Taser Watch

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Re: Taser Watch

Postby Elvis » Mon Sep 15, 2014 10:45 pm

http://www.kctv5.com/story/26529511/teen-critically-injured-after-tased-by-police

Teen critically injured after police use stun gun on him
Posted: Sep 14, 2014 4:22 PM PST Updated: Sep 15, 2014 12:13 PM PST

INDEPENDENCE, MO (KCTV) - Family and friends are questioning the use of force by Independence police after a struggle with an officer sent a 17-year-old to the hospital.

The officer used a stun gun on the teenager who is now in critical condition.

Friends say Bryce Masters is in a medically induced coma because of injuries to his brain. They are hoping the teenager pulls through.

They are cooling his body to try and reduce swelling that may have been caused by hitting his head on the concrete or losing oxygen for a long period of time.

Curtis Martes stepped outside to welcome Masters to his house in the 200 block of Southside Boulevard about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, only to find that a police officer had pulled his friend over.

"The cop went up to the passenger window and was like, 'hey, roll down the window,'" Martes said.

However, Martes says Masters couldn't roll it down.

"He doesn't have the cable that allows the electric window to work," Martes said.

But Independence police said Masters had an outstanding traffic violation and refused to cooperate with the officer.

"I believe he did crack the window but did not roll it down any further. He was just being completely uncooperative with the officer," Sgt. Darrell Schmidli said.

That's when things got rough.

Police say the officer did what he had to do to protect himself because the teen began to struggle with the officer.

"The driver refused to exit the vehicle. A struggle ensued, a Taser was deployed by the officer. The driver was finally removed out of the car. A struggle ensued once he was moved out of the car," Sgt. Darrell Schmidli said.

However, witnesses describe a different scene.

"The cop was like, 'you want to mess with me,' and pulled out his Taser and tased him. I thought he shot him. Then he pulled him out of the car handcuffed him and drug him around the car," witness Michelle Baker said.

Schmidli said Masters was warned the officers were going to use a stun gun and still refused to cooperate.

"It looked like he hit his head on the concrete. You could see blood coming out of his mouth. The cop put his foot on his back and moved it back and forth like he was putting a cigarette out and asked him, 'are you ready to get up now?' You could tell the kid was going into convulsions," Baker said.

Witnesses who saw the whole thing happen say they watched Masters die and then come back to life after emergency crews resuscitated him.

Abigail Edwards, a co-worker of Masters, says witnesses and friends want an investigation into how the incident was handled.

"It doesn't make sense. He didn't deserve it. I know he didn't do anything to deserve it because his father is a cop. He knows better than to do stuff like that," Edwards said.

Masters' father is an officer with the Kansas City Police Department.

KCTV5 News is checking in with police to see what is next for the investigation.

An attorney for Masters' family released the following statement on their behalf Monday afternoon:

"The family of Bryce Masters would like to thank everyone for their outpouring of concern and support.

"Because of significant inconsistencies between public statements made by the Independence Police Department and information made available to the family in the form of statements of eyewitnesses and video and audio footage of the occurrence, the family has asked the United States Department of Justice to conduct its own investigation into these tragic events.

"Because Bryce is still in critical condition, the Masters family asks that their privacy be respected in allowing them to focus on Bryce's needs and his recovery."

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http://www.kctv5.com/story/26537969/fbi-launches-excessive-force-probe-of-independence-police

FBI launches excessive force probe of Independence police
Posted: Sep 15, 2014 2:23 PM PST Updated: Sep 15, 2014 5:11 PM PST

INDEPENDENCE, MO (KCTV) -

The FBI announced Monday afternoon that it has launched an investigation of the Independence Police Department after a teen was left in a coma following an arrest.

The FBI made the announcement as the Independence Police Department promised its full cooperation while conducting its own separate, internal investigation.

"The FBI Kansas City division has initiated an investigation into the allegations of excessive force by a member of the Independence, MO Police Department in reference to an altercation that occurred Sunday," according to the two-paragraph news release.

Family and friends are questioning the use of force by Independence police after a struggle with an officer sent a 17-year-old to the hospital.

The officer used a stun gun on the teenager who is now in critical condition. Witnesses have said the officer stepped on the teen and dropped him on the ground after he was handcuffed, causing his head to hit the pavement.

Friends say Bryce Masters is in a medically induced coma because of injuries to his brain. They are hoping the teenager pulls through.

"Our department's thoughts and prayers are with Bryce and his family and for his complete recovery," Independence police Maj. Paul Thurman said.

An officer had pulled over Masters because there was an outstanding Kansas City Police Department warrant associated with the vehicle. This occurred just after 3 p.m. Sunday in the area of East Southside Boulevard and Main Street.

The warrant was for a woman.

Police say Masters refused to roll down the vehicle's window, but friends say it was due to a malfunctioning switch. Thurman said the windows were quite dark and officers couldn't see inside the vehicle.

"It appears that the use of the Taser was in policy and calling the ambulance was in policy at this particular time," Thurman said.

The major said Masters exited the vehicle on his own and was not pulled out from the vehicle by the officer.

Independence police have firmly defended the actions of Officer Tim Runnels, saying he used a stun gun on the 17-year-old in accordance with department policy. Runnels has been placed on paid administrative leave, which is routine in cases like this.

Runnels has been with the department for nearly three years.

"During the course of the stop the driver became uncooperative, physically resistitive to exiting the car, and an altercation ensued leading the officer to deploying his Taser," Thurman said.

However, Thurman admitted that as of 4:30 p.m. Monday that investigators have not interviewed Runnels. He said that Runnel's Fraternal Order of Police attorney is coordinating the interview.

Masters, a senior at Truman High School, is the son of Matt Masters, a veteran Kansas City Police Department officer who oversees the department's off-duty officer program.

In 2007, a Kansas City principal sued the city of Independence and JC Penney's after the six-month pregnant woman was forced to lay on her stomach alongside busy Interstate 70 after she was falsely accused from shoplifting from Penney's at Independence Center Mall. A judge dismissed the city, saying officers had sovereign immunity.

After a jury was chosen and the trial was going to trial in 2010, JC Penney's paid an undisclosed amount to settle the lawsuit by Hayes.

An attorney for Masters' family released the following statement on their behalf Monday afternoon:

"The family of Bryce Masters would like to thank everyone for their outpouring of concern and support.

"Because of significant inconsistencies between public statements made by the Independence Police Department and information made available to the family in the form of statements of eyewitnesses and video and audio footage of the occurrence, the family has asked the United States Department of Justice to conduct its own investigation into these tragic events.

"Because Bryce is still in critical condition, the Masters family asks that their privacy be respected in allowing them to focus on Bryce's needs and his recovery."

The Independence Police Department issued the following statement:

"On September 14, 2014, at approximately 3:07 p.m., an Independence police officer conducted a vehicle stop in the area of E. Southside Blvd. and Main St. in Independence. The stop was based on a Kansas City PD warrant associate to the plate.

"During the course of the stop the driver became uncooperative, physically resistive to exiting the car, and an altercation ensued leading the officer to deploying his Taser. An ambulance was summoned, per Department Taser policy. Once additional officers and medical personnel arrived it was determined the driver was having a medical emergency and he was transported to an area hospital.

"The officer who conducted the car stop has been placed administrative leave and the Department is conducting a full investigation to determine what factors contributed to the medical emergency, including the actions of that officer. Once the investigation is completed the Department will disclose the findings.

"The FBI is also investigating this incident and our Department will corporate fully with their investigation.

"The driver has been identified as 17 year-old Bryce Masters of Independence. Bryce remains in critical condition in the ICU unit. Our Department's thoughts and prayers are with Bryce and his family and for his complete recovery."
“The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.” ― Joan Robinson
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Re: Taser Watch

Postby elfismiles » Fri Mar 16, 2018 11:43 am

Three Austin police officers indicted in excessive force cases
Tony Plohetski American-Statesman Staff, KVUE News
3:26 p.m Thursday, March 15, 2018 Crime
https://www.statesman.com/news/crime--l ... Ppf0AFE3N/

A Travis County grand jury has indicted three Austin police officers, including two SWAT team members, in connection to two unrelated encounters in which they are accused of using excessive force — one in which prosecutors say a man was unjustifiably subjected to a stun gun.

Officer Robert Pfaff, who has been with the department for about 11 years, was charged with aggravated perjury, assault with bodily injury, abuse of official capacity and official oppression in his response to a downtown shooting in which he used his stun gun on a man at the scene.

Officer Donald Petraitis, who was with him, was charged with assault bodily injury, abuse of official capacity and official oppression.

In a separate case, grand jurors indicted Officer Nathaniel Stallings on charges of assault with bodily injury involving official misconduct and abuse of official capacity for an incident Oct. 6.

The indictments, obtained by the American-Statesman and KVUE-TV Thursday, mark the second and third cases in which District Attorney Margaret Moore and a civil rights unit she put in place a year ago has sought indictments against officers in cases that did not involve lethal force. It follows years of complaints by some in the community that prosecutors did not vigorously pursue criminal charges against officers when they believed evidence justified doing so.

“The District Attorney’s office believes the Taser deployment was a criminal act and believes a discrepancy exists between an officer’s body camera footage of the incident and the independent recollections of officers,” attorneys Ken Ervin and Doug O’Connell, who represent Petraitis and Pfaff said.

“We believe this was an unfortunate rush to judgment and may, ultimately, have a chilling and negative impact on police officers in our city and county who are required to make split-second decisions in high-stress situations to keep us safe,” they added.

Details of the second incident were not immediately available.

The attorney for Stallings could not be reached for comment.

Source: Three Austin police officers indicted in excessive force cases


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