In memory of our brother and son, Robert Bagnell, who died moments after being tasered by police in Vancouver, British Columbia on June 23, 2004. Bob was the 7th Canadian to die and the 110th in North America.
September 20, 2007
winknews.com
An Ohio police officer is on "paid administrative leave" after dashboard camera video shows him using a taser over and over again on Heidi Gill even after she's handcuffed and again when she's cooperating.
Another example of a police officer in the throes of excited delirium?
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At the 2005 Arizona Press Club Awards, Mr. Anglen won first place in the Investigative reporting category. He was the recipient of the Don Bolles Award for his report entitled "Taser tied to 'independent' study that backs stun gun'. “As part of an extraordinarily thorough investigation of Taser International, Anglen uncovered ‘smoking gun’ documents that showed the manufacturer was heavily involved in the key study that purported the devices are safe. Anglen also uncovered conflicts of interest and documented wide-spread problems with Taser safety — a matter of national and international public interest.”
In 2006, Mr. Anglen was a runner up for the Arizona Press Club's Virg Hill Journalist of the Year award. Peter Bhatia of The Oregonian wrote “Robert Anglen is an investigative reporter, pure and simple. Clearly, he is a reporter who, once he sinks his teeth into something, stays with it until the story is done. His ongoing work around the company that makes Tasers speaks to that."
19 comments:
When I looked at this video, I felt absolutely sick for this poor human being. And I believe that this is what happened to our son Robert before he died. I will never be convinced otherwise. Luck was with this woman, she must be in good physical condition, otherwise, she would probably be dead now. We will continue to wage our anti taser position. Riki Bagnell...Mother of Robert Bagnell
Re the Video of the woman being tased by police officer in Ohio: have watched this several times and I hear her scream/moaning, "Okay," and "I can't." I see the officer appear to kick her or strongly push her with his foot. In the vehicle I hear the knocking on the door, but could this be fear? If she had alcohol in her perhaps she thought she was being kidnapped or something, but who would expect a police officer to behave as this one is doing?
I don't understand, I just do not understand.
Why is it okay to use a Taser on a human being? Who is making money on this? Where does the trail of money lead to?
I just do not understand.
Cherri Brown, Georgia
While I certainly feel badly for those who are the victims of excessive force by police, THIS particular woman was clearly out of control. Most cooperating people do not kick out the windows of police cruisers or repeatedly ignore the commands of officers and physically resist. Just because the tasing on video doesn't mean the officer is wrong. We have only seen part of the circumstances. The rest of what has been described (and even some of the footage of the woman in the police cruiser) tells a different story.
I also don't feel sorry for the kid in Florida. He went looking for trouble and found it. People have to realize that they need to comply with the instructions of officers and this kind of stuff won't happen to them.
In the event people do comply and are still tased, then the officers belong in jail. It's really that simple. Once you resist arrest you open the door for interpretation of what the officer should feel is a threat to his/her personal safety. In those cases I'll side with the officer over the belligerent drunk every time.
Police officer in the throes of excited delirium?
Please. All I see is a drunk fool not obeying the law, and receiving her just rewards. Then trying to kick out the car window? Yeah, that's smart. That one's a few short of a full deck, no issues here.
police officer in the throes of excited delirium?
No, just a drunkard fool getting rowdy and receiving her just rewards. To top it all off, then she tries to kick out the officer's window? Yeah that's real smart. Boy this one's a few spades short of a full deck ..
this is a ridiculous debate! do what the police SAY to do and then there won't be a problem. pople who obey the law have no worries here. this officer was justified in his actions- hands down.
It is extremely unfortunate that this happened.
The problem with tasers and any type of "enforcement agent" is if you get a sadistic enforcement agent who thoroughly enjoys inflicting pain on others then throw in the added potential for the enforcement agent to have a "God" complex because they know they have all the power, that is a terrifyingly lethal combination.
Excessive force like tasering someone seven times is unacceptable in any situation.
An example would be...I was stopped for speeding in the middle of the country by a very small town police chief in the village of Springport, Michigan. This police chief was so aggresive with me, I was actually afraid for my safety. At one point while was yelling at me, asking me if I was "having an attitude with him, asked me if I wanted to die, etc..." and I hadn't even said one word. I thought he was going to drag me out of my car. At one point was yelling at me like a drill seargent at boot camp. I did not report this because I was afraid of retaliation. I later found out that he has pulled over numerous women does the same drill.
He would be someone I would never allow to be issued a taser. Police chief, God complex, doesn't like women, taser, middle of the country - that spells all kinds of danger to me.
Sad to say, but the Ohio cop who used excessive force will probably get a 30 day suspension, a slap on the hands and be allowed to report back to duty and re-issued a taser. God help us all.
Come on, use your heads people. Sure there were other methods he could have used... pepper spray, which takes a long time to recover from & can cause problems with respiration, baton strikes which can break bones, leave other permanent damage or potentially be fatal, or good ole physical force with his hands, which not only poses hazards to her, but him as well. It is clear in the video how immediate the affect of the taser has on her out of control behavior.
There is no doubt it is tragic people die from any type of force used by police. But consider the danger these people place upon the public, not only with their own actions, but what is created by the police having to respond and stop them. It is dangerous for police officers to drive to an emergency; for them and the public on the road in general. And indirect danger exists as well. Think of this woman stumbling across a busy street; and accident could occur where she or other could be injured. Even if it were only her injured, imagine the impact that would have on her family and friends, not to mention the person who hit her with their car.
Maybe if people would actually listen to the police or just not be so stupid as to become so intoxicated that they cannot control their own behavior, police would not have to use tasers or any force. The blame all centers back on her, not the police. If this woman would not have been acting like she was, she would not have been tasered.
Clearly all of you who make these comments against police performing not only reasonable, but legally justified behavior for which they have been trained to do to protect us, have never had to perform such actions. As a police officer, you have to perform actions which put you in harm's way while having to ensure your actions not only are legal, ethical, and effective in protecting the public and yourself.
Put on a uniform and go to a few bar fights, maybe then you'll get it.
He has all the personality and demeanor of a wife-beater.
Cherri Brown from Georgia, the banging sound to heard from the video was the sound of the lady trying to kick out the rear driver side window. You must not have seen/heard the entire video because you can clearly hear the officer saying "if you keep on kicking that window you will get tasered again!"(thats not the exact quote but it;s very close). It sickens me to hear people bad mouth and accuse police officers of wrong just for doing there job. I'm not saying that police brutally doesn't exist, I'm saying that 98% of the time the officer did nothing wrong. The media, especially, contributes to the accusations. They report that a woman was tasered while handcuffed , but they fail to report that the woman was trying to kick out the window of the police cruiser. No doubt tasers can be dangerous to certain people with certain health issues, but they SAVE LIVES! For example, I live in Atlanta and recently we have been hearing of numerous fatal shootings by police officers on criminals in Dekalb County. Why have the been so many you ask? Well, the ignorant Dekalb CEO Vernan Jones decided to take away tasers from his officers because a man in Gwinnett County died from a taser when he was fighting with police. The man had an unknown heart condition.
Now Dekalb officers must pull out there firearms when faced with a combative/uncooperative individual. What happens if the individual lunges at the officer? They shoot there firearms and they unfortunately has led to deaths. If the officers had taser all of the criminals killed would be alive today. Tasers save lives! Oh and another thing, did you know that officers must experience the taser before they are allowed to use them? They know how it feels. Don't give me this crap that officers like seeing people in pain. People who like seeing others in pain don't become police officers, they become criminals way before they are able to become policemen. You people who criminalize this officer from Ohio are ignorant fools! You try going out 8 hours a day dealing with dangerous criminals and we'll what you think of it! These people go out everyday wondering if it will be there last!
(David, Atlanta)
I am sorry, but she was in the back of the cruiser kicking and screaming and the police were there because she was disorderly.
She got what she deserved and should have gotten more.
People think they are above the rules. She was drunk and paid the price. She should not only pay for her indiscretion but hopefully is embarrassed for looking like an ass.
First of all I don't think we are seeing the how the whole situation started, so you can't say that the officer didn't give her a chance to comply. Do I think he tasered more then he should? Yes to a certain extent I do, but again what had she done to provoke him to get to this point?
She was intoxicated....... for those of you who think the cop was in the wrong let me pose a question to you. Shes leaving a barand she is obviously very intoxicated, she gets behind a wheel and proceeds to drive away in this car. Now keep in mind she is very drunk, and oops shes she runs a red light at a major intersection hits a car head on and kills the people in the other car and those people just happen to be be a loved one of yours and she walks away without a scratch, now whats your take on it?
Again, do I think he got a bit extreme? To a certain degree I do BUT we are only seeing part of this, we don't see how this all started so I can't be so quick to judge.
Lets say that police officer was your husband, son, brother and the part we don't see is this drunk individual cursing him out, spitting on him, kicking him, threatening to kill him how would you want your son, husband or brother to handle this. Would you want him to take the shit shes giving him? Do you like to see your spouse,son or brother going out and putting his life on the line everyday to be treated this way and get paid very little? I think not unless you are completely wacked in the head. I think you would want that person to do whatever they had to do to come home safely to you.
I think it is so ironic how when we are in trouble or we fear for our lifes or when someone violates us who do we call? The police, but when they try to do their jobs by keeping the streets safe and us protected and they have to use some force to get a situation under control we are the first ones to attack them and not support them. So what exactly does the public want the police to do? They are damned if they do and damned if the don't.
I admit there are some real cocky arrogant asshole cops out there who have no right to be carrying a badge much less a gun and calling themselves a cop; however, again we don't know what it is like to be in their shoes and to deal with the crap and disrespect they deal with daily.
Im the wife of a police officer so needless to say Im a bit defensive when the public is so quick to attack the cops but not to the point that I won't admit when the cop is completely out of line and there are many many that are and those are the ones who give cops a bad name. Perfect example was the St. George cop from Missouri. He was completely out of line. I think the kid was provoking him but he is to be above this teenagers game and he is to be professional because he is a representation of authority, well he was as low as one could get and just added a little bit more negativity from the public towards cops with his unprofessionalism. He doesn't deserve to be a cop and deserves whatever shit he gets!
People are so quick to judge the cops, put them down etc. but again we have no clue at all what its like to be doing their job. I got to see a video tape of my husband in action and it was a drunk who while the other officer searched the car sat in my husbands patrol car and repeatedly kept telling my husband he was a stupid M.F. and continues to say f you to him. He can't see them but you hear both of them and in the midst of his cursing my husband out he starts to spit at my husband as well as in his patrol car. Now how would you have handled this situation? What do you think someone doing that deserves?
And that is what I mean when I say we have no clue as to what all takes place we only hear what the cop has done to violate this person. We don't hear what these people do initially to get the cops to the point the Ohio one was at.
I studied karate for 10 years, self defense even longer. One of the first lessons you learn in self-defense is to TRY TO REDUCE THE CONFLICT. This means using common sense and calming tactics on the person who is out of control. Why, TIME AND TIME AGAIN, do we see macho, aggressive, uncivilized use of power, weapons, yelling, threatening and bullying by our MALE POLICE FORCE???? (I might be wrong, but I have not seen tapes of women officers being abusive.) It is so shameful, it makes me sick. WHERE ARE OUR POLITICIANS??? WHY IS THIS TYPE OF BEHAVIOR ALLOWED TO BE CONTINUED??? That officer should be FIRED and put on some kind of list, the way sex-offenders are. Look at him: fat, incompetent, out of control, no common sense, abuser, misogynist. Get rid of him and all abusers strutting behind their badges. Police are supposed to protect citizens - not TORTURE THEM (that is what tasering is). Land of the brave, home of the free? A JOKE!
First of all, I am sorry for the death of your son. I empathize with your passion about this issue.
I think people need to take a step back and assess this situation on a case by case basis. We cannot say "There's another cop doing this" because sometimes it is appropriate use of force, and sometimes it is not. In this situation, even a taser didn't subdue this woman. I think it was the right time to use it.
The video picks up right as the first taser is being administered and shows nothing before hand. Let's not forget the cops happened bye, they were called to the scene because this woman was causing a disturbance. She then tried to break the windows of the cruiser after already being tasered once.
Question for those of you that think the cop is an animal or the person that likend the cop to the wife beater -- would you recommend that next time, the women just gets a "good talking-to"?
Tasers are not supposed to stimulate orgasm; they're supposed to bring a swift halt to an escalating violent situation before it gets worse. Protest the tool if you think it is harmful, but don't be so quick to judge the people that use it to protect the public.
Some of you have been watching too many Dirty Harry movies.
The civilian "got what she deserved" and she received "justice"? Since when is it the duty of any police officer to dispense "justice"?
Dispensing justice is the duty of the courts and should only occur after due process. Dispensing justice is not the prerogative of any lone individual.
If you truly believe that lone individuals should unilaterally dispense "justice" to others without due process, then you are nothing but vigilantes. And vigilantes, as any sane person knows, are the antithesis of police officers.
Only in America do police and school teachers get paid vacations for violations of rules or rules of law. I love this country but it is sure weird sometimes.
Fine, she was drunk and out of control.
Strongarm her then handcuff, let her exhaust herself out by screaming and jumping.
There was No need to push his 'Godness' on her via taser.
This character should be fired, then sued.
The fact that this woman was "drunk" was all the more reason that tasering her was wrong.She was so out of it and in pain how could she possibly be able to follow the officers barked orders.This is clearly abuse.All he had to do when the other officers arrived was shackle her legs,and she wouldn't have had to have been tased while she was cuffed.I hope he is fired,and assault charges are filed against him.
I see part of theses people saying she deserved it. What is wrong with you people. We are talking about a trained police officer against an unarmed woman in her middle thirties. Not a serial killer. And you say she is violating orders from the officer. have you ever tried to hear and obey what someone is saying to you with 50,000 volts going through your body. And how long did it take for backup to arrive? If she was so unruly why didn't he call for backup imediately?
True she did try to break to window out. She had already been tasered at least three times. Any of you that tell me you would not try to get away from someone inflicting pain on you is flat out lieing.
The officers own actions while he is using the taser show me all I need to know. He never even makes an attempt to handcuff her till he has tasered her almost 3 times.
Come on people. He stands there at one time with his hand in his pocket just watching! Almost as if he is getting enjoyment out of it.
I think the only reason this officer quit using his taser is because she was finally knocked out when she fell against the sidewalk.
As a former Military policeman I'm not saying that something didn't need to be done to keep her from driving or doing something else stupid, but tasering her 7 times is nothing but exccessive force.
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