Fatal-Police-Taserings-2001-2013 -Pdf
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
October 13, 2013 Fatal PoliceTaserings Deaths Per Year 2013: 36 Deaths 2012: 51 2011: 64 2010: 64 2009: 57 2008: 62 2007: 67 2006: 73 2005: 66 2004: 48 2003: 16 2002: 12 2001: 2 TOTAL: 618 2013: 36 Deaths October 13, 2013—Lorain, Ohio—32-year-old William Taylor died after police tasered him while he was prone on the ground being handcuffed. Police say that Taylor shot and killed his girlfriend several minutes before breaking into the house of another woman, allegedly fleeing the scene. A man who lived in the house subdued Taylor and pinned him to the floor. According to the woman Taylor pleaded with the residents “please help me!” several times. When police arrived at the house they began to cuff Taylor and according to the resident tasered him while he lay prone. According to police Taylor then “passed out” after being tasered. He died at a nearby hospital a few hours later. http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2013/10/15/circumstances-of-lorain-deaths- investigated/ October 13, 2013—El Paso, Texas—36-year-old Mercedes Demarco died after police tasered her. At 4 a.m. police were called because someone was allegedly screaming outside a motel room in the Sunset Heights neighborhood. A witness Demarco, stage performer and transgender woman, was outside the motel office yelling for help. Police arrived and with no explanation or interaction with Demarco decided to arrest her. As many as five police officers attacked Demarco, tasered her, and put her in a squad car. Police say Demarco “became unresponsive” while being transported and she was later pronounced dead at an area hospital. http://lexiecannes.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/texas-drag- performers-tragic-death-poses-a-dilemma-for-this-reporter/ October 5, 2013—Cleveland, Ohio—29-year-old- Reginald Williams Jr. died after police, according to an eyewitness, tasered him multiple times. Police allegedly chased Williams and he became tangled in a fence. He allegedly told officers that he was “exhausted and couldn't stand up.” A resident, Kimberly Hawthorne, said that she witnessed police taser Williams multiple times after cornering him. Neither of the officers involved filed a use-of- force report, or made any mention of shocking Williams with their tasers in their reports of the arrest. They mentioned no altercation or violence of any kind. Williams was taken to a local hospital following the arrest where he died several hours later. Police say they will not investigate further unless there is evidence from the medical examiner that a taser killed Williams. (http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/10/no_lethal_injury_reported_in_a.html) September 22, 2013—Northwood, Iowa— 39-year-old Michael Lee Zubrod was tasered by Worth County sheriff’s deputies. Police were called to a residence and allegedly found Zubrod beating a woman with a hammer and scissors. Police say they tasered Zubrod and then wrestled him to the ground to stop the attack and arrest him. He allegedly fought or kicked officers and they handcuffed him, as well as cuffing his ankles. He “became unresponsive” while restrained on the ground and was later transported to a local hospital. (http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2013/09/27/police-used-tasers-on- northern-iowa-man-who-later-died-in-handcuffs-authorities-say/article?nclick_check=1) September 2, 2013—New Britain, Connecticut—40-year-old Seth Victor died after being tasered by police following a several-hour stand-off. Police say Victor was shocked with a taser because he was “resisting officers at the end of the standoff.” They said he “experienced a medical emergency” shortly thereafter and was declared dead at the hospital. Police responded to a 6:45 p.m. call about someone at the top floor of an apartment building yelling and tossing objects out the window. They found Victor barricaded on the third floor of the building. Police say he dropped many objects out of the windows after their arrival, and threatened to jump out of it if police entered the building. Police responded by bringing in a “SWAT team . along with a K-9 unit and dozens of officers.” Police entered the building at 9:30 p.m. to force Victor to surrender. He then allegedly “fought” officers; he was then shocked with the taser. As they dragged him from the building police say he “experienced breathing difficulties” and was taken to the hospital where he died at 2 a.m. (http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Police-Respond-to- Report-of-Barricaded-Suspect-in-New-Britain-222107071.html) September 2, 2013—Miami-Dade County, Florida—43-year-old Norman Oosterbroek, former bodyguard for several celebrities, was allegedly attempting to enter a home in Pinecrest. Christiane Jung says she found Oosterbroek naked inside her home. Markus Jung says he got into a verbal argument with Oosterbroek which turned into a physical fight, during which he says Ooserbroek ingested something. Police arrived on the scene, called by Christiane Jung, Police say they found the two men fighting, and “Oosterbroek became aggressive with the officers, who asked him to stop and tried to take him into custody.” Police say he then “violently struggled” with them and was shocked with their tasers as a result. It is unclear what happened next, but soon after being tasered he was transported to an area hospital and pronounced dead. (http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Celebrity-Bodyguard-Dies-After-Being-Shocked- with-Taser-by-Miami-Dade-Police-222242381.html) August 13, 2013—Sycamore, Ohio—59-year-old Gary Roell died after Hamilton County sheriff’s deputies tasered him at around 3 a.m. According to police a woman called them saying her neighbor, Roell, was trying to break into her home. Police arrived and found Roell, shirtless, and said he “resisted” when deputies tried to arrest him and then allegedly punched one of them. Deputies say the three of them fought Roell for several minutes, tasering him at least once, before handcuffing him. A spokesman admitted that “within minutes” they discovered Roell was not breathing and attempted CPR to no avail. Roell’s son, Gary Roell Jr., said his father had suffered from mental illness for 30 years and had recently stopped taking his medication. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead on arrival. (http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/news/region_east_cincinnati/sycamore_township/Police-Man- dies-after-Deputy-uses-taser-to-shock-him) August 8, 2013—Indianapolis, Indiana—22-year-old Jeffrey B. Lilly Jr. died shortly after Indianapolis police tasered him, allegedly following a short foot chase. At around 8 p.m. police say Lilly “fled” from officers and fell down, they say he then “resisted” when officers tried to arrest him so they shocked him with their tasers an indeterminate number of times. He “grew unresponsive” immediately after he was tasered and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. (http://www.indystar.com/article/20130809/NEWS02/308090021/Suspect-who-died- Thursday-during-drug-investigation-had-background-arrests) August 6, 2013—Miami Beach, Florida—18-year-old Israel Hernandez-Llach was tasered and killed by police following a short foot chase after police saw him spray-painting on an abandoned McDonalds building. Hernandez-Llach, a well-known local artist, was with two friends (who acted as lookouts and confirmed the activity) was applying paint to a derelict building when police say they saw him doing so at 5 a.m. Police say they engaged in a short foot-chase with Hernadez-Llach before cornering him. Witnesses Felix Fernandez and Thiago Souza say that they saw police shove the teen against a brick wall, then taser him in the chest. They also say police officers high-fived each other afterwards as Hernadze-Llach lay motionless on the ground. Police say that the teen went into immediate “medical distress” after being handcuffed. He was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead thereafter. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/07/israel-hernandez- taser_n_3722420.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/12/israel-hernandez-taser_n_4088777.html http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/07/3548779/graffiti-artist-dies-after-tasering.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/27/israel-hernandez-lawsuit_n_3823813.html August 2, 2013—Phoenix, Arizona—44-year-old Michael Angel Ruiz died five days after he was tasered by police “several times” according to multiple witnesses while he was standing on his roof on July 28 . Police allegedly responded to a call about a man on a roof and found Ruiz on the roof of his house. He may have had mental health issues, according to family and friends. They forced him down with their tasers, in direct contravention of their own department’s policy for not using tasers on people in danger of falling; he then jumped or fell from the roof to his outside stairway. Police were waiting, and once surrounded they placed Ruiz in a chokehold for several minutes while tasering him again. Multiple officers then dragged Ruiz down a long flight of concrete steps, and in video of the incident his head can be seen striking each step as they dragged him down. Ruiz died, was resuscitated at the scene, but was then declared brain dead at the hospital. His family took him off life support August 2. (http://www.usaprepares.com/uncategorized/phoenix-az-cops-tase- choke-and-drag-man-to-death-phoenix-police-department-information-line-602-262-7626) July 29, 2013—St. Louis Park, Minnesota—76-year-old Zheng Diao died from complications of injuries suffered after police tasered him on July 14. According to police they were called to Park Heath and Rehab nursing home because Diao was allegedly “acting irrationally.” He allegedly held a knife or scissors, and allegedly moved a weapon to his own throat, which is when police say that shocked him with their tasers.