Family sues police over California Taser death

reply to post by PsykoOps


Probably "lost" somewhere because exactly what they dont want us to see.

Cops are assholes, the more power you give someone, the bigger asshole they become.

Its a fact, the Stanford prison experiment has proved it.

reply to post by Flakey


America is a very brutal place. The cops are ultra brutal. The government is ultra brutal. The people are.. well, its a pretty brutal place. Not knowing when the security guards or cops are going to "get you" make it extremely frightening, since there's not much you can do about it. And they get more power by the day.

Originally posted by gift0fpr0phecy
So did anyone bother to do any further reading? Or did you just swallow what was spoon fed to you and then instantly react to it without using any form of thinking?


Do you really believe he got pulled over and tasered because he honked is horn? Or maybe he did flee from the police and resisted arrest and the cops used their tasers because they didn't know what to expect?

The OP's article is making statements from the lawsuit, not statements of what actually happened.

edit on 2-9-2011 by gift0fpr0phecy because: (no reason given)

So did anyone bother to do any further reading? Or did you just swallow what was spoon fed to you and then instantly react to it without using any form of thinking?

yes some of us do, and we see more and more deaths attributed to the use of tasers.

I looked up the guys name, and all I can find is information about him running a stop sign, and then fleeing from police, and resisting. So do you know the truth?

so is the said information a police report, you do realize cops are the ones who write the reports don't you. and they can write them to say any thing they want. a cops written word is not gospel, they can write bullsh@@ as good as any body else.

Do you really believe he got pulled over and tasered because he honked is horn? Or maybe he did flee from the police and resisted arrest and the cops used their tasers because they didn't know what to expect?

yes i do believe that he got pulled over for honking at the cop, i don't find it hard to believe that the cop wanted to show the guy that he was the law and could do any thing he wanted to do, how dare a citizen blow their horn at me for making a wrong full u turn that was not in response to a emergency. i believe that at least 50% of the cops out there are jack booted thugs and think their sh@@ don't stink and can do what ever they please.

it is also not hard to believe that the guy stood up to the cop for his rights and the cop shot him with a taser, and then called for back up. when the other officers arrived saw that a taser had been deployed and are trained to back up their fellow officer and that the man kept standing up for his rights , the other cops fried with out knowing the whole story.

The OP's article is making statements from the lawsuit, not statements of what actually happened.

it makes one wonder if the dash cam was running, or if maybe it was never turned on or if it accidentally got erased.

law enforcement is not always right and is not necessarily your friend.

My genetic donating progenitor, and my Step Father, where both cops, both hated each other, and both agreed the motto is "To protect and to serve" It doesn't say who. This will get worse the more departments let in "Anyone off the street" it used to be the psyche tests would weed these kind of people out. Now it seems they want this kind of reaction in their officers.

I thought that shock treatment was illegal now.

In any case it sounds like they tortured him to death.
Cops have to be tazed to pass certification,
They know full well the effects of a tazer.

The entire system fed by taxes needs a reset.
Gov- Out
State employees- Out
Police - Out
Public Schools- Out
If the dollar really crashes and we have to go to a barter system that may just do it for us.

A large enough percentage of the population has guns that I don't think the gov has people willing to attempt house to house shakedown for valuables (in lieu of dollars) enforcement. Or at least not willing after they realise every 20th house they will lose one of their gang to someone who is ready to stand up to them and fight to keep what little they still have possession of.

I would suggest everyone who can obtain a ham radio and learn how to use it,I would advise not to not to send from the radio until TSHTF, and don't bother with a ham license, they will visit you and sieze your radio to keep you from relaying or receiving information.

Originally posted by gift0fpr0phecy
So did anyone bother to do any further reading? Or did you just swallow what was spoon fed to you and then instantly react to it without using any form of thinking?

I looked up the guys name, and all I can find is information about him running a stop sign, and then fleeing from police, and resisting. So do you know the truth?

Do you really believe he got pulled over and tasered because he honked is horn? Or maybe he did flee from the police and resisted arrest and the cops used their tasers because they didn't know what to expect?

The OP's article is making statements from the lawsuit, not statements of what actually happened.

edit on 2-9-2011 by gift0fpr0phecy because: (no reason given)

Your post, it is so horrible I have to wonder if you are not an officer yourself of the same kind of breed as in my OP. You say you looked up the guys name and found this and that? Why didn't you provide a link? I don't need video and audio and notarized copies but at least a link back to your story or else it was only hot air. No it is worse then that. It is an outrageous lie only further victimizing the dead. Even if that was the cops story they cobbled together to play C.Y.A. it does not take five taser cartridges to bring a suspect down but it darn sure takes five to kill a man via electrocution!!

reply to post by LanternOfDiogenes

This will get worse the more departments let in "Anyone off the street" it used to be the psyche tests would weed these kind of people out. Now it seems they want this kind of reaction in their officers.

If anything getting into a police department is harder now than it used to be. Many now require a 4 year degree and the psyche testing and background checks haven't gotten any easier.

I was appalled by this story. If all the information is fact, then these officers need to be in jail. Tazing someone for that amount of time is torture, and in my opinion attempted murder (I think tazers are a useful and generally safe tool if used correctly). I'm pretty pro cop but this left an awful taste in my mouth and got me feeling real angry.

I found a youtube video about it for those interested in learning more.

These 'cattle prods' seem to be the police's latest toy both sides of the pond. I do wonder what effect they have on a person with a weak heart and whether if the use proved fatal under these circumstances, it would result in a prosecution of murder.

I also wonder if this weapon has been deliberately introduced as a means of frightening the public into accepting instead of protesting against some of the crap the Governments seem to think they can get away with these days, after all the police are the government's private army, not the protectors of the public any more.

I cannot imagine how this poor man's family feel.

reply to post by Flakey

Originally posted by Flakey
Your post, it is so horrible I have to wonder if you are not an officer yourself of the same kind of breed as in my OP.

I am not an officer. I am just getting tired of ignorance. It's your post and other posts on this topic that are horrible. You take what is spoon fed to you and you ignorantly react to it as if it were gospel truth. Most of you didn't even bother to read further, you just wanted to lash out without thinking based on some words from the media.

It's funny that most people on ATS are anti-media, but they take what the media says as truth without any critical thinking, and blindly react to it.

Originally posted by Flakey
You say you looked up the guys name and found this and that? Why didn't you provide a link? I don't need video and audio and notarized copies but at least a link back to your story or else it was only hot air.

Why should I provide a link? You want me to spoon feed you some more information?? It takes less than two seconds to Google the guys name and read some more information about this case. I didn't provide a link just to see how lazy some of you people are, to see if you would actually go out and read more on your own.

Originally posted by Flakey
No it is worse then that. It is an outrageous lie only further victimizing the dead.

No, what is worse is blindly following what is told to you from the media without doing any research, and jumping to conclusions, and reacting to possibly false information like 98% of the people who replied on this topic did so far.

I bet there are many of you who still think he got pulled over for honking his horn....

Look, what has happened is horrible. But to point fingers and accuse people for doing it on purpose without knowing all the facts is even more horrible. Unfortunate events happen.... especially when police don't know who they are dealing with until it is too late.

Originally posted by Flakey
Even if that was the cops story they cobbled together to play C.Y.A. it does not take five taser cartridges to bring a suspect down but it darn sure takes five to kill a man via electrocution!!

It doesn't take 5 taser cartridges to bring a suspect down? Are you an expert? How do you know this? Where is your evidence of this being true?

I can tell you a many reasons why 5 taser cartridges were expended:

1: Sometimes the police miss their target.
2: Sometimes the suspect is wearing thick clothing and the tasers are uneffective.
3: Sometimes the suspect moves in such a way the the taser hooks get pulled out.
4: Sometimes the suspect is on drugs or alcohol and the tasers seem to have little effect.
5: Sometimes the suspect just doesn't stop resisting and they need to use it multiple times.

So how do you know all 5 cartridges hit their target? How do you know all 5 were effective? How do you know? Oh wait.. you don't... and some reason that doesn't stop you from pretending you do.

Lets get it straight... if the suspect didn't stop right away, then to the police it looks like he is running. If someone is running. and the police don't know why, they must expect the worse like he is carrying a weapon. In that case, a taser is needed to subdue the suspect with least amount of risk. That is most likely what happened.

See, this is why I'm in full support of vigilantism. Who needs the law if the law is only there to oppress us? I say don a mask and whatever means you have to fight crime in a NON-LETHAL way, and do the job they're incapable of doing right. Just make sure you have a plan A, B, and C for when SHTF.

Originally posted by gift0fpr0phecy
Why should I provide a link?

You should provide links to prove your not trying to stir up trouble and negative conflict which looks to be your soul intent. If you make the claim you should back it up with your own proof. Instead of accusing everyone else of being lazy. That is just rude behavior on your part ESPECIALLY considering your own antics. I provided a video. Maybe you choose to watch it maybe you didn't.

Forget about it, I'm done . Members like you are a real turn off.

reply to post by Flakey


Here's a link soon after the incident which details the running of a stop sign.

latimesblogs.latimes.com...

I looked at a number of links on google and couldn't find anything to say for sure why the police needed to taze him 8 times, but information is going slow. Apparently the FBI are looking into it as a civil rights issue though.

reason.com...

Originally posted by Flakey
You should provide links to prove your not trying to stir up trouble and negative conflict which looks to be your soul intent.

The only thing I am trying to do is get you people to actually do some research before you jump to conclusions... I keep seeing it on ATS, people don't think or research before they post. This topic is a good example of that.

Almost the entire first page is like "o.m.g. he was killed for honking his horn, they should be charged with murder". That is complete rubbish. Deny Ignorance.

Originally posted by Flakey
If you make the claim you should back it up with your own proof. Instead of accusing everyone else of being lazy.

I didn't make any claims. I only said a quick search with his name turned up different stories... Do you want me to teach you how to search his name? Do you really need me to do that? Are you really that lazy?

Originally posted by Flakey
That is just rude behavior on your part ESPECIALLY considering your own antics. I provided a video. Maybe you choose to watch it maybe you didn't.

I did watch it, and all it did was prove what I said was correct. How hard was that for you to do? I didn't need to do the work for you. Actually, I avoid posting some sources now because people like you will complain about it not being credible, so I just made a statement so you can do the research yourself.

Originally posted by Flakey
Forget about it, I'm done . Members like you are a real turn off.

Good, go away then. People like you are what is wrong with this world. You react first think last.

The cops are lucky they live in America, they could be living in a different part of the world where it's likely they would be executed in the damn street.

If every single cop involved isn't charged with murder, or as an accessory, then I have just no words. What an extremely painful, torturous and needless death.

This is a good quick video documentary done by Reason magazine. It tells you about Allen Kephart and what kind of man he was, and what the community was like where he lived. It has witness testimony from locals, friends and family.

I'd advise that you could get a bit choked up, as it's a little to hard to watch this community and family react to it the way they do.

As horrible as all this sounds, from what I have herd, I think it is just an accident caused by one misunderstanding after another.

If the guy ran a stop sign, then they had a right to stop him. If he didn't stop when he was signaled to stop, and instead drove a little bit before stopping, it probably put the police on alert because it appeared he was evading police. Once they are on alert they prepare for the worse case scenario. They don't know if he has a weapon, is dangerous, is on drugs, etc.. So when they stopped him, they need to do so quickly and with some force because they don't know what they are dealing with, or why he wouldn't stop. In their eyes he already committed a felony when he didn't stop when he was signaled to, so who knows what else he has done or is going to do at that point.

Tackling and throwing him to the ground is common when someone was evading police. A witness on the scene said he was trying to turn over after being thrown to the ground, and this can be mistaken as resisting arrest in the eyes of police. When a big guy resists arrest, tasers are commonly used to assist in controlling the suspect with little effort. I doubt all 5 tasers hit their target, and they probably had to use multiple tasers until they did hit.

It is most likely that the taser's electricity did not cause his death, even if he was electrocuted multiple times. The amperage of tasers are not enough to kill someone. People who die while being tasered usually have other health issues.

I wouldn't doubt he had a heart attack triggered by stress. Until a coroner releases the actual cause of death we won't know for sure.

I'm not going to jump to conclusions and say all the police should be put away for murder when they were probably just following procedure and doing their jobs. It was probably one huge misunderstanding after another and the suspect made the wrong choices, and confused the police into thinking he was dangerous, and he happened to have a heart attack during the entire ordeal.

I highly doubt the guy honked his horn so all these police officers showed up to tase him... that is ridiculous.

Anyway, so much for logic and reason.

reply to post by gift0fpr0phecy


I wouldn't agree about managing to miss with a taser when likely very close to the target, but your conclusions are logical and non-sensational, which is good to see anywhere. Hopefully there are more like you around everywhere.

reply to post by gift0fpr0phecy


You come into this thread accusing everyone of being ignorant, and jumping to conclusions. Yet, all you are doing, is the thing which you accuse others of doing.

Evidenced with everything you say,

- It is most likely ...

- I wouldn't doubt ....

- I'm not going to jump to conclusions ...

- I highly doubt ...

You are also jumping to conclusions. It would be a debate, if there wasn't a final answer. The answer being that the man died, and there isn't much discussion after-the-fact, regarding the use of excessive force. It's pretty clear at this point.

You claim they missed their target with the taser. - Have any evidence of this? Because the man is dead. Sounds like they didn't miss.

You claim it's likely he ran a stop sign, and this "scared" the police officers. - Again, have any evidence of this? If he was trying to 'evade police', then why is there video of him slowly pulling over to a gas station and getting out of the vehicle immediately with his hands up?

You claim he probably resisted arrest. - Have any evidence for that? There are multiple witness testimonies, including video, stating it didn't appear Allen resisted arrest, but he had his face smashed in and bloodied on the pavement, and it appeared he tried to turn over in pain. You say it's his fault that the officer's couldn't the difference, and basically 'wanted to play it safe'. I say that's a disgustingly pathetic rationalization, frankly.

I realize you're just trying to 'rationalize' and debate and all.. but the man is dead. He is dead. It's not like the man himself is trying to exaggerate their actions so he can get money. He is dead. His bereaved family, and the literally scared stiff community are gathering in force to show their complete and utter disappointment with the local police department.

Keep trying to rationalize, but you are not being reasonable here.