Collier cops cleared in Taser death

[liberalnurse]

I believe it is prudent to share the investigative conclusion of an "alleged Taser death".

snip>

Rather than the officers being at fault, it appears likely that drug abuse contributed to Hernandez's death, the report states.

Tests show Hernandez had traces of cocaine, Ecstasy and marijuana in his system and these drugs, combined with sickle cell anemia that Hernandez suffered from, caused his death, medical examiners found, the report states.

"The evidence does not show that the death was the result of any criminal act on the part of the officers involved," Plattner wrote in his report.



A state attorney's investigation has cleared Collier County sheriff's deputies in the death of a young Fort Myers man who died in police custody last December.

Christopher Hernandez, 19, died Dec. 28 after his car was stopped by police in North Naples and subsequently got into a fight with deputies.

During the altercation, deputies zapped Hernandez several times with Tasers and sprayed him with pepper spray,


http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/20050608/NEWS01/50608008/1075

additional report:

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050609/APN/506090559

Medical examiners determined the drugs and Hernandez's medical condition caused his death from cardiac arrest, Plattner said.

"The evidence does not show that the death was the result of any criminal act on the part of the officers involved. Rather, it seems like from the evidence that the drug abuse which resulted in his death also contributed to the behavior that he exhibited at the scene of the traffic stop," Plattner said.

Deputies said Hernandez attacked them, kicking them and ripping their uniforms, after police stopped the car in which he was a passenger.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. A "non-lethal" weapon...

Caused lethality. You need to do a little investigation on electricity, DC electricity and 50,000 volts.

Of course they said that it was drugs. Do you expect them to say that they killed him on a whim?

[liberalnurse]

3. Well, what you say has not been

the finding of this investigation. Save it for another day.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. Bullshit.

Dig this.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Taser%2Bdeath&btnG=Google+Search

[Media_Lies_Daily]

21. Right. We know what you're going to say about using tasers....

...before you bother to post it.

[Tomee450]

17. It's always drugs or they thought

the victim had a weapon or somehow although he had his hands cuffed behind his back and many officers surrounding him, they feared for their lives and had to shoot. Any old excuse will do.

[AX10]

2. .....

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/02/279918.shtml

[liberalnurse]

5. High jacking a thread

is a weak argument style. Try sticking with this theme.

[Tsiyu]

6. Just because someone expresses doubt about

a police investigation does not mean they are hijacking your thread. If you bring up a topic as controversial as Tasering, I hope you understand that some people will disagree with your position.

I would be one of them.

[liberalnurse]

8. He just posted a link.....

To his Taser thread......what else could it be? It's not a discussion.

[AX10]

9. I am not highjacking your thread.

Also, I do see where the taser could be used in place of pepper spray/baton/guns. Yes, this man was on drugs at the time of the interatction with the officers, and they would have to consider taking the appropriate action should their lives be in danger. Unfortunatly, death may occur in these cases. Law enforcement can be a very difficult
job, and it is needed that we provide a balance of authority and constitutional protections.

Assuming that the police report is accurate, I would JUSTFY the police's action.

I hear so much about "law and order". I would like to hear about "justice" too. It is what so many died for. It's worth protecting!

It includes the right for all people to live in peace and for the police/government to apply the rules in a fair and justifyable manner.

[Branjor]

7. One must assume

that some people will abuse drugs or have an illness. If a taser kills someone in that condition, it is just as much the taser's fault as it is the fault of the medical condition of the victim. Both the taser and the medical condition combined to cause the death, not just the medical condition.

[AX10]

10. I understand that, but had a person on drugs gotten behind the wheel...

of a car, they would be very dangerous to others.
With that said, we should know whether or not the taser was a contributory factor. If a "non lethal" weapon can kill, than we must re-consider the proper uses of that weapon.

[liberalnurse]

12. My point is, that the Taser was not lethal.

It was a combination of the drugs and a compromised health condition.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

22. No, you just have the word of the fox guarding the henhouse....

...but you just go ahead and keep making excuses for police killing people with tasers.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

31. Unfortunately, a lot of people have been decdiding to die after

being introduced to a taser.

[liberalnurse]

11. The Taser did not contribute to the death.

Cocaine, Ecstasy and marijuana in his system and these drugs, combined with sickle cell anemia caused the death. It sounds like he went into a sickle cell crisis episode which would not be triggered by the Taser sting. The mix of cocaine and Ecstasy compromised his health status which can be attributed to triggering a sickle cell crisis episode. He was in a rage during the traffic stop, out of control, adrenaline pumping, tachycardia....oxygen levels challenged, a crisis episode is initiated....That is what put him in the grave.

[Branjor]

13. Hmm....

So the death would have occurred even without the tasering, but unfortunately for the cops involved this natural death just happened to occur concurrently with the tasering.

[liberalnurse]

14. Yeap......

I've seen quite a few die the same way without any Taser.....Friends drop them off in ER.....

[Media_Lies_Daily]

23. Interesting. Were those people also....

...driving the car that dropped them off?

[AX10]

15. One report I read is that electrical current...

moving through the bloodstream can break down the composure of cell walls. I'll try to get that report.

I do not compare this case to the case in Florida. Ms. Goodwin was disruptive, but non violent. Officer McNevin was out of line. The officers where right in this case (Hernandez). He was on drugs, violent, and dangerous to the community.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

25. "Dangerous to the community"?? Who specifically was in danger?

[AX10]

32. Had he gotten into his car, he would be driving a multi thousand pound...

weapon. I do see that as a danger.

[Tomee450]

18. And the tasering could have aggravated

the illness causing death. Without the tasering the victim might have lived many years with his illness.

[Evergreen Emerald]

16. for god's sake you people

He was friggin on every drug he could find and fighting with the police who were trying to protect innocent citizens.

It is his fault he took the drugs
It is his fault he was driving while in that condition
It is his choice to fight with police rather than cooperate

It is his fault he is dead.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

20. Just curious, but would he have died if he hadn't been tasered?....

Did he zap himself several times with the taser?

And what innocent people were protected by his death?

By the way, before they got tasers, what happened to all that training that police used to get to be able to subdue people?

[noiretextatique]

24. and: the media lies daily

:D i'm always puzzled by the willingness to swallow some stories whole given how much your moniker is discussed here on a daily basis.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

26. It's certainly a puzzle to me. It's really hard to figure.

[Evergreen Emerald]

29. the media lies about the dangers of driving while intoxicated?

A vehicle is a deadly weapon when used by a person on every drug he could suck into his body. There were plenty of people protected--including the officer. He also has a right to protect himself from someone attacking him for doing his job.

You ask what happened to all that training the officers used to get: are you suggesting that the officers should put their lives at greater risk by hand to hand combat? Why?

Why aren't you outraged by the guy who was driving while intoxicated?
Why aren't you outraged by the guy who would attack an officer for doing his job of protecting those who could have become victims of his selfish acts?

[BiggJawn]

35. For god's sake, he WASN'T driving!

"Deputies said Hernandez attacked them, kicking them and ripping their uniforms, after police stopped the car in which he was a passenger.
"

PASSENGER....If you're gonna defend Our "Boys in Blue, Right or WRONG", get your freaking facts straight....

"It is his fault he is dead."
Bucking for a High position in the Minutemen Marching Club, are we?

[noiretextatique]

19. more from Amnesty International

In fact, the data shows that TASERs are used on unarmed suspects in 80% of the cases, for verbal non-compliance in 36%, and for cases involving "deadly assault" only 3% of the time. Amnesty International calls on Taser International to demonstrate corporate responsibility by making recommendations that will help police departments use its device as it was designed—as an alternative to lethal force. Taser International markets the gun as a "defensive weapon" designed to be used on the "most hardened of targets," but in a brochure targeted to law enforcement, the company says its electro-shock weapons can be used by police for "everyday circumstances."

The report provides further documentation of a pattern in which medical examiners predictably attribute the official cause of death in a majority of TASER-related shootings to heart problems, drug overdose (usually involving cocaine, PCP, or Crystal Methamphetamine), or positional asphyxiation. Amnesty International believes all of these issues require immediate attention from independent medical experts.

http://www.mediaisland.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=337

[Media_Lies_Daily]

27. Bingo! Excellent link!

[slaveplanet]

28. Very interesting

thanks for that

[AX10]

33. "they are being used in situations where police would never use lethal"

As a matter of fact, the Taser is being used in places in which NO FORCE was ever used before!
:wtf:?

The Taser MUST NOT be used a a WHIP against anyone who does not jump when the government says so.

[Tsiyu]

30. Liberalnurse, i'm sorry to say this

but a while back, you and I got into it over the tasering of a 73-year-old woman who was trying to visit her friend in a nursing home. YOU JUSTIFIED THE TASERING of an elderly woman in that thread! Justified it as if your life depended on it!

So now you claim this death is justified because the dude was on drugs and combative. But your credibility is dead with me. After our discussion then, I believe you would justify the tasering of anyone and everyone. Sorry, just my impression.

I do not trust your judgement and I do not trust this "investigation" and there really is nothing you can say or do to change that.

[BiggJawn]

34. Well, that settles it then.

Like the cops would NEVER have a vested interest in seeing this Whitewashed....

So if I died from a Tasing by these guys, their coroner would rule it "Death due to complications from Diabetes"?

"He must have screwed up his Insulin dose!"