Teenager died after officer used Taser on him

[The Straight Story]

Teenager died after officer used Taser on him

MARTINSVILLE, Va. - A civil rights group wants police to put aside their stun guns following the death of a Martinsville teenager who died after a city police officer used a Taser on him.

Seventeen-year-old Derrick Jones died Jan. 15 after Martinsville police officer R.L. Wray used the Taser to subdue him inside Jones' home.

Police Chief Mike Rogers has said Wray thought a home invasion was in progress and that Jones posed a threat when the officer used the Taser.

This week, the president of the Virginia Southern Christian Leadership Conference called for a moratorium on the use of Tasers nationwide.

The Rev. William Keen of Danville said the conference said the use of tasers should be studied while the moratorium is in place.

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/virginia/dp-va--teen-taserdeath0117jan17,0,4882097.story

[anonymous171]

1. Yep. They definitely need to review their taser policy.

Cops are over using them.

[Warpy]

2. They are, and the discharge of a Taser has to be the same

as the discharge of any other weapon. There needs to be a ton of paperwork involved plus a review by Internal Affairs to make sure it's not being used as a tranquilizer to shut excited people up.

Had the cop not shot first, Jones might have had a chance to explain that it was his home, even if the sight of a bunch of burly cops stomping around and threatening him had gotten him overwrought. Depending on the co morbidities, he might even still be alive.

Tasers have to be viewed as potentially lethal and their use needs to be reviewed 100% of the time. In addition, cops should be taught how to manage crises and how to listen even to very excited people.

What they are doing now is having a tragic outcome too many times.

[90-percent]

3. Fact Check

Haven't there been something like 350 taser induced deaths in the USA (or the world?) since it's use by the police?

I hope somebody gets sued for false advertising for the "non-lethal" feature of the stanard police issue taser. Someone must be held to account for all this death. It's genocide.

-90% Jimmy