Cops in California Taser Drowning Man's Distraught Sons

[143tbone]

California cops tasered a distraught son whose father was drowning after he and his brother complained that police were not doing enough to rescue their dad, while authorities prevented the two sons from making any kind of rescue effort themselves.

The latest example of police brutality unfolded in Mendocino Country California. A San Francisco family was visiting Portuguese Beach when the father accidentally fell into the water and was washed away from the shore.

Police arrived with rescue crews but made no effort to save the drowning man, named as 54-year-old Maurizio Biasini, and prevented his two 18-year-old sons, Dario and Andriano Biasini, from helping their dad as they insisted on waiting for the Coast Guard and a Sheriff's boat.

click link for video

http://www.prisonplanet.com/cops-taser-drowned-dads-dis...

[CreekDog]

1. they are not training police on how/when to use force

[DisgustipatedinCA]

2. this is very misleading

I was at Mendocino headlands the day before this happened. The surf was very rough and the surf forecast for the following day was rougher yet. If you fall in, you're pretty much dead. The police were stopping the sons from dying in what would have been a futile attempt to save their dad. I hate police brutality and overuse of tasers, but I don't believe this was a case of police brutality.

[GodlessBiker]

5. People should have the right to make a futile attempt to save a parent.

In any event, using a taser in this situation seems excessive and, more importantly, totally counterproductive to maintaining whatever good reputation the Department had.

[Marrah_G]

14. Then you have 3 people in the water that the authorities are required to go in after

You would end up with a dead family instead of a dead father.

[EFerrari]

20. Do the police have the right to make that decision?

If that were my parent, I wouldn't cede that right. No way.

[SmileyRose]

26. Maybe

the police should carry around a form releasing themselves and all other government entities from being expected to save them also if they get themselves into trouble. If clear headed rescuers determine it's not safe for a rescue and then do nothing to stop a distraught family member and let them get into a life threatening situation it's likely there will be lawsuits up the wazoo.

Kind of a no win situation for the cops........the tasers were stupidity itself though.

[EFerrari]

27. It is a no win situation for our cops now that the insurance industry owns us all.

I agree with that wholeheartedly.

[XOKCowboy]

29. The Taser probably saved the guys life....

He was a big guy who was very distraught and they were wrestling next to a 40' drop off into the same surf that had claimed his father. Should the cop really have let either of the sons dive into certain death in a vain attempt to "rescue" their father?

I have to side with the cops on this one. I also understand the boy's frustration and grief but this wasn't a "lifeguard" type rescue. It was a recovery operation once their dad got swept away. That's hard to comprehend in when you're in that emotional state.

[KittyWampus]

31. thanks Marrah, my whole family were life guards (2 generations). Unless you've been trained

AND ARE IN SHAPE don't try it.

[ogneopasno]

6. I thought the same thing, after I read the story and saw the video.

They didn't need to Taze the sons, but there was absolutely no way a bunch of guys standing around on shore were about to save a man in that surf. What did the sons expect them to do? Throw in a rope?

Of course the cops need better training on dealing with overly distraught people -- tazing them isn't going to help. But those sons were about to go in too, and there would have been three deaths.

[pnwmom]

11. You're supposed to use tasers as a safer substitute for LETHAL weapons.

Would it be okay to shoot these sons to keep them from trying to rescue their father?

[DisgustipatedinCA]

13. in a word, yes.

I wasn't exaggerating about the almost-certain-deaths that would have occurred had the sons gone in after him. The headlands are cliffs that are 20 or 30 feet above a roiling sea that's slamming into jagged rock outcroppings. The sea was especially rough that day, the result of some distant storm that didn't hit Mendocino but did send big waves. I hear what you're saying about tasers being a substitute for lethal weapons, but if there was ever a time in which taser use was justified, I would think this would be it. Full disclosure: I haven't watched the video; I don't want to visit the site. So it's possible that there's something I'm not seeing. I'm just saying that if done correctly, I'd agree with this tasing--this is a first for me, as I'm normally very much against taser use. Also, let it be noted that the Mendocino police don't have much of a reputation for brutality. Mendocino is about the most liberal town on the map, and I think the police there reflect that.

[JonLP24]

17. Maybe tackling them?

I don't know all the facts in this case to go one way or the other. Let the jury decide but from past experiences. Cops atleast here in Maricopa county consistently get let off for people they killed including a drunk teenager weilding a dull kitchen knife threatening to kill himself that wasn't charging the police according to witnesses(His parents).

[rvablue]

21. Don't know if you saw the video, but the cop did try to pull the boy away and then tackled him

and he was a big strong kid and was wrestling with the cop, pulling him closer to the edge of the cliff.

While I do not like tasers in general, I think in this case it was a godsend because, no, I don't think they would have shot the kid....but in his hysteria of watching his father being washed away, he might have pulled that cop over the side of the cliff.....

[JonLP24]

24. Oh no

I have a ASUS 701 that I have to hold against a window to get a wireless connection. Loading videos is a pain in the ass. I didn't read too much in to the article is and I avoid trying cases in the court of public of opinion especially if a news story is all I have. I say let all the facts appear in court and let a jury decide if this does go to court. My money though is on the cops and you do make a compelling case. Much better case then I've seen previous cops get away with.

[rvablue]

18. I agree with you 100% and I'll add

that I saw the video of this on one of the tabloid TV programs.

When the young man got upset and was fighting/struggling/wrestling with the police officer, they were coming precariously close to the edge of the cliff (I would say 5-10 feet) and that is when they tasered the young man.

The boys were ready to jump in after the Dad, so in this case, while I think that tasers can be over used and/or dangerous, they may just have saved this young man's life.

They also said in the report that it is the 8th person to be washed away this year.....maybe some signs are in order....I didn't see any in the video........

[originalpckelly]

3. Alex Jones website?

Well, this thread won't be here too long.

[anigbrowl]

16. True, but it's a nasty story. Better source (CBS news affiliate):

http://www.khsltv.com/content/topstories/story/Officers...

This is NOT the way to manage people, even in a difficult situation like this.

[EFerrari]

19. It's been pulled. n/t

[DonEBrook]

4. Where the hell is Mendocino Country?

[SoCalDem]

7. Northern Calif

[DonEBrook]

8. That is Mendocino County not Mendocino Country.

[SoCalDem]

10. The paper made a typo..

Portuguese Beach


Encyclopedia > Big River State Park

Mendocino Headlands State Park, in Mendocino, California, consists of 347 acres (1.4 km²) of undeveloped seaside bluffs and islets surrounding the town of Mendocino, two beaches (Big River Beach and Portuguese Beach), and the much larger Big River Unit stretching for eight miles (13 km) along both banks of the nearby Big River. View of Mendocino from the Northwest Mendocino is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mendocino County, California, United States. ... The Big River is a river in Mendocino County, California. ...


The park began operation in 1974, after several years of agitation from citizens concerned about the possibility of blufftop development.

[arcadian]

28. That is beautiful.

I have friends in Willits.

[Raster]

9. Medocino, aka "Cabot Cove."

[Flubadubya]

15. All I can think of when I hear that name is...

the line from one of Frank Zappa's numbers where he refers to "Mendocino beano", LOL!

[EOTE]

12. Sounds like it's in Portugal.

Makes no sense to me. Unless a Portuguese beach means something that I'm not aware of. Bizarre.

[LeftyMom]

22. No, it's in Northern California.

Parts of NorCal have significant Portuguese immigrant populations, I would suspect that's where the name comes from.

[TrogL]

23. The CBC arranged for a test of tasers

...and found that many of them produced voltages beyond the manufacturer's specifications.


http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/tasers /

[SmileyRose]

25. catapulting the propaganda

the police should have been able to control those 2 young men without having to resort to a taser. I doubt the cops would have SHOT them so there is no excuse to taser them. Obviously this department needs more training on how to handle well meaning but distraught loved ones who could cause more harm than good in a crisis situation.

However

the article paints the police as if they just stood around watching a man die and having a good time torturing the sons. Clearly inaccurate.

[XOKCowboy]

30. More on the story....

http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_11108107?source=mos...

More detailed and much less biased than the link in the OP.

Once their dad got washed into that surf it became a recovery operation, not a rescue.

[cbayer]

32. Locking

In general, we do not allow links to prisonplanet due to the amount of unsubstantiated conspiracy theory on that site.

Cheers,

cbayer
DU Moderator