SHOCKING. Women reports prowler, cop tasers and use pepper spray on her SHOCKING

[Liberal_in_LA]

Video: http://www.ajc.com/video/?bcpid=1659825399&bclid=1717763711&bctid=111671504001&bcplt=917x606&bcautostart=true


2 Ga. officers out after stun gun video surfaces

Associated Press July 12, 2010 04:58 PM

One officer was fired and another quit after a rural Georgia woman who called police to complain of a prowler was zapped repeatedly with a stun gun.

Ryan Smith of the Lumpkin Police Department has resigned and Tim Murphy, of Richland Police Department, was fired for using pepper spray on the woman, Janice Wells.

Wells, 57, says she feared a prowler was outside her Richland house. A minute-long dashboard video from Smith's patrol car shows the officer pulling up to assist another officer.

What happens is largely hidden by an open police cruiser door, but Wells can be heard screaming "Don't do that! Don't do that!" as a stun gun is heard repeatedly zapping.

Authorities say the April 26 struggle began when Wells wouldn't tell police the name of an acquaintance who had been at her house. Lumpkin Police Chief Steven Ogle says the video is shocking.

Well has hired an attorney.

___

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/07/12/national/a162335D88.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0tWHbWrF9

officers out of jobs in wake of repeated Tasering of woman
ShareThisPrint E-mail By Rhonda Cook


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Janice Wells called the Richland Police Department when she feared a prowler was outside her clapboard house in the rural west Georgia town.



The third-grade teacher had phoned for help. But within minutes of an officer coming to her backdoor, she was screaming in pain and begging not to be shocked again with a Taser. With each scream and cry, the officer threatened her with more shocks.

"All of it's just unreal to me. I was scared to death," Wells said in an interview with the AJC. "He kept tasing me and tasing me. My fingernails are still burned. My leg, back and my butt had a long scar on it for days."

The officer in question is Ryan Smith of the Lumpkin Police Department. Smith was called to back up an officer from the Richland Police Department because the sheriff's office in the county, Stewart, had no deputies to send.

Smith resigned as a result of the incident. The other officer involved, Tim Murphy of Richland PD, was fired for using pepper spray while trying to arrest Wells.

Wells is considering filing a lawsuit, according to her attorney,.

The details of the altercation between Wells and the officers have been fodder discussions in the two towns, which are only 10 miles apart. Some have speculated there was a racial component to the altercation between Wells and the policemen; Wells is black and the officers are white.

Stewart County Sheriff Larry Jones, who came to the house seconds after the last electric shock was administered, suspects the outcome would have been different if the woman had been white and the officers black.

“I don’t think they would have done a white female like that,” said Jones, who is black. “If they had, it wouldn’t have been any doubt about whether they need to be terminated.”

http://www.ajc.com/news/2-officers-out-of-568967.html

[HockeyMom]

1. I live in Florida and it doesn't shock me

around here they taser 5 year old Kingergarten little girls. Big, bad cop cannot restrain a 50 lb. 5 year old girl, so you expect them to be able to deal with a grown woman?

[mikelgb]

42. hopefully you remain un-shocked

[HipChick]

2. Race may be a factor...but

stupidity on the part of the officers a larger factor

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. more than stupidity. He's shocking her because she wouldn't give him the name of the man who was at

her house. Torture for info.

[uncommon]

29. Exactly! nt

[Heywood J]

34. The officer needs to be charged with torture for this, a federal crime.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sec_18_00002340----000-.html

As used in this chapter—
(1) “torture” means an act committed by a person acting under the color of law specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his custody or physical control;
(2) “severe mental pain or suffering” means the prolonged mental harm caused by or resulting from—
(A) the intentional infliction or threatened infliction of severe physical pain or suffering;
(B) the administration or application, or threatened administration or application, of mind-altering substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or the personality;
(C) the threat of imminent death; or
(D) the threat that another person will imminently be subjected to death, severe physical pain or suffering, or the administration or application of mind-altering substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or personality; and
(3) “United States” means the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the commonwealths, territories, and possessions of the United States.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sec_18_00002340---A000-.html

(a) Offense.— Whoever outside the United States commits or attempts to commit torture shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both, and if death results to any person from conduct prohibited by this subsection, shall be punished by death or imprisoned for any term of years or for life.
(b) Jurisdiction.— There is jurisdiction over the activity prohibited in subsection (a) if—
(1) the alleged offender is a national of the United States; or
(2) the alleged offender is present in the United States, irrespective of the nationality of the victim or alleged offender.
(c) Conspiracy.— A person who conspires to commit an offense under this section shall be subject to the same penalties (other than the penalty of death) as the penalties prescribed for the offense, the commission of which was the object of the conspiracy.

[TexasObserver]

58. You're right. Justice could file federal charges against the cop.

[PM Martin]

4. Nothing good was to come of tasers.

http://excited-delirium.blogspot.com/

[KansasVoter]

5. Wow, must have been trained by Cheney!

[MadMaddie]

6. So let's get this straight

She got tased because she wouldn't tell police the name of an acquaintance who had been at her house.

<snip>
Smith said he probably discharged the Taser three or four times for a total of six seconds. One of those times, he shocked himself.

The sound from the video suggests he discharged the device at least four times.

Wells' attorney, Gary Parker, said it may have been as many as 12 times. Parker said no decision has been made on filing a lawsuit but he is talking with local officials about a resolution.
<snip>

Both cops should be charged with felony assault they were out of control for no reason. They are the ones that let the man leave without asking questions.

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. The officer who drove up and took care of the woman deserves an award.

[MadMaddie]

10. Agreed!

[Dawson Leery]

7. Taser is just another weapon to authority intended

to allow stated authority to show their power. Ban Tasers NOW!

[dem mba]

9. I've been reading DU for years

but the past 4 years or so in particular it seems like there has been a major uptick in police misuse of these "non-lethal" technologies.

damn near every day there is a new abuse to be found on here. must be a statistical anomaly of some sort...

:eyes:

[KansasVoter]

12. I give credit to video being easily available......

Notice how many more videos we see of cops now. This shit has been going on forever. Just easier to capture on video now.

[Liberal_in_LA]

14. yup.

[dem mba]

16. perhaps

makes me wonder how often Tasers and/or Pepper Spray are used "safely" and therefore don't make the headlines. How often do police rely on these dubious technologies?

[JoeyT]

26. A lot of it is because of video cameras becoming increasingly common.

Some of it is people becoming more aware of this kind of abuse and starting to look for it to see if it's a terrible but uncommon occurrence, then finding out that it isn't and sharing what they find. Even the most hardcore authoritarian has a difficult time defending a cop repeatedly tasering a guy that's laying on the ground with a broken back because he refused to stand up. (Though some will still do it.)

[Lorien]

41. I've noticed that too, as well as the uptick in authoritarians defending such crap. nt

[TexasObserver]

59. It's a direct result of the abuse of POWs in Iraq.

The horrific handling of prisoners in our war campaigns since 2001 has altered the way police at home go about their business. Part of this is due to soldiers becoming police. Part of it is due to the atmosphere created by Bush's executive branch and its support for police excess, and its refusal to prosecute police excess. Unfortunately, there's been no change under Obama.

[TexasObserver]

11. Calling police is usually a bad idea.

In today's world, they're just as likely to beat down the person who calls police as the one for whom they were called. Either way, they're likely to jump to conclusions, rely on personal and professional biases, and generally make bad decisions that result in unnecessary violence or charges.

As Bill Maher said "to protect and serve" has become "what are you lookin' at?!"

[knownothing]

18. posted in wrong place. self deleted

[Kalyke]

20. Mainly because of budget cuts - these police who have seen

the worst that humans can do to one another are rarely treated for an PTSD they incur and become part of the problem instead of the solution.

[TexasObserver]

24. Budget cuts have nothing to do with their bad practices.

They abuse power because they're taught to abuse power. The police are out of control, because of 30 years of federal opinions by a Republican controlled federal judiciary. They can kill old women with tasers and get away with it. They can beat you down in your own home, by accident, and get away with.

The problem is not budgetary. It is a culture of abused power that has loyalty only to other police, that resents citizens and treats them like criminals whether they are criminals or not.

[marions ghost]

36. a lot has happened...

because people "get away with it" under a biased judicial system. From the bottom to the top.

[Kalyke]

45. I used to be a reporter.... I covered both attorneys and cops

and I think both have the capacity to abuse power, but most don't.

And, no, they don't get away with it - not with a functional media and most local media still is - or this tape wouldn't have been made public.

[TexasObserver]

46. Cops get away with misconduct every day.

It's the norm, not the exception.

[Kalyke]

49. So do attorneys.

So do lots of people.

[TexasObserver]

52. We're not talking about attorneys or other people. We're talking about cops.

Stop trying to hijack the thread.

[Ex Lurker]

25. the bigger problem in small departments is that they literally have no training

beyond what they pick up on the job. In my town, they will hire a guy, give him a uniform, badge, gun, etc, and send him out on patrol. When an opening comes up, and when there's money in the budget, they send him to the academy. It may be six months, a year, or longer--assuming he sticks around that long, which is not a given with the meagre salaries they offer. The handful of capable officers are gaining experience to make themselves more attractive to big city departments, and don't stick around long.

We had an incident last week where a routine arrest for outstanding warrants turned into a high speed chase that resulted in two wrecked police cruisers and an accidental weapon discharge by one of the officers. The suspect got clean away. It would be comical if it weren't so serious.

[Lilith Velkor]

13. What's SHOCKING is that these dolts actually lost their jobs n/t

[KansasVoter]

15. Great point! Most of the time the Chief Of Police defends any bad cops!

[reggie the dog]

21. this time the sheriff bailed her out of jail and took her to the hospital!

[KansasVoter]

27. Wow, he does deserve a reward

[Liberal_in_LA]

30. yep. He's a hero. Bet the other cops hate him

[KansasVoter]

31. You are right there.......Cops don't want the truth.

[Kalyke]

50. I doubt it.

Most probably are glad they don't have to act like macho creeps.

[Ignis]

38. Now there's a good apple!

:patriot:

[Raineyb]

43. I believe one of them has been hired by another Sheriff's department.

Being fired for abuse is no deterrent to being rehired by another department apparently.

[Lilith Velkor]

47. Typical.

[TexasObserver]

57. Because some police think abusing citizens is just fine.

[TexasObserver]

53. Yes, that is a refreshing change from the way such things are often handled.

[Matariki]

17. a bit off topic - but I'm curious why the newpaper used "her clapboard house"

:shrug:

[Kalyke]

22. Um, because that's what it was.

Clapboard is not derogatory, it's an architectural design.

It means: a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below. Clapboard siding got its name from the Dutch Klappen, meaning to split. It was originally split by hand from logs in a radial manner.

[reggie the dog]

23. its a nicer way of saying run down

as a third grade teacher in the rural south i cant imagine she is making much money

[msanthrope]

32. Because an allusion to 'Tobacco Road ' would have been lost on most readers, sadly. n/t

[knownothing]

19. Taser abuse

Tasers are potentially deadly weapons, and shouldn't be used unless the officer is justified in killing that person. We are seeing a vast uptick in officers and/or security guards using them with little to no provocation. Remember the idiot who ran out on the field at a Phillies game? He should have been arrested, but there was absolutely no reason to use a taser on him.

In the meantime, people should try and take responsibility for their own self defense, as a number of court cases set the precedent that the police cannot be sued for failing to protect somebody. When seconds count, police are only minutes away.

[Dawson Leery]

39. Electric shocks are not fun at all.

This is one of those things that makes me severely physically ill to think of.

[TexasObserver]

54. Taser abuse by police is out of control.

It's as if they think there is never a time when a taser isn't appropriate.

[niyad]

28. k and r-- beyond disgusting

[Javaman]

33. Just think about the things that get passed over because there is no video evidence. nt

[Heywood J]

35. The officer who resigned is now working for another sherrif!

http://www.ajc.com/news/2-officers-out-of-568967.html

Smith resigned just as Ogle started the process to fire him, the chief said. Smith now works for the Chattahoochee County Sheriff's office.

[TexasObserver]

55. You would think state licensure would be cancelled.

But these bad cops keep finding new jobs in law enforcement.

[marions ghost]

37. This officer should go to jail

and be out of a job, if justice was happening in America.

x(

[Fuzz]

40. WTF?

[me b zola]

44. Torture

And cops get away with this barbaric behavior because everybody makes excuses for them: "its a tough job", "the victim didn't comply with an order" etc..

[Kalyke]

51. Well, it is a tough job, but, in this case, she was the victim before

he victimized her again.

As I said above... it is a tough job and not enough tax money coming in to get these officers treatment for witnessing all they do witness, so they end up being barbaric.

[TexasObserver]

56. Yes, cops now treat citizens the way soldiers treat POWs.

They treat many citizens as if they're scum, just in case they are.

[taught_me_patience]

48. Some DUers probably think

she deserves to be punched in the face. She was lucky the officer showed such restraint...