Judge: $145M Suit over Taser-Death Can Go to Trial

July 21, 2009

  • July 22, 2009 at 12:16 pm
    Nebraskan says:
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    Let’s say, for arguments sake, the cop was excessive in his use of the tazer and this kis was a victim. I’m ashamed of the $145MM…because I find it unlikely that he would be willing to make that much money in his lifetime. That’s what bothers me the most.

  • July 22, 2009 at 12:37 pm
    matt says:
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    My sense is that many police departments and officers are too quick to use their tasers because of their belief that they are non-lethal. They also use them punitively instead of defensively which seems inappropriate.

    I have seen enough news stories about taser induced deaths to have the opinion that they are often but not exclusively non-lethal.

    I have seen stories about officers tasing people who were already restrained, officers pulling people out of cars and tasing them for things like not getting license/insurance out quickly enough, etc. I’ve seen stories about police tasing mentally handicapped people, tasing young children, and tasing the elderly.

    Tasers are supposed to be a last line of defense before using lethal force. Unfortunately they seem to frequently be used to enforce compliance or more accurately to punish non-compliance.

  • July 22, 2009 at 2:10 am
    Hank says:
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    These stories you speak of make headlines because they help sell newspapers and crank up ratings. What you don’t hear are the stories where tasers were used very succesfully and lives were saved because of them. I am willing to bet that happens more often than the former.

  • July 22, 2009 at 6:59 am
    Mary B. says:
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    saul, the criminal apologist. tasers typically kill people that are under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol which is most likely the case with this criminal. police have no obligation to inquire if the criminal is under said influence before tasing them. if they don’t want to be tased and/or die, then they should have obeyed the officer in the first place. don’t forget that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

  • July 23, 2009 at 4:45 am
    Exactly right, Hank says:
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    Just how many headlines do we see about the ridiculous awards, not to mention the suits filed for such ridiculous amounts, compared to the actual number of suits, trials and judgements that take place every day. Kind of skews the picture, doesn’t it?

  • August 3, 2009 at 11:02 am
    mato says:
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    taser toting cops are just a bunch of posers. they know tasers kill and continue to use them. they don’t put their lives on the line, they put your’s and mine on the line. who needs police after all, they will kill you.

  • August 4, 2009 at 11:55 am
    LLH says:
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    Mato, I hope you were just being sarcastic. If not, your disrepect for police really shows. Todays norm seems to be “it’s always somebody elses fault” and a lot of people do not take responsibility for thier own actions. Instead they blame others (police etc)for imagined wrongs. If perps would do as the police direct them to do respecfully, there would be no reason for the use of tasers. Ever think of that?

  • August 4, 2009 at 1:59 am
    Don't Tase Me, Bro! says:
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    I hope you get tasered repeatedly at some point in your life.

  • August 5, 2009 at 10:46 am
    Paul Masley says:
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    Actually, what needs to happen to Mato is that a perp is threatening to harm his family and he does get a chance to call the “killers” as he calls them. Upon being connected, and he tells them who he is, they repsond, “Oh, we are killers! Handle it your own damn self!”



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