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02.21.12 - 10:54 PM
Tasered Woman Brain Dead; Trooper's Actions "Within Scope of his Duties"
Two state agencies have cleared Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Daniel Cole of wrongdoing last September when he tasered a young suspect in a hit-and-run accident as she frantically tried to escape. The burly Cole was within reach of Danielle Maudsley, 20, who was handcuffed and had drugs in her system. She fell and hit her head hard on the pavement; she has been in a coma ever since, and doctors say it is unlikely she will wake up. Cole says he would not have done anything differently. The incident was caught on a cruiser dashcam, including the sound of Maudsley's head hitting the ground and her sobbing that she could not get up. Warning: Video is disturbing. It also makes it clear it's past time for better taser regulations.
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93 Comments so far
Show AllThanks Abby for bringing this to our attention. The link at the word "tasered" will take you to the police car video showing her getting tasered. It is sickening that the police officer is not being held responsible, and it is sickening that the review agencies are letting him get away with it. The girl tasered while handcuffed posed no threat to anyone, and if he couldn't catch her without harming her, he should be fired. This video should wake people up to the abuses of tasers, but my guess is Corporate Media isn't reporting it.
I prefer the term Aggonizer! AS THAT IS WHAT IT DOES I guess folks wouldn't sell as many under that name!! (That's what it does!) inflicts intolerable agony to the recipient. If the cops don't get to shoot as much, well this is almost as much fun for them. Gas can come back at you, and multiple hits only raise the expirence,, and the fun.. right? cops? >^^<
Day after day, all around the country...
Injustice Everywhere
The National Police Misconduct Statistics and Reporting Project
http://www.injusticeeverywhere.com/
Here are the 14 reports of police misconduct tracked in our National Police Misconduct News Feed for this Monday, February 20, 2012:
6 St Martinville LA cops investigated for allegedly picking teen up by hair & beating him for dancing in public [3] bit.ly/wt42XV
Orlando FL police use of K9 that left man’s leg deformed ruled gratuitous & sadistic by 11th Circuit Court [3] sunsent.nl/waITA0
2 Tacoma WA cops sued alleging excessive force when they broke man’s arm & shoulder as they dragged him out of car [3] bit.ly/y9Nj18
Bono AR cop suspended while investigated on allegations that he sexually assaulted man at his home [0] bit.ly/wYJEhH
Poughkeepsie NY news study of 19 area police dept finds blacks tasered disproportionately more often than whites [0] pojonews.co/zaBS3L
Poughkeepsie NY news study of 19 area police dept finds officers deviate from taser guidelines in 1/5 of cases [0] pojonews.co/whyJfE
Minocqua WI cop suspended after arrest on multiple charges involving dangerous weapon in domestic incident [1] bit.ly/wd38Az
Sonoma Co CA prosecutors ask judge to issue court order removing Santa Rosa CA police brutality video from internet [5] bit.ly/ynMuZ0
Trumann AR police chief on paid leave while investigated over unspecified misconduct allegations [1] bit.ly/w6VCNl
Peel ON cop charged w/theft and breach of trust following internal investigation involving lost & found property [1] bit.ly/xtOdJS
Orleans Parish LA deputy charged w/obstruction & harboring a fugitive, allegedly hid female suspect from deputies [0] bit.ly/xe46zF
West New York NJ cop suspended 30 days for unauthorized use of police database to look up person’s info [0] bit.ly/xAJZrh
Windham ME police dept subject of sexual harassment & retaliation complaint filed with Maine HRC by ex-cop [3] http://bit.ly/xCa8C9
Halifax NS cop arrested on drunk driving charge after police received tip about impaired driver [0] bit.ly/zk8uo3
That’s it for today, stay safe out there!
Here are the 17 reports of police misconduct tracked in our National Police Misconduct News Feed for this weekend of February 18-19, 2012:
Tennessee prosecutors have dismissed 95 cases involving a trooper who is being sued and was fired for letting a man he chased burn to death in a car crash. [0] tnne.ws/yxUNfs
Trenton NJ settled an excessive force lawsuit for $350k to a man who suffered permanent brain damage when a cop hit him in head with his flashlight while responding to a domestic disturbance call. [0] bit.ly/zytgMx
Wilcox Co GA sheriff was indicted on 14 counts for taking part in an assault on 2 inmates along with his son, a jailer & another inmate. [3] bit.ly/yXEpSA
Desert Hot Springs CA cop was convicted on excessive force civil rights charges for unecessarily pepperspraying one detainee and then tasering another cuffed detainee in separate incidents. [0] lat.ms/zphWKE
San Diego CA police are being sued by the victim of a cop recently convicted on sexual battery charges. She claims the department encouraged his actions by protecting him from previous allegations. [3] bit.ly/zkALAr
Sidney OH cop was rehired on a union appeal after he was fired for sending a text message threatening to kill a county sheriff. [0] bit.ly/Ai89BV
Maricopa Co AZ deputy investigated for unspecified conduct that dismissed 2 cases, details about what he did that caused prosecutors to drop these cases are being kept a secret thanks to a new state law that keeps details about police misconduct a secret until the officers involved have exhausted each and every appeal process, which can take years and can often result in cover ups by departments not eager to let the public know about misdeeds. [4] bit.ly/xG9k2X
Spartanburg Co SC deputy accidentally shoots a fellow deputy’s wife while teaching a concealed weapons permit class. He apparently didn’t check to see if a round was chambered when he was showing one attendee how to handle her firearm. [0] bit.ly/yJZRKT
Pittsburgh PA police allegedly found crack cocaine & marijuana in a car belonging to a cop recently arrested for trying to sexually assault women under color of law. [0] bit.ly/wufL2p
Honolulu HI police sgt was arrested on drunk driving & negligent injury charges after hitting a pedestrian with his cruiser, though police refused to say if he was on duty at the time. [1] bit.ly/wOolue
Waterloo ON regional police have settled a lawsuit for $5k to a lawyer claiming he was illegally detained & searched by police. [0] bit.ly/yBirTl
2 Lawrence KS cops have been suspended while investigated for allegedly fixing traffic tickets in exchange for college sports tickets [0] bit.ly/zlluV0
Pinal Co AZ sheriff was forced to admit he was gay and resign from his role in a presidential campaign by allegations that he threatened his ex-boyfriend with deportation if he revealed their relationship. [4] bit.ly/zBHo7D
Brooks Co TX sheriff under investigation after audit identifies questionable spending of forfeiture funds [1] http://bit.ly/zGnyun
Platteville CO police sgt under investigation on timesheet fraud allegations, chief recently pled guilty to theft [1] on9news.tv/yWyG9U
Los Angeles Co CA sheriff admits to breaking state campaign law w/uniformed ad, no plans to discipline self [0] bit.ly/w78Vmi
DeKalb Co GA cop arrested on drunk driving charge by trooper who spotted him weaving after leaving bar [0] bit.ly/xtcfBI
That’s it for this weekend, stay safe out there!
True, and each time this incidents happen, it still rattles me. I recommend watching the video in the "taser" link in Abby's article.
Just buy a mail shirt, their sold to defete the sick toys!. any metal like Heavy Alluminum Foil will do then somethin like a tee shirt to avoid getting the electricty away from you. I'd imagne it'd be fun for the tasier user with all that juce and nowhere to go! lol . >^^<
You are obviously a pig yourself. I don't blame you for defending your fellow fascist thugs, but you're really in the wrong forum. Try Rush Limbaugh's or Ann Coulter's site, you'll find more sympathetic ears there.
When the revolution comes - and have no doubts that it will, sooner or later - the pigs are going to find themselves on the wrong side, and will go down right alongside the 1% corporate elite fucks they are defending. "Glad to have my butt extracted" by a pig? I think not. Any encounter with a pig by most of us in the 99% usually results in humiliation, being treated like a criminal or worse, injuries, tasering, or just being talked down to. I'll pass. Any situation arising where I need "law enforcement" to come to my rescue, I'll just handle it myself, thank you very much. Better than the alternative. Pigs are not the friends of the 99% anymore, if they ever were.
Get back to your patrol car, pig. Don't you have some protestors to arrest?
I don't like it when cops are called "pigs" any more than I liked it when women were calling men, "pigs." Come on, you can think of a better term. "Sadist," says more. Using the "pig" name only makes you look like you'd hate cops no matter what. It's what I expect from ex-cons. There really are better and more specific terms.
I respectfully disagree. Most cops are fat, lazy, sadistic thugs that shit where they live (their fellow 99%'ers), just like pigs do. I can't think of a more apt term. I'll keep using the term, thanks.
Wrong.
In a natural setting pigs are among the cleanest of animals. It is in factory farms and similar man-made conditions that pigs are forced to be wallowing in their own shite.
True, pigs are very clean given their natural environment. Most animals are because their survival depends on it. Only in artifical settings do they routinely get antibiotics and other chemical restraints.
How about calling Police "Fascists Under Corporate Kontrol Exercising Repression" or F.U.C.K.E.R.s for short?
Okay, I'll vote for that name.
This is precisely the attitude that allows this kind of thing to happen over and over again. People who are entrusted with authority should not get the opportunity to abuse it twice--period. Excessive force, particularly when it is out of all proportion to the incident being investigated, cannot and should not be excused by virtue of the perpetrator having done their job at some time or another. After all, we are not talking about a split-second decision in a life threatening situation.
The so called less lethal weapons have given some police officers the idea that they never have to engage the public in dialogue or mediation. If a citizen has a disagreement with an officer or doesn't comply immediately, zap 'em, spray 'em or bludgeon them with a rubber bullet, without so much as taking a moment to determine if the person has a legitimate reason for their behavior--like the guy in diabetic shock who "refused" to get out of his car.
Police officers have authority on the streets. They are trusted not to put citizens at risk through abuse of that authority. Any breach of that trust is reprehensible, and cannot be tolerated in a free and open democratic society. If we ever hope to have such a society, we had better start holding all those with authority--including any and all public servants--accountable without exception.
I try to take them as they come, if they start with foul language and an abusive manner, well it's on. I stand for my rights (come take'em) I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees! >^^<
Have another donut, pig.
"No non believers in the fox hole."?
From http://www.militaryatheists.org/expaif.html
"MAAF maintains a roster of Atheists in Foxholes, just in case there are any rumors that we don't exist."
Meanwhile, if I was in "a really bad spot" I see no value in having this particular cretin show up. A person is in a coma and Cole says he would not have done anything differently. Think that through again.
Laws are written to protect the wealthy and property owners. Police are empowered to enforce those laws.
Almost every single Police officer today regards the non-police population as a criminal waiting for an opportunity, an explicit 'us' (the Police and their Elite paymasters) vs 'them' (everyone else) equation.
Oh, and when people are 'really in trouble', Police are waiting for orders, or making sure that they will be safe before they intervene.
I think there is a really important point here. It is not Occupy, it is not "Black Bloc," it is not the Greek workers, nor is it the Anarchists, Socialists, Communists and radicals here at CD who are "violent" and "crazy" and "dangerous," as we are being told again and again. It is those with power, and those supporting power, who are violent and crazy and dangerous. The violence and insanity of those with power is being projected onto those trying to speak out against those in power, trying to stand with the powerless.
All it takes is one incident of a rock thrown through a window by a supposed Anarchist, and the whole movement is questioned, and every radical here is suddenly being accused of being violent and crazy and dangerous. No incident anywhere that can possibly be connected - in guilt by association - with the radical and dissenters ever goes without being extensively covered and debated. Then we are will discredited and maligned because of that.
But thousands of incidents of abuse by law enforcement go unnoticed and unreported, and should one come to light people are quick to side with the police and defend and excuse them.
In this way, those in power - in all ways and at all levels of society - are given the benefit of the doubt and excused a thousand times over and over again. But all the powerless, all of the critics and dissenters and radicals are lambasted and maligned and presumed to be invalidated and discredited for one action by one person.
We are getting a glimpse into the social controls, the arrangements and conventions that are in operation every day in everything we do and think, that keep the current power structure in place and that keeps millions in misery.
WELL freaking said, Two Americas. Bravo.
Beautiful
Yes, this is beautiful. Well said.
Amen to that...
Another well-trained authoritarian follower heard from.
Straight off the "Don't Like The Police, Next Time You're In Trouble Call a Hippie" bumper sticker.
If what you say is true, that people are imperfect, then why is that not universally applied? Why are the critics and victims of police abuse - the critics and victims of abuse from all of the people in power - expected to be perfect, lest we all be discredited?
What you are saying is that people with power are to be excused because people are imperfect, but people without power are not.
You probably cannot see that you just made my point for me. You probably do not realize that it is you who is really in trouble, and it is you who need us to save your butt, either.
So when I am really in trouble, call a fat ignorant bastard that for some reason has the right to torture people both mentally and physically, some one who enjoys kicking ass then taking names? No, I think I'll call a hippie.
Following several incidents of "REAL trouble", I came to the realization that the overwhelming majority of them are USELESS unless the perps are readily and easily caught. SHIT on the chicken bastards and I love when I read of what went around coming back around to bite them in the azz.
Now if it was the Oakland police they would have just shot her in the back ....
Well, maybe that is reserved for black guys.
Was it the taser, or did she hit her head on the ground. If the 260lb officer had caught and tackled her, are we sure she would not have hit her head on the ground? If she had run out into traffic and got hit by a car, are we sure she would not have hit her head on the ground?
The officer had a split second to select one of a crappy set of choices to stop a drunk, out of control cause of two traffic accidents.
In the expanded article, it is argued that the officer did not restrain her properly, and that is how she escaped. This is a case of poor procedures by the officer in the station. I don't think tasers are an issue here.
Rev: Did you not even bother watch the video? The police officer was a few feet behind her, she was in handcuffs, she wasn't near the traffic (at least 40 or so yards away), she was in a parking lot and not necessarily even running towards the traffic. If the police officer couldn't make up a few feet or a couple yards to catch a handcuffed 20 year woman before she runs another 40 yards, he should be fired. A taser is not a replacement for being out of shape or laziness. And what would a 260lb officer need to tackle her for? With his stature and her being in handcuffs, alll he would need to do is grab her. She wasn't threatening him.
In the comments on the site where the expanded article is posted, a number of retired law enforcement officers agree with the critics that this was abuse and unnecessary use of force as well as poor police procedure, and that this sort of behavior has become an epidemic.
Tasers became "the issue" - it is a little disgusting to see the probable death of an innocent person described merely as an "issue" - as a result of poor law enforcement procedure stemming from a militarized and predatory "us versus them" culture and mentality that now permeates law enforcement.
He's 260 lbs. because he's a fat slob. Here's an idea: reinstate strict physical fitness requirements for all cops every year they're on the job so they can actually run after a 90 pound girl, grab her by the arrm and stop her, instead of reaching for a Taser because they know they're never going to get their flab up to speed.
Doughnuts are fattening.
My understanding is that police exist to protect the 1%, and doughnut shops...
Since 2001 515 documented deaths due to Police use of tasers has occurred in the USA. This is some 50 a year.
I suggest the number of handcuffed drunks running into traffic is substanially less.
The Police still kill some between 400 and 500 US citizens a year with lethal force thus some 10 percent of all said deaths are by taser. The number of US Citizens killed by police has not dropped since the introduction of tasers.
There are negligible number of officers killed by officers trying to restrain drunks and acciddentaly bumping heads on a sidewalk when they fall.
The use of tasers is out of control. The police are far to willing to use them in virtually any situation. They even use them against children having temper tantrums.
Do a YouTube or your favorite 'Net search with the terms 'Vancouver Airport', 'RCMP', 'Taser', 'Polish Immigrant', and 'Fatal'.
Then tell me Tasers make Police and suspects safer.
PS - The lead cop from the VPD incident is now on trial for obstruction in a DUI case where he killed an innocent motorist.
Still think the Police are there for you?
"The lead cop from the VPD incident "
Actually, they were RCMP from the YVR detachment.
I meant YVR (Vancouver International Airport). But the VPD ARE just as vicious.
If not more so.
Actually it saves injury to the officer? She was handcuffed, These cops were just having fun busting ass! these ignorant bastards cannot tell who has heart problems, they are too stupid to get a real job, but are carrying lethal weapons. I am overwhelmed knowing that any of these ignorant bastards can taser me and kill me, then say I didn't know he had a bad heart and go eat a fucking doughnut then go have a beer or two, or three or four, and drive home. It is far past time to get tasers out of the hands of these dip shits.
Please provide facts. There are MORE people being killed by the Police not less and the taser has resulted in the Police escalating towards violence where they would not have before.
A 11 year old child was tasered for throwing a temper tantrum for gods sake and you are saying this prevented injury to the police?
Riiight. You fat, lazy pigs love the taser for two reasons: 1) It allows you to stay fat and lazy without having to actually raise your heart-rate and exert any effort, and 2) You get your rocks off using it on innocent, defenseless people - the same reason you became a pig in the first place, to exert power and force over others.
I wish I was around to see Karma kick your ass someday, pig. Get back in your squad car - don't you have a protestor to arrest?
No, he doesn't have a protester to arrest. He's getting back into his squad car so he can drive 30 mph over the speed limit to get to the nearest donut shop where he eats free because the owners know there would be repercussions were they to demand he pay like everyone else.
As the video reveals, in this case the little girl was NOT an "assailant". She was about one third the size of the trooper, chemically impaired, handcuffed and trying to run away. The only threat she posed to the cop was embarrassment for his incompetence. And for that she's now brain dead.
As a usually non-lethal alternative to deadly force, use of a Taser by a competent officer can quickly reduce the risks in a violent situation. In this case, the situation was not violent nor did the officer exhibit competence when he failed to maintain custodial control per standard restraint procedures.
The problem with your argument is that tasers are being used for any reason and not just when necessary. People in wheel chairs are being tasered. A 70 year old peaceful OWS protester in my city of Seattle was tasered a few months back.
Taser use is being massively abused. I watched my last bf nearly get tasered for not sitting down when he was ordered to - he simply wanted to talk to the cop but two tasers were drawn on him and the 2nd cop took a position to use his. My boyfriend was CALM - not out of control at any point. He just wanted to know why he was being ordered around.
These deadly weapons have caused the extrajudicial killing of over 500 American citizens so far. It is high time to shoot back in self defense.
Honestly, I wish people would. There are too many sadistic cops out there like the one in this article - who by the way, has no regrets.
That will be what starts happening next, in greater numbers. Of course, when you shoot a "normal" citizen you are in trouble enough as it is - even in self-defense - but if you shoot a "cop" then that elevates the crime to a horrific, unspeakably evil act, akin to blasphemy, according to our judicial system. They even have a separate name for it - "cop killer" as opposed to just a "normal" killer. As if by killing a cop - even in self-defense - you have somehow done WORSE than "just murder." Nevertheless, the more abuses the pigs keep heaping on the 99%, the more tasering, the more killing, the more defending the 1% - eventually the camel's back will be broken. Coupled with "austerity," destroying unions, demonizing public workers, joblessness increasing, suppressing wages, mass (fraudulent) foreclosures - a very, very lethal combination. Desperate people are dangerous. Desperate people being abused constantly by police gives them a target for their pent-up rage. It will happen.
History and myth:
Classic police slogan "To Protect and Serve".
Now becomes..........."To punish and enslave..." from Barricade in The Transformers. Ta da!
"Is it time for better taser regulations?"
I'd say it's time to review and revise the "scope of their duties".
Dam straight,, take the guns and shotguns away while your at it.. Make'em use their brains if they have any!! I see all these (reality) shows with cops who go in two seconds from f-bombs to hot lead! Enought already!! '
>^^<