Cop Went Wild With Taser, Diabetic Says

[cali]

By ROBERT KAHN


(CN) - A suburban Chicago police officer Tasered a man 11 times while he was having a diabetic seizure, and the 56 seconds of needlessly inflicted electric shock, "inflicted ... while he was lying unresponsive on the floor of his bedroom, permanently scarred and caused him neurological damage that has not abated," the man claims in Chicago Federal Court.
Prospero Lassi says he suffered a diabetes-induced seizure at home on April 9. His roommate called 911, and police from LaGrange Park and Brookfield responded, with EMTs from LaGrange Park.
Lassi says his roommate explained to police that he was having a diabetic seizure. Lassi "was not alert and could not move his body."
When the EMTs asked the cops to help them move Lassi from where he was lying on the floor, Lassi says, one of his "arms flailed during his diabetes-induced seizure, striking one of the LaGrange and Brookfield defendants. At no time did Mr. Lassi intentionally strike or offensively touch any of the LaGrange or Brookfield defendants."
Lassi says LaGrange Park Officer Darren Pedota responded by Tasering him 11 times, for nearly a minute, as he lay helpless.
He was hospitalized for 5 days, and was unable to work for 3 months because of the attack, "and his quality of life has suffered substantially," Lassi says.
"At no time did Mr. Lassi do anything to warrant the use of force against him. Mr. Lassi was never cited, arrested, or charged with any crime," according to the complaint.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/12/28/23144.htm

[n2doc]

1. Another bad cop who needs to be unemployed n/t

[Echo In Light]

9. Another sociopathic, sadist fuck who *wanted* to be a public servant for obvious reasons

[truebrit71]

15. +1

eom

[Jim__]

2. Are there any standards for cops using tasers?

It seems like because tasers are (supposedly) non-lethal, cops use them at the slightest whim.

[havocmom]

11. some cops on some forces were harming diabetics decades before tasers

Too many diabetics in insulin shock died in drunk tanks. The root problem is the Three I's: Ignorance, Indifference, Intolerance. In this day and age, such roots should not be found in law enforcement. Populations need to hold their departments to high standards and there should be terminations when standards are not met.

[Flaneur]

3. There seems to be a whole barrel full of bad apples in our police forces.

I wonder why that is.

[MercutioATC]

14. Because you generally only hear about the bad ones.

There are plenty of good cops, too. Most, in fact.

[demodonkey]

4. Good God. My late brother used to have such seizures. They are terrifying enough...

...without getting tasered by a lunatic cop, who shouldn't be rendering assistance to EMTs if not better trained on how to respond to a seizure.

I hope Mr. Lassi gets triple punitive damages, if such a thing exists.

[mzmolly]

5. OMG

:(

[CoffeeCat]

6. People MUST sue...

...it's the only way to deter this brutality. Bankrupt all of the
police stations that employ these taser-happy sadists.

[gratuitous]

7. I hope Mr. Lassi learned his lesson

Just to beat the inevitable apologists, to the punch (in a manner of speaking): The next time Mr. Lassi goes into a diabetic seizure, he'll know not to hit a cop, however unintentional it was. Cops have a difficult and dangerous job, and how could a cop know whether Lassi didn't have a very, very small knife hidden in his hand? A knife that had been smeared with poop, that could have inflicted an infected wound? And maybe if the cop didn't get medical attention promptly enough, it could have gone septic, and poisoned his blood, and caused him to lose his job? Or his life?

Mr. Lassi should thank his lucky stars that he wasn't cited, arrested or charged with any crime. Because he still could be, you know.

[Pithlet]

17. Give this thread enough time, they'll show up, I'm sure.

It will probably be more along the lines of We don't know the whole story Don't be so quick to judge We don't have all the facts BS. We're just jumping on the cop because we're all a bunch of haters here. As if anything could explain tasering a poor guy having a seizure. But I've seen some pretty crazy defenses, though. You never know what you'll get.

[Better Today]

8. Just a tad of advice, similar to don't talk to the cops. . .

When you call for an ambulance, DON'T LET THE COPS in the door. If EMT's need more help insist on Fire Dept assistance or additional EMTs to be called, do not let the police in your home unless they have a warrant. (period)

[Echo In Light]

10. +1

[unblock]

12. when i was an emt, i was trained NEVER to enter a dwelling until the police told me it was secure.

the emt's FIRST responsibility is to his/her own safety.

scene safety is step one. you do NOT go to step two without establishing scene safety.

of course, i was in a town where cops were nearly always able to respond before emts, so there was rarely a timing problem.

[Better Today]

13. Really? I suppose that would be true for certain calls, but for a strictly medical call?

What if someone calls the ambulance directly instead of through 911?

[unblock]

18. i would be especially suspect of that sort of call.

you NEVER know what you're going to encounter on a call, and you certainly can't take the anonymous caller's word for it that the scene is safe.

[Vidar]

16. K&R.