Police zapped man, 79, with Taser

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20120523/NEWS01/705239891

By Roseann Moring

Omaha police shocked a nursing home resident with a Taser last month after the 79-year-old man with dementia threatened officers with a fistful of safety pins.

Relatives of Rodell Cole don't understand why the incident happened. They plan to file a complaint with the Omaha Police Department.

The 106-pound Cole was left with a bruise on one knee, where he says he was kicked by an officer.

Yolanda Cole, Rodell's niece, said staff members and police should have left her uncle alone. He would have calmed down, she said.

FULL story at link.

[pinboy3niner]

1. A 'fistful of safety pins'?

Well no wonder the police responded forcefully.

[gratuitous]

4. Hey a 106 pound 79-year-old can inflict some serious pain

I'll bet that care center thinks twice before calling the "protect and serve" boys again.

[Bonhomme Richard]

2. In all fairness, 79 is the new 74. n/t

[KansDem]

3. These days, the police manual can be written on a 3x5 card.

"Pull taser. Point. Pull trigger. In that order."

Not a whole lot to remember and it saves on paper.

[Canuckistanian]

7. No, it should be:

1. Apply Taser repeatedly
2. Carefully assess the situation.

In that order.

[KansDem]

9. !!

Do you, by chance, write police manuals for a living?

[Meiko]

5. The very least they could have

done was to use their night sticks first to beat him into submission, the cops are slipping.

[lpbk2713]

6. They simply can't afford to let him get away with this.

If they let this go unchecked, next time it could escalate to assault with a bowl of oatmeal.

[randome]

8. From the article.

Not saying it was entirely justified but it was a drawn-out incident that did not appear to be getting any better.

Here's how the Taser incident happened, according to interviews with Baker and Cole, as well as a nurse's written account provided by the family:

Confused and agitated, Cole grabbed a staffer trying to clean his room about 11 p.m. April 20.

A nurse persuaded Cole to let go, and the staff left him in his room to calm down. He then locked the door and barricaded himself in the room.

The staff debated whom to call and eventually settled on police.

Three officers arrived about 11:30 p.m. They couldn't persuade Cole to open the door, so they pushed it open.

Cole tried to punch the officers as he held open safety pins pointed outward. He also cursed and yelled at them to get out of his room. He threw things, including a disposable razor, at the officers.

Officers warned Cole that he might be shocked with a Taser. One officer said, “We don't want to hurt you.”

Cole continued to scream and threaten officers.

At 12:05 a.m., a nurse wrote: “This nurse witnessed officer #1 bring his right leg back and kick the resident with the top of his foot (not his toes) in the left leg/knee area.”

Baker said the officers did not kick Cole.

He said an officer kicked a trash can out of Cole's hands. Cole, however, said the can was on the floor.

The nurse wrote that the officer also yelled obscenities at Cole.

Baker said that after an officer pulled out a Taser, Cole grabbed it.

The officer asked a nurse whether Cole had a pacemaker. The nurse looked at his chart, as Cole continued threatening the officers.

“It's too late,” the officer said, according to the nurse's report, and he shocked Cole with a Taser.

Cole fell onto the bed but continued to flail his arms, so the officer shocked him again in the chest, he said.

Officers handcuffed Cole and brought him to a police cruiser in a wheelchair as a precaution, Baker said.

[rustydog]

10. From your narrative, it sounds llike the officer used the drive stun method

to gain pain compliance.

If the taser was used with the darts and wires, the patient would have "locked up" amd fallen to the ground unable to move for 5 seconds...
Also, from your narrative, the police followed training exhasuting verbal intervention techniques first.

Thanks for the information!


On DU some people can and do fault police even if they bother to breathe in public. Law enforcement have a very dangerous and, patently obvious with some DU members, thankless job. (see replies to OP)

yes there are bad, bully police officers. There are bad janitors, teacheres, store clerks, postal workers, volunteers...that does not make ALL of them Bad.

We had to restrain a 96 year old male who became combative the other day. We did so with a combination of verbal and physical intervention techniques. Each incident is different, whether you are 90 or 19, there is potential for you to hurt yourself or someone else.

[kentuck]

11. You cannot convince me that this is not criminal...

No matter if they are wearing a badge.

They cannot subdue a 79 year old man without a Taser? Give me a break!

These cops should be in jail.

[Lurks Often]

12. These are the options/tools usually available to the average police officer

In no particular order:
1. Gun
2. Baton
3 Chemical Spray
4 Taser
5 Physical force
6 Verbal deescalation

The use of the gun is not warranted
Chemical sprays don't always work and in rare cases can cause death
Baton, likely to lead to broken bones in this situation
Physical force can result in injuries to both the subject and the officer(s)
Verbal deescalation, based on the story they tried that and it did not work
Taser, generally causes the subject to cease being violent and in rare cases can cause death

I'm not thrilled with the use of the taser, but I also don't see another method of making the subject stop being a threat to himself and others that doesn't involve a higher risk of injury to both the subject, the police officer(s) and the staff.