Arrested in silence: Police use Taser, pepper spray on deaf man

Arrested in silence: Police use Taser, pepper spray on deaf man

www.al.com

Mobile police used pepper spray and a Taser on a deaf and mentally disabled man Friday after they were unable to get him to come out of a bathroom at a Dollar General store, authorities said.

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Yet another daily incident in a long string of Police Abuses and Brutality committed with Tasers...

Not only do they Pepper Spray a deaf man who is doing nothing other than using a bathroom stall, but since he isn't responding to the Officers request, they "used a tire iron to open the door, but the [deaf] man pushed back to keep it shut. Officers saw an umbrella and sprayed pepper spray through a crack trying to subdue the man...They shot the man with a Taser when they finally got inside". The Mobile Alabama Police Department said that the officers' actions were justified because the man was armed with a potential weapon — an umbrella.

Even after they discovered their mistake and the man's disabilities, they still took him to jail!

Thankfully the local Magistrate disagreed! Although he was arrested on charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and failure to obey a police officer, the Magistrate on duty at the jail refused to accept any of those charges so he was released without formal charge.

How many incidents like this have to happen before the public realizes that Police are a menace to society and Tasers only give them more reasons to use Brutality and have it be passingly accepted when it clearly isn't acceptable?

www.al.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 28-7-2009 by fraterormus]

And what's really scary is how quickly the Dept. moves to cover their own backsides.

"They were, uhh, justified, uhh, because he was armed, with an, uhh, umbrella."

Upon a search, the officers also found credit cards, an I.D. and a set of keys, all which could have been used as weapons, had his umbrella failed to deploy!

Originally posted by Oaktree
Upon a search, the officers also found credit cards, an I.D. and a set of keys, all which could have been used as weapons, had his umbrella failed to deploy!

No doubt. I'm waiting for the "justified" use of a Taser on a 5 year old girl who committed "unlawful assembly" for having a Tea Party with her imaginary friends and was armed with nothing more than a plastic diminutive Tea-Cup.

The thing that really disturbed me about this particular incident was that he wasn't even holding or brandishing the umbrella. It was leaning up against the wall of the stall. If he were brandishing it like an old woman, I might...might...see how it could be loosely construed as a "weapon" but being in the proximity of an umbrella that isn't even in your physical possession is beyond ridiculous.

The guy must've been scared to hell. I'm not surprised that he didn't want the door open.
Ironically as I read that on my 2nd monitor there is a movie where a guy goes after a possible burglar with an umbrella

Think about this positively. A "differently-abled" individual was treated with equality.

Two beers for the the local Magistrate and his keen ability to use common sense.

Funny thing is, I just told everyone in my house about this. After stating the facts, what does my mother who thinks that all cops should be painted with the same good brush say? "Well, I'm sure that the people in the store thought he was dangerous."

I'm not saying all cops are bad. I know good cops. When the department protects the bad cops, even if the department guys are good, they become bad cops. Why? Cause by stating that these bad cops are justified in their actions, they set the precedent that all cops are allowed to do whatever they want. This means that when they taser a deaf mentally challanged man, it is seen as ok, and standard operating procedure.

Grrr. Thanks, Frat.

I can only imagine the terror that guy must have felt. Just 'taking care of business' and someone tries to pry the door open...geez. I wonder if they even let him put his pants back on before they tazed him. I bet not.

Promptly hauled his ass to jail, I bet, and the officers 'acted according to department policy' as well.

After all these stories why do we never hear a story where the cops have their heads bashed in by someone who resists their fascist tactics?

I wonder...

Maybe that´s why I do not live in the U.S.; I´d probably be dead by now.

For sure.

Too bad the cop didn't have one of the new "3 shot" tasers... (sarcasm)

My question is what the cops think about this. When they went home that night, what did they tell their loved ones? Do they acknowledge their mistakes, or do they really laugh about it after all is said and done?

Poor guy.

Unfortunately, tasers are just an example of a what should have been a good idea gone terribly, terribly wrong. Originally, tasers were supposed to have been a non-lethal alternative to shooting someone to avoid placing a police officer in the position of having to make a life or death decision when he doesn't have enough information and might possible make a fatal mistake (including the possibility of dying himself). At those moments, the taser was seen as a safer alternative. And I agree that in that context, I would rather be tasered than shot if a police officer had to make that kind of call.

However, that is not what we are seeing tasers used for. -- now they seem to be a quick and efficient way to forcing compliance from anyone to the officer's demands. From a number of cases I have looked at, some (and I stress SOME) police officers use tasers instead of their brains by shocking someone into submission rather than trying to ascertain the facts of the situation.

In the case cited, most police I know personally would have been horrified to find out that they had inadvertently terrified a mentally and physically handicapped person and would have immediately tried to bring the confrontation to a peaceful and happy conclusion. Apparently not these officers though -- and perhaps the saddest part of the story beyond the blind support of their department ("They acted in accordance with policy") is this statement in the article "Since the incident, Love's family said, he hasn't been himself. He's been scared of anyone in a police uniform, they said. "

I have to wonder how effective law enforcement will be, and how safe it will be to be a police officer if by these sort of actions the police become viewed by the communities they need to be supported by as thugs who appear to see those same communities as the enemy to be confronted, controlled and conquered at any cost.





[edit on 28-7-2009 by metamagic]

Originally posted by Oaktree
And what's really scary is how quickly the Dept. moves to cover their own backsides.

"They were, uhh, justified, uhh, because he was armed, with an, uhh, umbrella."

Upon a search, the officers also found credit cards, an I.D. and a set of keys, all which could have been used as weapons, had his umbrella failed to deploy!

Hahha. You are a funny guy. Would you say the same thing about a cane?

"They were, uhh, justified, uhh, because he was armed, with a, uhh, cane."

Only an ignorant person who knew nothing of improvised weapons would consider an Umbrella to not be a life threatening weapon.

Granted, it depends on the substantial nature of the umbrella in question - but when I lived overseas in a particularly dangerous 3rd world country...

What do you think I carried with me at all times?

That's right: An umbrella.

I twice found myself in a situation where I was confronted by 2-3 men, demanding that I hand my money over. Little did they know, like you, that my virtually transparent in-the-face-of-the-ignorant umbrella, could be used as a lethal weapon. Both times after attacking the first and closest person, the other 1 or 2 ran away, probably in shock.

It's perfect for eye gouging, neck gouging, nerve strikes, breaking ribs, attack to the solar plexus, joint manipulations, horizontal and vertical blocks against an armed opponent, and if you have a hooked handled, you can perform more complex traps and grabs of weapons and joints.

Here is a video link to using umbrella as improvised weapon. Using one is to use the general template of attack/defense as if you were using a small to medium sized stick or as you would use a bayonet attached to a rifle.

Watch this video, learn something, and then come back with the pure speculation that the deaf man probably didn't know how to use an umbrella like this because everything shown in this video is magical and mysterious.

The article says they sped off after dropping him off. They have no remorse and despite what any of you cop and soldier lovers may say cops are no different than the soldiers in that all they are concerned about is self preservation. No different than a fire department sitting outside a burning building waiting for the danger to be over, which DOES happen. Yes there are good apples in the basket but after time passes eventually all the fruit is rotten. I do not like guns at all but look forward to the day the general public is armed to the teeth. Dangerous you say? NOPE! If all of you are carrying hand cannons NO ONE would act the fool in public, including cops with mental disorders and bad tempers and twitchy trigger fingers. I used to be against civilians carrying guns but I now see that is the only way to insure public safety. Call me stoopid but you all who have permits should strap them to your sides and walk your neighborhoods. If you guys did that we would not need some punk cop wasting taxes. IMHO


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Originally posted by metamagic
From a number of cases I have looked at, some (and I stress SOME) police officers use tasers instead of their brains by shocking someone into submission rather than trying to ascertain the facts of the situation.

I totally agree. However, using one's social skills and brain to defuse a situation seems to be a dying trend.

There is a local nightclub that I have frequented once a week for the past 18 years. It's generally the same clientele every week who want to hang with their friends, listen to some good music, dance, and have fun. None of us cause anyone any trouble. However, occasionally there are some drunk rednecks who wander in from another bar but one single time and cause trouble. After happening more than once it got to the point that the local Police insisted on having two officers there at the club every night. Under their supervision things degraded quickly and arguments between two drunks became entire brawls involving dozens of people and more police had to be dispatched. So, my friends and I got in the habit of beating the police to dispute and negating it before they got involved. It's not difficult at all to emotionally and intellectually disarm violently drunk people. After watching either a 117lb man or a 90lb woman repeatedly interpose themselves willingly between two 250lb drunk men who were about to fight and defusing the situation with nothing more than two sentences until both parties shook hands and headed to the bar together, the police finally let us police the club ourselves. Eventually they stopped coming to the nightclub and the police have never had to be involved again.

The point is that the police tend to strong-arm any situation, no matter how peaceful it may initially be, which inevitably causes volatile situations to explode. That is the precise reason we hear our daily litany of cop interferences gone bad. A truly good cop doesn't need to be armed with anything but his mind and his wit to resolve any situation amicably. There is no situation on this earth that you can't think yourself out of...and officers should be doing just that, carrying a weapon only as a backup if their wit fails them.

Originally posted by metamagic
I have to wonder how effective law enforcement will be, and how safe it will be to be a police officer if by these sort of actions the police become viewed by the communities they need to be supported by as thugs who appear to see those same communities as the enemy to be confronted, controlled and conquered at any cost.

And I think that is precisely the Catch-22 that Law Enforcement is getting themselves into with situations like this. They go into situations expecting them to be hostile and dangerous, but in the way that they escalate the situation, making it hostile and dangerous they are only fulfilling that fear. It then becomes a vicious cycle as where no one trusts Law Enforcement to be anything more than Thugs with a Badge, so they are going to greet the officer with hostility, just as the officer is expecting them to.

The cycle needs to end, and the only way it is going to is if Law Enforcement re-establishes trust amongst the citizens by having Zero Tolerance for this kind of Police Thugery.

I just read this off of another site with my mouth open in shook. I find it hard to belive that this man was able to push the door stoping the cops (more then one ) from entering after they priaed it open. I belive in my opinion that when they pried it open they already had the spary in hand. Then sprayed in the bathroom as soon as they got it cracked open. Then as the man tryed to push the door closed they forced there way in and tazzered him. I didnt read your post because as I said I had just read this be for seeing it on here. In the copy I seen it said that deaf handicaped man pushed the door closed, and even had time to wash his eyes out in the sink. Befor they got in to taze him. The problem I see with this is if they pried the door open I would think it would have broke the locks. If the locks did brake then this means he over poweded them by holding the door closed and still was able to wash his eyes this dosent add up to me.
but anyway it went down I see the cops are 100% in the wrong I dont think that a umbrella is a reason to paper spay anyone.

Im sorry for the ranting, but the police are getting worse and worse every day something needs to be done and done soom

In the police's defense ..... When a guy comes charging out of the restroom at a leisurely pace, wielding a collapsable cane, ..... you gotta think on your feet !!!

If dunkin donuts realized the chaos they were unleashing on the world every time they ran out of jelly donuts perhaps their policy's would change.

If I was a deaf person I think I'd wear a sign around my neck saying, "Don't Taze, Pepper spray, shoot me or beat me up bro, I'M DEAF!"

Seems like everytime a cop doesn't get the "correct" response from a deaf person, a lot of times they automatically resort to violence, ...

Deaf Man Tasered By Cops For Pointing at His Ear

Video Showing A Cop Breaking Deaf Driver’s Nose During A Traffic Stop

Cops gun down deaf Black yardworker

$35 Million Suit Filed In Deaf Student's Death; Man Killed in Scuffle With Gallaudet Police

Deaf man shot dead waiting for Brooklyn bus

Local Officers Kill Dog, Then Use Taser On Dog’s Deaf Elderly Owner

reply to post by 1st Person Conspiracy

Here is a video link to using umbrella as improvised weapon. Using one is to use the general template of attack/defense as if you were using a small to medium sized stick or as you would use a bayonet attached to a rifle.

So if I were to post a video showing someone using their keys, or belt, as a weapon, you would argue that anyone possessing these items warrant being pepper sprayed and tasered?

What about shoes? I can throw a shoe pretty hard.

I saw this one Jackie Chan movie once, where he had his hair in a pony tail, and, like, totally used it as a weapon.

Now you have us tasering all pony-tailed persons.

Dude, they pepper sprayed him through the keyhole of the crapper!

Grow up, and try to do some thinkin' on your own.

The spraying and the tasing I really have no problem with. They didn't know anything about his disability.

Them taking him to jail I think was out of confusion. Here they taser and spray a guy who they think maybe dangerous and it turns out that he is deaf. Thats a pretty big understandable mix up, but what are you suppose to do after that?

Do you let him go and possibly break a few PD rules or do you take him in and be told to release him, what is the protocol for something like that?

Either way this will be a police bashing thread, but that is my opinion. Let the bashing continue.