Posted on 07/31/2005 9:20:58 AM PDT by SevenMinusOne
Witnesses: Tasered boy posed no threat
July 31, 2005
BY DAVE NEWBART Staff Reporter
A 14-year-old boy who went into cardiac arrest after he was zapped by a Chicago Police stun gun had not threatened police or anyone else before he was shocked, four eyewitnesses to the February incident say.
The developmentally delayed boy was sitting on a couch in a juvenile home and was not attempting to harm anyone, the witnesses claim in sworn court depositions obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
After the boy went into convulsions and fell to the floor, the officer who used the Taser allegedly said, "Now look at this f-----' paperwork I've got to do,'' at least two witnesses claim in the depositions.
The testimony contradicts police reports, in which a police sergeant claims he shot the boy with the gun -- which delivers 50,000 volts of electricity -- out of fear for his own safety.
The depositions were taken in a civil lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court in which the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, the boy's guardian, charges police used excessive force in the incident. The lawsuit seeks more than $50,000 in damages on each of two counts.
In court documents, the city has denied the charges. Police spokesman Dave Bayless said many other witnesses -- including police on the scene -- had yet to be deposed in the case. "Let all the witnesses provide their version of events, and somewhere in there, the truth will emerge,'' he said.
Bayless stood by the police reports filed at the time, including one that stated the boy "stood up in an aggressive stance with raised fists and then leg towards police'' before he was stunned.
The officers involved -- including Sgt. Samuel Lopez, an 11-year veteran who deployed the Taser -- remain on the job, police said. The police Office of Professional Standards has interviewed several witnesses but has not yet ruled.
Chicago Police do not have a policy banning the use of Tasers on children, but its use remains controversial. Amnesty International says there are no solid studies showing the weapons are safe for use on children. But Arizona-based Taser International said tests on pigs between 66 and 257 pounds showed the weapons to be safe.
'Extremely traumatic event'
After the Taser was used, the boy's heart stopped. He was shocked with a defibrillator by medical staff four times to resuscitate him, but he remained in a medically-induced coma for three days, medical records show. He spent three weeks in two hospitals and often could not remember why he was there or even visits with family members earlier in the day. He was often confused, spoke slowly and complained of shoulder and chest pain, the records state. Although police said the boy weighed as much as 240 pounds, records show he weighed only 175 pounds.
The incident happened after the boy went into a rage at the residential center in February when a staff member took his baseball cap. He smashed windows and allegedly pushed staff members. He then refused treatment for his bleeding hand. But there is no evidence the boy was under the influence of illegal drugs, Harris said.
By the time emergency personnel arrived, he was sitting on a couch in an office and had calmed down, depositions show, although some witnesses said he was still agitated. He refused medical treatment even after Fire Department paramedics and a police officer arrived.
When Lopez arrived at the scene, he had a Taser in his hand, witnesses said. The boy asked Lopez what he planned to do with the weapon, the boy's therapist, Alvin Hill, said in a deposition. Lopez allegedly responded, "We're going to put some juice in you,'' Hill recalled. In response, the boy said, "Go ahead, shoot me with your toy gun,'' testified Ulich campus supervisor Wayne Riley, a former probation officer.
We can agree to disagree on this case (but I have no larger dog in this fight as you speculated earlier - In fact I have good friends/family that are in the enforcement business in both the civilian and military side of things).
But we do not live in a police State and police do not have the right to use unnecessary force. Nor do they have the right to act as unprofessional as this officer (Lopez) did with his total conduct.
The War on Drugs is causing many more problems than it solves.
I am in complete agreement with you here (as are many in the field they just aren't allowed to go on the record saying it).
Almost all cops these days are a little...twitchy.
Sure, the kid was a train wreck that the facility lost control of. They had the equivilant of a maniac on the loose.
Plus being this is a young kid at a facility, you either have a nut or a orphan who could have aids through the mother. It isn't far fetched at all. Nuts bite and that was an issue for sure.
The kid was far more whack job than a punk IMO. The home witnesses who have liability issues regarding this gave a testimony IMO that would put themselves in the best position in a lawsuit.
The developmentally delayed boy was sitting on a couch in a juvenile home and was not attempting to harm anyone, the witnesses claim in sworn court depositions obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
The incident happened after the boy went into a rage at the residential center in February when a staff member took his baseball cap. He smashed windows and allegedly pushed staff members. He then refused treatment for his bleeding hand.
In response, the boy said, "Go ahead, shoot me with your toy gun,'' testified Ulich campus supervisor Wayne Riley, a former probation officer.
If you read the article you will see that the 14-year old boy is a ward of the state with a diagnosis of DD, living in a group home no doubt with other mental defectives. It would appear from the evidence available that the only after-the-fact excuses are in the police report.
If 14-year old 'Tard A tells 14-year old 'Tard B, "Shoot me with your toy gun," and Tard B pulls the trigger, then we understand we have a situation of tards acting like tards. But if a 14-year old 'Tard tells a Sergent police office, one of "Chicago's Finest," "Shoot me with your toy gun," and the police officer takes that as license to shoot the 'Tard, then the police officer is even stupider than the 'Tard.
Well, we'll have to agree to disagree on this case. What did you think about police action in the case several months ago, when they tased a seventy-plus-year-old woman in her own yard because she was loud and obnoxious? That justified too?
MM
Post a link to the case and I will check it out.
About the only bad thing a typical cop has done in the news was a while ago when they showed up at the wrong house and the owner got hurt.
I think there are a very few dirty ones, and I do believe they are human and can make mistakes, but in this case I have no problem with their actions.
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