Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community

Mentally Ill Man Tasered by Cops

by Steven D
Tue Sep 2nd, 2008 at 03:53:19 PM EST

Tasers are the most wonderful tool imaginable for law enforcement. Have a mentally ill man in custody who wants to catch his breath because he's tired? We can't have that! Taser him a couple of times and after that I'm sure he'll straighten up and fly right.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Broward County deputies shocked a mentally ill inmate with Tasers in court after the man asked deputies for a few minutes to catch his breath before he was led from the courtroom.
Assistant Public Defender Anne LeMaster said deputies told 22-year-old inmate David Jones it was time to go Friday. When he resisted, they shocked him twice. Jones had just been found mentally incapable to stand trial and was ordered transferred to a state mental hospital.
The public defender's office says the deputies used excessive force and filed a complaint with the Broward Sheriff's Office.
Jones was handcuffed and shackled.

So, a handcuffed and shackled individual, tired, confused, perhaps disoriented, and found unfit to stand trial got a little unscheduled electroshock treatment from two Broward County Deputy Sheriffs? Are we surprised? Of course not. Are we concerned? Only if we care about human rights. Otherwise, we're conservatives and confederate heritage supporters who think the bastard got what was coming to him (from the comments to the article):

I say the crminal probably got what he had coming. If he was "mentally incapable to stand trial" as this limp-wristed judge decided, then he probably did something really bad and got out of it by being sent to a hospital instead of a cell where he belonged. I'm tired of criminals getting out of their punishments by being labeled as mentally incapable--whatever the hell that means. They always seem to have the sense to do the crime but get out of it by not allegedly being culpable. Well maybe that little bit of shock therapy will help him along. I hope he hit his head on something on the way to the floor.

America. Love it or get tasered. Multiple times.

Mentally Ill Man Tasered by Cops | 12 comments (12 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Mentally Ill Man Tasered by Cops (4.00 / 3)

some people can't call it a good day until someone, somewhere, is punished, for something.

i'm glad you asked

by aarrgghh on Tue Sep 2nd, 2008 at 04:03:11 PM EST

Re: Mentally Ill Man Tasered by Cops (4.00 / 3)

I'm tired of criminals getting out of their punishments by being labeled as mentally incapable--whatever the hell that means.

Enough about Bush already! The poor guy hears voices that MAKE him kill!

Bush is "the first President to admit to an impeachable offense." --Former Nixon counsel John Dean

by DaveW on Tue Sep 2nd, 2008 at 07:44:55 PM EST

Re: Mentally Ill Man Tasered by Cops (none / 1)

Too many people are in jail. I'm suspecting a ploy to keep the unemployment rate down.

by Joyful Alternative on Tue Sep 2nd, 2008 at 04:41:34 PM EST

Re: Mentally Ill Man Tasered by Cops (none / 0)

Where was the judge? Sitting there like a potted plant?

by AliceDem on Tue Sep 2nd, 2008 at 05:01:02 PM EST

Re: Mentally Ill Man Tasered by Cops (none / 0)

May have already left the bench or was busy with the next case.

John McCain hates my wife because she's a "gook."

by Steven D on Tue Sep 2nd, 2008 at 05:24:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

"flying right" over the cuckoo's nest (none / 1)

they were only trying to be of assistance by giving him an early start on his electro~~shock~~convulsive therapy l guess...who knows, we may yet see a resurrection of the full frontal lobotomy if this trend continues.

the revolution will not be televised...Peace

by dada on Tue Sep 2nd, 2008 at 05:26:29 PM EST

Lobotomies (none / 1)

Performed by well trained and duly qualified police officers, and only when no other means of restraint is possible.

John McCain hates my wife because she's a "gook."

by Steven D on Tue Sep 2nd, 2008 at 05:32:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Mentally Ill Man Tasered by Cops (none / 1)

It has seemed like the undercurrent of authoritarianism in this country is going into hyper-drive. We've legitimized torture. . . Why not, right?

Though in all seriousness, comments like that do0shbag's and the shit I'm hearing in person, ain't much different from one and other. Look at the shit going down in the Twin Cities. "You dirty fucking hippies are getting what they deserve - a boot in the ass."

The Republicans have built a now-crumbling empire on fomenting outright hate for their political adversaries. Not disagreement or mis-trust; full blown hate. Anything that puts us in our place. ("Us" being anyone who is not "them" in their minds.)

This has nowhere to go but down, in my opinion.

/incoherent rant

"I could spend three dollars and sixty-three cents, on diet Coca-Cola and unlit cigarettes."

by jack fate on Tue Sep 2nd, 2008 at 07:28:17 PM EST

Re: Mentally Ill Man Tasered by Cops (none / 0)

Not all totally florid psychotics are totally harmless all the time, despite their incapacities. Especially under stress of being cuffed. That alone would has likely set a lot of folks off pretty well without a severe disease.

Viva Presidente Ezequiel - Aquí no hay quien viva!

by anarchronarchist (mincers (-at-) hotmail (-dot-) com) on Tue Sep 2nd, 2008 at 11:21:06 PM EST

Re: Mentally Ill Man Tasered by Cops (none / 0)

Police are supposed to use tasers as a second to last resort to pulling your pistol. Not to make someone immediately comply with what you tell them to do when they are already in handcuffs and shackled.

No one reported that the man was threatening anyone or struggling. And the defense attorney filed a complaint against the deputies involved. Public dfenders and defense attorneys don't do that lightly, since when they meet with clients in jail settings or in court they need the protection of the officers from their clients violent reactions as often as anyone else.

John McCain hates my wife because she's a "gook."

by Steven D on Wed Sep 3rd, 2008 at 06:04:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Mentally Ill Man Tasered by Cops (none / 0)

From a separate account of the incident:

The deputies told him he had to get up and leave. LeMaster said they tried to get him to stand up, and when he resisted, one of them punched him in the face.
Another deputy said he was going to shock Jones with a stun gun and ordered everyone to clear the area, LeMaster said. Jones began to gasp for air as soon as the high-voltage prongs hit him.
Jones was sitting in the jury box and fell in between some chairs; the deputies moved him to the open floor and waited for him to calm down, LeMaster said.

So first they punched him, then they tasered him, all because he didn't move quickly enough. Trust me, there are better ways to handle situations like this one, especially when the individual is already restrained.

John McCain hates my wife because she's a "gook."

by Steven D on Wed Sep 3rd, 2008 at 06:10:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Mentally Ill Man Tasered by Cops (none / 0)

Given the evidence presented here, I'd agree with you. But I wasn't there and know this stuff can get very complicated, very quickly.

Viva Presidente Ezequiel - Aquí no hay quien viva!

by anarchronarchist (mincers (-at-) hotmail (-dot-) com) on Thu Sep 4th, 2008 at 09:07:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Mentally Ill Man Tasered by Cops | 12 comments (12 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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