Posted on 10/31/2006 6:44:53 AM PST by Types_with_Fist
JERSEYVILLE, Ill. - A teenager carrying a Bible and shouting I want Jesus was shot twice with a police stun gun and later died at a St. Louis hospital, authorities said.
In a statement obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, police in Jerseyville, about 40 miles north of St. Louis, said 17-year-old Roger Holyfield would not acknowledge officers who approached him and he continued yelling, I want Jesus.
Police tried to calm the teen, but Holyfield became combative, according to the statement. Officers fired the stun gun at him after he ignored their warnings, then fired again when he continued struggling, police said.
Holyfield was flown to St. Louis Cardinal Glennon Hospital after the confrontation Saturday; he died there Sunday, police said.
An autopsy was planned for Tuesday.
The statement expressed sympathy to Holyfields family but said city and police officials would not discuss the matter further.
Calls Tuesday to Jerseyville Police Chief Brad Blackorby were not immediately returned. The department has been using stun guns for about five months, according to the statement.
In a report released in March, international human rights group Amnesty International said it had logged at least 156 deaths across the country in the previous five years related to police stun guns.
The rise in deaths accompanies a marked increase in the number of U.S. law enforcement agencies employing devices made by Taser International Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz. About 1,000 of the nations 18,000 police agencies used Tasers in 2001; more than 7,000 departments had them last year, according to a government study.
Police had used Tasers more than 70,000 times as of last year, Congress Government Accountability Office said.
Amnesty International has urged police departments to suspend the use of Tasers pending more study. Taser International said the groups count was flawed and falsely linked deaths to Taser use when there has been no such official conclusion.
The city of St. Louis also drew unwanted attention for crime this week when it was named the most dangerous U.S. city by Morgan Quitno Press. The ranking looked only at crime within St. Louis city limits, not its metro area.
Before cops can carry Tasers, part of the certification process is that they have to be shot with it themselves. So I've been told.
Bet when the autopsy is done you won't be blaming the cops.
Death by government-appointed agents. Who says that we live in a free country?
Granted, this situation is extreme. I am sure the cops expected this to stun; in extreme rare cases, it can kill. In my town, a poor kid with 15 warrants on him ran from the cops (because his mama always told him you always run from the cops!), stopped in a dark ally, made a grab for his pants that they interpreted as a grab for a gun, and he got shot. (We had riots for days after, with Rhyming Reverends from out of town.)
I was always taught that when the nice policeman tells you to do something, you do it. You are perfectly free to challenge him, then and there. But worst case you are going to get put in a cell, and lawyers can help you then. Stay cool and cooperate.
Ten years ago, I had cop lights come on behind me. I pulled over, he came up to my window, checked my license, and knocked snow off the license plate. He then apologized for stopping me, and told me that somebody in a car like mine had robbed a bank, and he couldnt read my plate. He thanked me, and we both went on our way.
The cops should have been more careful, and the kid should have listened.
The kid sounds like he was having a psychotic episode.
I can defend one taser jolt. Two is unforgivable. The cop was just being lazy.
A stun gun is not a taser.
Well, he's pretty "calm" now.
A sad story. Somehow I think there's more to it than we're reading here.
Because they wanted to show him who was boss.
Whaa???
What the hell is wrong with that cop??
He should be fired! No if's, and's, or but's about it.
Well you are FREE to leave it.
File under, "Be Careful What You Ask For."
She. It is the cop that is standing that fires.
The black cop almost got killed by the female officer.
If it was a kid carrying a Koran screaming "I want Mohammed" there would be outrage EVERYWHERE today...
Hmmmm... I bet that's not what they tell the jury.
Just curious, why do YOU suppose they stunned him twice?
Sorry.
Couldn't tell from the video if it was she or he.
Looked like a 'he' to me, but then again, my eyesight isn't what it used to be.
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