you fighting that authority. Come quietly and listen to the officers directions and no force will be used against you. If you are innocent thats great, but its not my job to convict the bad guys, thats what lawyers do. Dwight Maddison didnt get his day in court because he tried to kill an officer. There is no reason to choke someone other than to kill them. If Dwight Maddison were choking a police officer out on the street its quite possible he would have been shot with a GUN, not a taser. In any matter, you use these weapons with the intent to stop the suspects actions, not to kill them, but sometimes it happens, welcome to earth, where shit goes wrong sometimes. If you were getting choked to death would you like me to politely ask the person choking you to please stop or to take every action necessary to get them off of you so you can continue living?

By: Villager

Villager — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:28:25 +0000

Can anyone point me to (a) copy of the autopsy report or a (b) photo of Dwight Madison?

peace, Villager

By: Cdev

Cdev — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:57:36 +0000

No one was there to catch Dwight Madison because he was trying to kill the person who should have been there.

By: Cdev

Cdev — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:56:08 +0000

The fair trial is a right but when you fail to comply with a lawful order and must be supdued. Your resistance causes the need for a taser in this case. The suspect had every avenue out and failed to behave. His being tazed was a direct results of his actions. Him falling the way he did was not forceable and was secondary to preventing the death of the corrections officer he was assulting!

By: STOP TASER GUNS

STOP TASER GUNS — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:11:41 +0000

Hello… is anybody there???

Amazing that you will shoot down every fact that I gave you but when I sincerely ask you for more info so that I will be able to see your side… You disappear! And you call me closed-minded?

I really like the response from BPB {WHAT THE HELL DOES BEING INNOCENT HAVE TO DO WITH BEING TASED?} You all are supposed to be upholding the law and give us our right to a fair trial. If the suspect dies during the arrest or while being held in detention center then they never saw their day in court.

If someone is hit by a drunk driver and died the cause of death never says “drunk driver” so the fact that TASER hasn’t been named the main cause of death when the coroners are speaking their lingo doesn’t surprise me. Like when you all say it’s not the TASER but the fall and his head hitting the ground that killed him. How ludicrous is that. In a drunk driving accident you prosecute the drunk driver, the bar owner and the server also can get fined in some cases. But it was the injuries from the impact that killed the victim. Wake up Officers and realize that you are electrocuting humans which is wrong and barbaric and as a result of your actions, people are dying!

In the training videos I have seen where officers are being tased there are mats on the floor and other officers to catch you. NOBODY WAS THERE TO CATCH DWIGHT MADISON!

I don’t require a response to this blog… you words mean nothing to me now!

Think about this next time you chose electricity as your form of force!
STOP TASER GUNS

By: STOP TASER GUNS

STOP TASER GUNS — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:25:25 +0000

After reading through all of your comments and giving much thought to each and every one of them, with the exception of Chris’s Comment #69, I have realized that I need to learn more about how the TASER GUN really works. i.e. volts vs. amps etc. I also would like to know more about the protocol on when you should use it verses other means of force. I really need to know if these deaths are a taser issue or a bad cop tasering the suspect 15 or 20 times in a row. I have spoken to a Manufacturer Rep for Taser International who will try to give me some info from the training manual. If any of you have any info that you could send my way I would be grateful.

To clear the air, I don’t think the police are bad people, but I think some of them are bad. So is it possible then that when the taser gun is deployed properly as per the protocol would death not be the result? Or if an overzealous officer tased a suspect repeatedly, which is outside the protocol, and death does occur… should that officer be held liable for the wrongful death? and for that matter, If tased repeatedly and death did not occur… Should the officer be reprimanded?

I am trying to see your point of view here and I know that for the number of times tasers have been deployed there are relatively low fatalities. I don’t like the term “collateral damage” so if we can still use the taser and eliminate the fatalities then cool.

Thank you all who responded and thanks in advance for anyone who can help me laern more about this device and other uses of force.

Sincerely,
STOP TASER GUNS