43 Year Old Man dies after being Tased over blown stop sign dispute

[RamboLiberal]

A 43-year-old California man died after a cop shot him with a Taser in a confrontation over a blown stop sign.

San Bernardino County police said Allen Kephart, a party dj and teacher's assistant, became "combative" in a gas station parking lot after a deputy pulled him over for running a stop sign in Blue Jay, Calif., on Wednesday, The Los Angeles Times reported.

"The deputy attempted to place him under arrest, at which time he was tased," sheriff department spokesman Cindy Bachman said. "He became unconscious, and medical aid was immediately provided, CPR."

Kephart was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/05/12/2011-05-12_43yearold_man_allen_kephart_dies_after_being_shot_with_taser_during_dispute_over.html#ixzz1MAvwUAl0

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Kephart pulled into a Valero gas station parking lot about a quarter mile away, got out of the car and "became combative and uncooperative" with the deputy, Bachman said. Additional deputies arrived at the scene to assist, she said.

"The deputy attempted to place him under arrest, at which time he was Tased," Bachman said. “He became unconscious, and medical aid was immediately provided -- CPR."

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Kephart’s father, a member of the Sheriff’s Department’s volunteer mounted Rangers unit for decades, called his son’s death a senseless use of excessive force. The incident happened when his son was returning to the family home after filling up his car with gas in Crestline.

"To me, it’s not just a traffic stop. It’s murder. You don’t kill a person for running a stop sign," said Jack Kephart, also of Crest Park.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/05/man-dies-taser-san-bernardino-county-sheriffs-deputies.html

[madinmaryland]

1. Used a taser in a gas station??

Too bad the douchebag wasn't blown up.

[Cid_B]

2. Now now...

... there is no reason to wish property damage on some random Stop-n-go owner.

Silly headline btw... He wasn't tased for going through a stop sign but of course it is meant to inflame.

[RamboLiberal]

3. How is headline meant to inflame?

BTW, I kept it close to NY Daily News headline.

It was a traffic stop over a stop sign. He was pissed. Cop decided to arrest him. He didn't comply and got tased.

I don't know if he needed to be tased but IMHO these days too many times cops go straight to the taser and lack in conflict resolution skills.

Some need to learn how to let citizens vent.

Link to google headlines on this story: http://news.google.com/news/more?q=stop+sign+taser+death&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&oe=utf8&rlz=1I7GGLR_en&um=1&hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&wrapid=tlif130523580023510&ie=UTF-8&ncl=dsBXp7lZ8nBWTkMHh4FOunVeHOKgM&ei=W1HMTePQKZCztwfIrIV7&sa=X&oi=news_result&ct=more-results&resnum=1&ved=0CC0QqgIwAA

[bobburgster]

5. RamboLiberal....you hit the nail with this line.....

"don't know if he needed to be tased but IMHO these days too many times cops go straight to the taser and lack in conflict resolution skills."

Nothing will change because people are so worried about just surviving they don't complain about such "trivial" things. :sarcasm:

[valerief]

7. +1 gazillion

[madinmaryland]

10. Actually, my point was the COMPLETE STUPIDITY of the cop for creating

a HUGH spark at a gas station. For that alone, the cop should be sent to Gitmo. Fucking idiot!

[Edweird]

4. You can't argue your way out of a ticket - you hire an attorney to do that for you in court.

Police are authoritarians and fighting an authoritarian with the power to kill you over something you can beat in court is stupid in my opinion.

[abelenkpe]

6. He was combative?

Says who? The police officer? Article doesn't say there were any witnesses.

Pretty sad. Police use tasers way too often.

[ThomCat]

8. +1

Cops can lie and claim whatever they want, and convict anyone based on the claim that someone was combative, even when the only ones there who were combative and violent were them.

I especially love the claim that is becoming more common that "the video doesn't show the entire scene." So we are all supposed to continue to depend on whatever the police tell us, and take it as gospel truth even when the video clearly shows that the police are the ones who were violent.

[jp11]

9. It says the father was told by witnesses his son was slammed to the ground

and tazed multiple times.

And of course too often those police who shouldn't be officers claim people are 'resisting/interfering/etc' to cover their asses when they use excessive force/harass people for not bowing to them.

[JohnyCanuck]

16. Yup, at the G20 protests in Toronto,

there were reports of the asshole cops pounding the shit out of unresiting and immobilized protesters while loudly proclaiming "Stop resisting arrest."

[readmoreoften]

14. Combative means the cop didn't like his tone. Or he didn't think he did anything wrong and he was

irritated. Obviously he didn't assault the cop. That's a different charge. So basically, this guy was killed for not being obsequious enough to the cop.

[Cid_B]

17. "Obvious" based on what...

... the charges that were later brought against a dead guy?

Ok, new rule. If you are medically obese and an ass you don't get the taser when you resist but everyone else is ok. Fat folks just get beat up like the old days.

[Liberal_in_LA]

11. k&r

[NC_Nurse]

12. why would he arrest the guy for running a stop sign anyway? I thought you

just got a ticket. WTF?

[readmoreoften]

13. The comments in this section make me sick, really. We've become a nation of hateful thugs.

So a cop kills someone for talking back over a ticket (if he actually physically threatened or attacked the cop, it'd be assault or attempted assault) and all the good Democrats on DU can say is more or less "dumbass should've complied, etc." Really, folks here sound more and more like "less racist" versions of Freepers every day. (Yey Toby Keith--Osama we put a boot in yer ass! Police brutality is a fact of life, get over it! African-Americans are okay, but undocumented Messicans should git outta our country!11! Wiretapping is okay when Dems do it. Whistleblowers are bad when they blow the whistle on Dems. The Patriot Act and Gitmo are okay, so long as Obama's in control.)

Talk about the loyal opposition...

[kentuck]

15. Although he was not shot above the left eye....

He is still just as dead.