WORLD-WIDE BAN ON THE TASER, anyone?

A guestbook message received here today deserves its own post:

We are the group that placed the 388 crosses in the front yard of the Harlan household, where Stanley Harlan was murdered in front of his home & mother. There is not a day that goes by that he is not thought of and missed.

We are still willing and able to help in the world-wide BAN on the taser!

PLEASE, if there is anyway that all the "groups" that are working in their towns to try to ban these "non lethal weapons", if there is anyway we can all work together and fight Taser International as a bigger group, maybe we would have a better chance!! My thoughts & prayers are with all family, friends of loved ones that have lost their lives to the Taser affects.

Donna
tdfainter@yahoo.com

Missouri activists hope Taser settlement teaches lessons

Wednesday, June 24, 2009
BY Christine Lesicko, Missourian

COLUMBIA — With the announcement of a settlement in the Taser death of a Moberly man, local activists who pressured the Columbia Police Department to adopt strict guidelines for the use of Tasers said they hope the incident sent a strong message.

“What happened was abuse of a Taser weapon. Hopefully lessons will be learned from this incident statewide,” said Mary Hussman, a member of the Coalition to Control Tasers.

Family members of Stanley Harlan, 23, who died after being shocked with a Taser in August 2008, will receive $2.4 million in an out-of-court settlement with the city of Moberly.

The city will also suspend the use of all Tasers until two town hall meetings are held and a revised Taser policy is issued, according to a news release from Moberly City Manager Andy Morris.

Harlan was shocked several times with a Taser in front of his house after Moberly police stopped him and tried to arrest him on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, according to previous Missourian reports.

He was pronounced dead at about 2 a.m. on August 28, at Moberly Regional Medical Center.

In November 2008, Randolph County Coroner Gerald Luntsford ruled Harlan's death a homicide. The incident was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the FBI, neither of which found any criminal wrongdoing by officers. In January, a special prosecutor assigned to the case announced that no criminal charges would be filed against the officers.

The lawsuit against two Moberly police officers and the city was finalized Monday morning in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Columbia police have faced criticism for their own use of Tasers, partly because of Harlan's death and other incidents involving the weapons.

The most public of these occurred on July 25, when Phillip Lee McDuffy, 45, of Columbia fell 15 feet from Providence Road bridge over Interstate 70 onto an embankment after police shot him with a Taser. McDuffy was critically injured in the incident, according to previous Missourian reports.

In December, the Missourian reported that McDuffy made a settlement offer to the city of Columbia for $500,000. Deputy Police Chief Tom Dresner said Tuesday that he had not heard anything about the McDuffy settlement and as far as he knew, the case was still pending.

In March, the Columbia Police Department admitted improper Taser use in two cases from September and October 2008. In April, the department issued stricter guidelines for Taser use, including improvements to internal oversight, training and medical care for people shot with a Taser, according to previous Missourian reports.

In April, as one of his first orders, Police Chief Ken Burton chose to adopt all 52 guidelines regarding Taser use set by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), largely as a result of pressure from the coalition.

Dresner said there have not been many Taser incidents since the adoption of the new guidelines, and the department feels “very comfortable” with the policies that have been implemented.

Hussman said implementing PERF guidelines was an important step by the Columbia Police Department.

“We have higher standards here (in Columbia) thankfully, but we need to verify that the PERF standards are being adhered to," she said. "It still has to be shown that officers will adhere to those standards, which is why the coalition thinks that all Taser offense cases should be open to the public.”

Ed Berg, another member of the Coalition to Control Tasers, emphasized that a Taser is a "less lethal weapon, not a non-lethal weapon."

"They should only be used when there is danger to the police, to the public or to the person involved in the incident," he said. "There needs to be specific guidelines for use of Tasers, and police need to follow them.”

The city of Moberly did not admit any fault or liability in the settlement and will not use any of its own funds to make the payment, according to the release. The city's insurance company will be responsible for the payment.

Moberly also agreed to have at least one Automatic External Defibrillator in an on-duty patrol unit and to require officers to complete a training course on recognizing and responding to medical distress.

Stephen Ryals, an attorney for Harlan’s mother, Athena Bachtel, said the settlement “is a bittersweet conclusion to the case.”

“The money is not an issue for my clients, but they were pleased to get reforms in Taser policy and medical reform,” Ryals said.

The family intends to continue working to get the officers responsible for Harlan’s death prosecuted, Ryals said.

Moberly (Missouri) to impose moratorium on tasers and pay $2.4 million in Taser lawsuit settlement

June 23, 2009
The Associated Press

MOBERLY, Mo. This municipality agreed Monday to an indefinite moratorium on the use of stun guns and will pay $2.4 million to survivors of a man who died after police shocked him.

Stanley Harlan, 23, died in August 2008 after Moberly police officers stunned him three times during a stop for suspected drunken driving. His family settled with the city of Moberly on Monday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis.

Harlan's mother, Athena Bachtel, sought the moratorium as a way to prevent other deaths, said the family's lead attorney, Stephen M. Ryals.

"The pursuit of justice for her son and specifically reforms of the behavior of Moberly police was paramount," Ryals said. "The monetary settlement was really unimportant to her."

Harlan was shocked after arguing with officers during a traffic stop. Authorities have said he was suspected of drunken driving. A statement from his family's lawyers said he was accused of speeding.

The readout on the officers' Taser indicated Harlan was stunned three times, Ryals said. Harlan lost consciousness and died a short time later.

Calls to attorneys for the city Monday night were not immediately returned. But the city said in a news release that no fault was admitted in the settlement and its insurance company will pay the entire settlement.

"It is never the goal or desire of any police officer to cause or contribute to the death of any person," the release said. "Mr. Harlan's death was certainly unanticipated and unintentional."

The release from the city noted that the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the FBI investigated the death and found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing. No criminal charges were filed.

But Ryals said his clients haven't given up on the possibility of a criminal prosecution.

He said he also is considering a lawsuit against the maker of the stun gun, Taser International Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz.

The stun gun moratorium will continue until two town hall meetings have been held, and the police department has issued a revised Taser policy. The city also has agreed to assign at least one automatic external defibrillator to an on-duty patrol unit and require additional training on topics including recognizing and responding to medical distress.

Bachtel, along with Harlan's father, Darrell Harlan, and his 1-year-old son will share in the settlement.

Police Department to adopt all police forum standards on Tasers

April 7, 2009
BY Jonathan Randles, Missourian

COLUMBIA — The Columbia Police Department will adopt all 52 of the Police Executive Research Forum's Taser policy guidelines, Police Chief Kenneth Burton announced in a news release Monday evening.

The forum is a research group for police chiefs and administrators funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. The 52 standards, which the department released in 2005, are an attempt to standardize police department Taser policy nationally.

The Coalition to Control Tasers has been asking the Columbia Police Department to adopt all 52 policy guidelines since the beginning of March.

"The guidelines are comprehensive, but they in no way hinder our ability to utilize Tasers as a justifiable force option at the Columbia Police Department," Burton said in the release. He could not be reached for comment Monday night.

According to the release, formal policy changes and officer training will begin no later than May 1.

The announcement is one of Burton's first official mandates since he was sworn into office on March 30. At that ceremony, Burton said he would emphasize community policing and good customer service during his tenure as chief.

The police forum's standards would not only provide stricter guidelines for Taser use but would also improve internal oversight, training and medical care for people shot with a Taser. The new standards cover issues not adequately addressed in the former department policy, said Ed Berg, a member of the Committee to Control Tasers.

"By implementing the PERF standards, the citizens of Columbia will be safer and the police will be better served knowing when and where not to use the Taser," Berg said.

At a March 2 City Council meeting, then-Interim Police Chief Tom Dresner presented a report that admitted the department had used a Taser inappropriately within the last six months — the first time the department had ever admitted improper use of the weapon.

At the same meeting, the coalition presented council members with a 32-page report that compared the Police Department's Taser policy with the forum's standards. The coalition's analysis determined that the department was using about 18 of the 52 standards at the time, Berg said.

One of the major concerns the coalition had was the lack of a clear policy on providing medical treatment from medical professionals to people shot with Tasers. Under the forum's guidelines, the department would now have to contact emergency responders whenever the police respond to a call where they believe a Taser might be used. A medical professional would also be required to provide a physical evaluation and to continue monitoring the health of anyone who has been shot by a Taser.

By providing medical attention, the city and Police Department might see greater protection from civil lawsuits, Berg said.

According to previous Missourian reports, on July 25, Columbia police shot Phillip Lee McDuffy, 45, who was threatening to kill himself, with a Taser after 90 minutes of negotiating, causing him to fall off the Providence Road overpass above Interstate 70.

On Dec. 16, McDuffy's lawyer sent a $500,000 settlement offer to the city.

The coalition is attempting to raise awareness of Taser safety and make it a statewide issue. On Monday, members of the coalition went to Jefferson City to lobby Missouri's General Assembly to pass two pieces of legislation that, among other things, would create a statewide task force to investigate Taser safety, coalition member Mary Hussmann said.

The family of Stanley Harlan — the 23-year-old man who was killed after Moberly police repeatedly used a Taser on him during a traffic stop in August — were lobbying in the state capitol as well.

The coalition hopes to continue discussing the safety of Tasers until the state establishes a task force to investigate Taser use by police agencies. The coalition's trip to the capital Monday was a positive step in that direction, Hussmann said.

There's been "a lot of the chatter at the grass-roots level, but now its actually getting to the legislature," Hussmann said.

STU professor backs outright ban on tasers

March 20, 2009
MICHAEL STAPLES, Daily Gleaner

A report released this week says directed energy devices can cause seizures in people if the electric barbs pierce the scalp and shock the brain has renewed calls for police departments to stop using the stun guns.

Michael Boudreau, a criminology professor at St. Thomas University, said an outright ban on tasers is needed.

"When they were first introduced, there were good intentions behind their use - in terms of trying to (respond to a situation) without resorting to a firearm. (But) the taser, it seems, has now become the first go-to weapon, as opposed to other sorts of tactics," he said.

Tasers emit 50,000 volts of electricity.

An article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal this week on the accidental jolting in the back of the head of an Ontario police officer described how the individual collapsed and went into a seizure for about a minute.

Boudreau said the report highlights how dangerous the weapons can be.

"It's fine for the manufacture to say 'don't point it at someone's head,' but, obviously, accidents can happen and this is a clear case of one ... No matter how well they are used, mistakes can be made."

An American organization said it's watching taser-related developments in Canada with great interest.

"Our coalition is not supporting a ban, but working for strict regulations, oversight and good training ... that people do not consistently get here," Mary Hussmann of the Coalition to Control Tasers, based in Columbia, Mo., said in an interview.

The Coalition to Control Tasers is composed of the American Civil Liberties Union, GRO-Grass Roots Organizing, Mid-Missouri Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

"We are very impressed that the people (in Canada) are standing up," Hussmann said.

"(Tasers) should be very rarely used. I think a lot of people in Canada are on the right track. People understand what guns are used for but they don't quite get where these tasers fit in."

Boudreau said he agrees extra training is a good idea, but instruction has to be ongoing.

"I might be prepared to say, 'yeah that's a good thing,' if there was a guarantee this training was going to be extensive and almost something like semi-annual. Without that extensive training, I still remain highly skeptical," he said.

Boudreau said taser usage is more tightly regulated in Canada than in the U.S., but that hasn't prevented incidents from occurring here.

"More public education is needed for the police to tell why they really need these things," he said.

Boudreau said Americans can learn from Canadian mistakes that, despite what the police say, tasers remain contentious weapons and that the time has come for a moratorium.

"Hopefully, they can learn they are not working here either and here we have a much more highly regulated police force," he said.

An Open Letter to all candidates for Columbia Police Chief

January 12, 2009

An Open Letter to all candidates for Columbia Police Chief:

We welcome you to Columbia, and in the spirit of helping you know our community better, we are providing you with the enclosed information. As you may know, in Columbia, police training, use, and oversight of TASERs are under
scrutiny by our coalition of non-profit groups and other concerned citizens. The Coalition to Control TASERs is composed of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), GRO-Grass Roots Organizing, Mid-MO Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

TASERs are relatively new to us. Some Columbia Officers had the use of the TASER weapon starting in 2006. However, in early June of 2008, the City Council received a Department of Justice grant and used it to buy more TASERs and double the TASER-armed officers with the goal of arming them all. This unanimous decision, with very little community input, alarmed many of us.

We want our community to do all it can to protect both our police and the public from the harmful effects of the use of this 50,000 volt weapon, which is proving much more dangerous than claimed by TASER International.

We also want to protect our city and our police from liability and lawsuits resulting from inadequate TASER training, weak regulations, and the lack of oversight, all of which can lead to and have led to TASER injuries and abuse even in Columbia. For example:

In February, 2008, a young Hickman High School student was tased five times for fighting on the school grounds, even though he was innocent. Members of his family, hearing of our efforts to control TASERs, gave us their report from the Police Department. They believe that he has developed mental, physical, and emotional problems due to this “incident”.

In July ’08, a Columbia citizen suffered a fractured skull, both arms broken and other physical, mental, and emotional injuries when tased from an I-70 bridge by Columbia police. He is asking the city, through his lawyer, for a $500,000 out of court settlement.

Two other well-known, sad, and alarming occurrences were:

In August of 2008, a 23 year-old man in Moberly, MO, 30 miles north of Columbia, died after being tased. The Medical Examiner declared it a ‘homicide’. The deceased’s family is now suing the city of Moberly.

Several years ago, in Hallsville, 17 miles northeast of Columbia, a Police Chief became severely disabled after suffering a heart attack right after being voluntarily tased during police TASER training. TASER International settled out of court.

You will find in your packet pertinent newspaper articles and commentary in particular the Columbia Police Department CD containing 48 cases from their TASER deployment records. All cases were requested via the Sunshine Law filed by us in August ’08. Finally, the end of October ’08, with the assistance of the City Council, most deployment records were obtained from the Department. Enclosed are our summary/questions regarding each case as well as
statistics.

In light of our extensive research on TASERs, our Coalition has worked and will continue to work to educate others and persistently and adamantly press our City Council and Police Department to protect us and resolve Columbia’s TASER problems. We want training that recognizes the TASER as potentially deadly, and we want training based not on TASER International’s self-serving materials, but on the proven realities of TASER use and abuse. Our police training needs more tried and true methods: these include highly successful de-escalation,
crisis management, scenario role-playing, and conflict resolution techniques.

Also, a Mental Health professional should always be ‘on call’ to assist police with someone contemplating suicide or experiencing other mental health problems. A recent hopeful sign of dealing with incidents involving the mentally ill is described in the enclosed newspaper article entitled, “Program aims to improve policing of people with mental illness.”

We need adherence to existing regulations as well as increased restrictions. For example, we support placing a limit on how many times a person can be tased and a restriction that prohibits the tasing of children. It is essential that there be strict, meaningful oversight of training and regulations, automatic review of all instances of TASER use (as is done with a firearm), and appropriate consequences for TASER abuse.

In your Police career, have you worked with a Department that employed the TASER weapon and, if so, were the officers under an “imminent danger” standard? That is what we want our City Council to pass (some say “reaffirm”) and enforce. This means that the TASER would not be used for threats and/or deployment unless the officer, the public, or the suspect is faced with a
physical threat. The fact is, in the vast number of cases when our police deployed TASERs, there was no “imminent danger”. It appears that, on many occasions, the officer escalated the conflict or used the TASER for convenience -- or even punishment. Our Columbia Police are using a TASER when a gun would not even be considered.

It is disturbing that the 48 cases reveal that a disproportionate number of African Americans and mentally ill were tased. Also, most tasings occurred in Columbia’s First Ward. We regret that our Police Department currently refuses to release, with the necessary redacting of all names, addresses, and other traceable information, the 20 additional TASER deployments where the individuals were innocent or the cases were dropped or are pending. The refusal to disclose the
circumstances leading to the TASER deployment in these cases adds to the suspicion that there may be more TASER abuse.

In February, this discussion is expected to continue with the Columbia City Council when the Police will again offer a Report to the City Council. We will be present to request passage of necessary changes in TASER policy.

We seek a good relationship with the new police chief, and our goal is to have a police force we can be proud of. We believe that the TASER weapon, as it has been portrayed and used in Columbia, presents a challenge to community policing. TASERs have caused many of our families to experience pain, anger and fear. Citizens are now more informed about the danger of TASERs and TASER abuse. City Council inaction in addressing the people’s TASER threat and usage concerns, the inconsistent use that varies from officer to officer, the shoddy reporting and accountability, and the confusion as to where this weapon fits in the Force Continuum are some of the conditions which have caused many Columbians to react with increased suspicion, hostility, non-cooperation, and lack of trust. With improved leadership from our Chief, better TASER training, regulations, oversight, and transparency, these problems can be corrected and
the animosity and distrust healed.

We want a police chief who has a working knowledge and thorough understanding of the TASER issue and who is willing to communicate openly and amicably with the public and intent on justly resolving this troublesome issue. The new Chief should have a positive attitude of service to the public and creative ideas aimed at protecting us all. We hope that that person is among the current candidates.

Thank you for your consideration and attention to the packet materials. If you have questions, feel free to contact any of us.

Sincerely,
Ms Carolyn Mathews
4200 Rock Quarry Road
Columbia, MO 65201
573-443-5985

Mr. Ed Berg
1215 S. Fairview Road
Columbia, MO 65203
573-445-4065

Ms Linda Green
206 Anderson
Columbia, MO 65202
573-443-6977

Ms Mary Hussmann
5306 Rice Road
Columbia, MO 65202
573-474-1983

MISSOURI SUNSHINE REQUEST FOR GOVERNMENTAL
DOCUMENT UNDER SECTION 610.010 RSMo. et seq.
TO: Captain Zim Schwartze
Custodian of Records
Section 610.023 RSMo requires each public governmental body to make available for inspection and copying all public records maintained by said public governmental body. Each request for public documents must be acted upon as soon as possible. Any response to such request must be in writing and furnished to the requester no later then the end of third business day (5:00 p.m.) following the date the request is received by the custodian of said records. If records are maintained on an electrical format, then they are requested to be furnished in either wordperfect or word.

If access to any document which is requested is denied then a written reply complying with Section 610.023 RSMo must be provided in a timely manner which means that the response must be provided to the requestor on January 15, 2009 at 5:00 0' clock to Edward Berg at 1215 S. Fairview, Columbia, Missouri 65203.

Further under Section 610.024 if a public document contains both materials which are not exempt and/or exempt from disclosure, it is your responsibility to separate the exempt materials and make such materials which are not exempt available. Your agency may redact the information which is exempt from disclosure by law, but must in writing for each such occurrence explain such action.

Fees charged for providing copied documents must be calculated in
accordance with Section 610.026 and be certified as correct upon payment of said amount. If there is to be a charge, then there must be an estimated cost as to each item requested/ However, it is further requested that any and all fees for production of requested documents be waived as provided in Section 610.026 RSMo since the disclosure of information is in the public interest and is likely to contribute significantly to the public understanding of how and when the Columbia Police Department uses TASERS and said information is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.

Further if this request for waiver of fees for reproduction is denied or ignored, then it requested that a written explanation be provided.

Penalties may be accessed against the custodian or agency for failure to comply with Section 210.010 et seq.

It is requested that the following information be provided to

Edward Berg
Attorney at Law
1215 S. Fairview
Columbia, Mo. 65203

1. The number of times police officers of the Columbia Police
Department between January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2008 used the TASER Model X26 to obtain compliance of individuals by displaying such weapons or sparking such weapons and verbally threatening to use such weapons if a person did not do as ordered, but when such weapons were not discharged against such individual.

2. How many written reports were filed by police officers of such use and provide copies of each and every narrative report filed by police officers as to such incidents.

3. Provide a copy of any and all Columbia Police Department policies which permit such use of the TASER against its citizens.

Date Requested:
January 12, 2009
Date Response is to be received: January 15, 2009

Outlaw tasers

UPDATE - with regret, knowing as we do that "became unresponsive" and "deployed his taser twice to subdue him" are synonymous.

January 9, 2008
The Associated Press

MOBERLY, Mo. | A Howard County prosecutor says no criminal charges will be filed in the death of a suspected drunken driver killed after a police officer fired a Taser at him. Prosecutor Mason Gebhardt says Moberly police officer J.J. Baird was justified in using a Taser to try to arrest 23-year-old Stanley Harlan of Moberly during a traffic stop in August. Gebhardt says he reviewed reports and a video of the incident to determine Harlan was resisting arrest. Baird made the stop, suspecting Harlan was driving drunk and placed him under arrest. Police say when Harlan resisted, the officer deployed his Taser twice to subdue him. The first Taser shock lasted five seconds and the subsequent shock was only one second. Harlan became unresponsive soon thereafter. Officers started CPR until an ambulance arrived. Harlan was pronounced dead at a hospital.

















On November 19th, I posted the message below. Today I received these photos and this message: we would be honored if the families and friends of the victims on the list wanted to send a pic to our email (outlawtasers@yahoo.com) so we could post their pics on theirs, or even contact us at the email address if they wanted to see the memorial themselves and place pics or decorations themselves.

November 19, 2008

I received this message on my guestbook and I am posting it here in case anyone would like to be involved in this:

We are a group of friends & relatives helping a mother (who's son was tased by local police in front her Aug. 28, 2008). We are currently working on making 386+ crosses representing the people whom have died from being tased. (Names found on this site ) We have not set a date as when we will place these in the ground, but wish to do it before the holidays. It would be nice if we had some kind of picture of deceased, family or friend to come & place the cross, news story or anything, We would like to make it known nationally, our goal is to have the taser outlawed everywhere.

As I mentioned, my friends son was tased, he was unarmed, was not on drugs. It was another instance of police brutality here in our small town.

For more information or to send a photo, contact outlawtasers@yahoo.com

LETTER: Tasers are not safe

December 19, 2008
BY Linda Green, Columbia (Missouri)

Just as war is too important to leave up to generals, Taser use is too important to leave up to the police and to the for-profit Taser company, which has been running the show. In a community meeting, I heard the police officer, who is instructing local police in Taser use say, "Tasers are safe." In the face of the local serious injuries and the nearby death associated with police Taser use, I find that officer's statement chilling and grossly inaccurate.

Police Taser use is under scrutiny in communities all over the U.S., as we try to come to terms with a weapon that has not been sufficiently tested, and through experience, is proving much more dangerous than we originally thought. It is fine to look at police injuries before and after the introduction of Tasers, but we must not neglect the other side of the coin — injuries to the public by police use of Tasers.

It takes an informed and involved public and accurate and transparent information to preserve and run a democracy. Checks and balances are built into our governing system, and it is entirely appropriate that all these democratic principles apply to the public's desire to have the facts and input on police Taser use in our community. We have the right and even the obligation as citizens to question whatever governs us, including police Taser use, especially when drastic problems involving the public's rights are apparent. We must preserve our democratic citizens' rights to gain accurate and complete information, to require regulations sufficient to protect the public, as well as the police, and to insist that those regulations are followed.