Posted on 06/07/2012 1:49:37 PM PDT by kiryandil
BALTIMORE (CN) - When an architect crashed his car while suffering a diabetic reaction on the way home from Bible study class, state and county police pepper sprayed him in the face and clubbed and Tasered him to death, his wife claims in court.
Linda Johnson sued the Maryland State Police, Baltimore County Police, their top commanders and six officers who allegedly beat and Tasered to death Carl D. Johnson on May 27, 2010. Johnson suffered a diabetic attack sometime after 8:15 p.m. that night, after calling a friend to tell him he was leaving his Bible class, according to the complaint in Baltimore County Court. He suffered a diabetic attack, crashed on the I-795, and his car came to rest against the guardrail in the median near the merger with I-695.
According to the complaint, when State Trooper Davon Parker arrived and tapped on the window, and Johnson managed to lower the window, Parker pepper sprayed him in the face. Johnson then got out of his car and Parker clubbed him at least once in the knee. Defendant Officer Loss (fnu) then arrived and whacked Johnson at least twice with his club, the complaint states.
Baltimore County Police Officer Nicholas Wolferman then arrived, whacked Johnson "at least three times" with his own baton, then he and Officer Loss "grabbed Mr. Johnson and threw him over the guardrail," Johnson's widow says. She claims the very first officer on the scene knew or should have known that her husband was suffering from a medical problem.
Nonetheless, after throwing him over the guardrail, the cops applied pressure points to his ears and armpits, she says. Three more cops arrived, including Baltimore County Officer Andrew O'Neill, who Tasered Johnson twice. Officer Loss then punched him in the face and the six officers managed to handcuff him, the widow says. Eight more cops arrived, and someone took his wallet, which included a medical alert card about his diabetes. Nonetheless, the cops forcibly held him down, though he was not resisting, and was handcuffed, his wife says.
"Upon information and belief, there were approximately 52 individuals that responded to the scene," according to the complaint.
The widow claims Johnson was Tasered at least three times, while he was lying on his back, helpless, surrounded by police. He became "motionless and speechless" and was pronounced dead within an hour of cardiac arrest.He was the 10th person to die since 2004 after being subjected to police electroshock in Maryland, the Baltimore Sun reported in a story about Johnson's death.
Linda Johnson seeks more than $10 million in punitive damages for wrongful death, loss of consortium, false imprisonment, false arrest, battery, gross negligence and other charges. She is represented by Mark Millstein and David Silbiger, both of Baltimore.
LOL,
Brevity is the soul of wit. You nailed it in one sentence.
” I will agree we have too many officers but I believe that is because of the mantra on the War on Drugs/Citizens/Constitution. “
When I was growing up, we learned that Policemen were “Peace Officers”, and “The Policeman is your friend!!”
With the paradigm shift to “Law *Enforcement* Officers”, in a climate of ‘laws’ that are so all-encompassing, draconian, and contradictory - the Policeman can no longer afford to be anybody’s ‘friend’....
The VN vet remark was not a poke at VN vets.
I have a father that did two tours in the ‘Nam with 3rd Marines at Dong Ha, the Rockpile, Con Thien, and others.
The point made was this. The vet was trained, experienced, ready, and had better weaponry than Officer Dinkheller. He used them to murder Dinkheller, even though Dinkheller was doing his job and had the advantage at first.
And yes, he was deranged.
Thanks.
Ten years ago I would have written your post myself. The balance of power between The People and The Government is so out of whack that I will vote at every opportunity and in every way to frustrate government purpose and intent, and to annoy and inconvenience it’s officers in every way.
From traffic regs, pompous police, pompous elected officials and the all pervading idiotcracy the whole rotten piece of crap can just collapse. If the E U is any indication collapse is inevitable. I for one will not pull my 11B gear out of the old war chest to save it.
I’ve known a couple diabetics who indeed did get aggressive when bottoming out. Could avert things by demanding they check or eat when they started getting rude and nasty...if they’d actually listen.
What the hell is wrong with these people? And how do they sleep at night? If a guy swears at you, pees on your leg and barks, maybe tazer him. Once. But, beating the **## out of a diabetic?? A real threat, hey?
Eventually, even you will get tired of apologizing and excusing the behavior of out of control LEO.
I defer to your superior knowledge.
“One caveat I have, perhaps sufferers of certain levels of diabetes should not be able to drive....it’s not really fair but if they’re prone to seizures and passing out then the safety of other drivers should really come into play.”
Agreed. My exwife had epilepsy. I refused to let her drive. A fit might be rare, but behind the wheel is deadly.
Actually, your biggest problem is the public is becoming quite aware that police departments and cops are ignoring and covering for bad cops.
Look at the canton OH harless jerk. The most telling part isn’t him, but how the other officers behaved.
Police need to start policing their own, not cover for each other’s crimes.
Thanks, officers, for making all the good, professional cops out there look like the enemy. I’ve met a few upstanding officers in my life, and they probably get so much sh*t from people because of thugs like you.
Go to hell, you sons of b*tches.
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
Dang! If that's true, I do apologize for my previous remarks. Maybe it was just a bad situation.
I saw a tunnel cop the other day come screaming off the exit of I-95 southbound. As I got onto 95 north, I could hear him coming behind me with light and sirens the whole way. He spent ten minutes in “hot pursuit” to stop some vagrant walking along the freeway shoulder. And he called for backup too.
These guys are insane.
“Does a guy in a diabetic reaction fight with a bunch of cops?”
Yes, they do. When someone is in a diabetic crisis, they can act inebriated. They can also fight since they aren’t in their right minds due to the medical crisis they are undergoing. From my understanding, this is taught at rookie schools. One way to tell if a person is having a diabetic crisis rather than being drunk is they smell “like fruit” or sweet (no alcohol smell). What concerns me about this case is that people with head injuries can also become violent. The car was involved in a crash. Multiple officers were on the scene... therefore, there was enough manpower to simply restrain/handcuff the individual without constant beating and tazing. My son recently turned 16... and some people wonder why I am more afraid of him driving due to the police than what most parents fear about teen drivers.
Please do not take it personal. If anyone meant this toward you, they can go pound sand.
But, living in a DC suburb, I can tell you the police force is far different that most places. The cities hire en masse and do not screen well enough. They are basically hiring mercenaries, who happen to know someone inside who get them a fast track to get hired. Then, solid men get pushed out for pissy things.
A good friend, who is an officer in a army reserve unit was also a police officer. His immediate superior was a woman who wanted her friend hired, but my friend got the position.
One day, he was in the locker scratching an area that itched. His sup came around the corner and saw him. He stopped immediately, but she wrote him up for sexual harassment. He got released immediately.
We do not know whether her friend got hired in his place.
Please do not take it personal. If anyone meant this toward you, they can go pound sand.
But, living in a DC suburb, I can tell you the police force is far different that most places. The cities hire en masse and do not screen well enough. They are basically hiring mercenaries, who happen to know someone inside who get them a fast track to get hired. Then, solid men get pushed out for pissy things.
A good friend, who is an officer in a army reserve unit was also a police officer. His immediate superior was a woman who wanted her friend hired, but my friend got the position.
One day, he was in the locker scratching an area that itched. His sup came around the corner and saw him. He stopped immediately, but she wrote him up for sexual harassment. He got released immediately.
We do not know whether her friend got hired in his place.
When that’s done, she can prosecute the cops on the scene for violating his civil rights.
And how was he able to lead them on a high-speed chase while having a diabetic reaction?
I didn’t see that he was. And for once I even went and read the article. ;)
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