Tasering in London a wakeup call for our generation

September 28, 2011
High School Perspective
By Cole Froude, Tillsonburg News

September 22, was a shocking and disturbing day for all teenagers across our region.

A 17-year old adolescent male was involved in a fight that started at approximately 12 p.m., in downtown London. The 17-year-old - whose name has yet to be released - picked up a lawn chair to defend himself against a brutal attack against him.

A nearby police officer saw the event unfold and rushed to the scene, pulled out his taser and open fired on the 17-year-old.

The youth took a direct hit to the head and chest. All the action was caught on a cell phone recording device and immediately uploaded to the popular video sharing site YouTube.

This caused a heated debate over the past few days, arguments over excessive use of force and responsible policing blew up the comment sections of the video, causing the most talked about event of the day.

The 17-year-old's mother has launched a lawsuit against the London Police Department. "He was only sent to the hospital because of the tasering," she said in a public statement.

The police officer who fired the taser did not use any means of communication to calm down the situation.

Is that morally right? A police officer can't arrest you for no reason but tasering you without any notice is okay?

London police Chief Duncan said that, "We are not required to issue a warning before tasering."

Really? Are you kidding me? What if this person was blind, or was developmentally challenged? Would that change things?

At the time the kid was tasered, the fight had already calmed down.


Is this police brutality?

Not only does it disgust me to know that a kid my age was tasered but to even think that the provincial guidelines state tasers should not be used in sensitive areas such as the head just outrages me.

London police say they are doing an internal investigation.

But its not all doom and gloom.

Monday, students from Beal Secondary School took to the streets and exercised their civil right to protest. About 150 protesters turned up to support the cause of police brutality.

A 19-year-old named Kyle, who helped organize this protest, told London's AM 980 News, "We are starting to stand up for ourselves... right now we are just trying to spread the word that cops need to be more accountable for their actions."

I applaud these kids who risked suspension and maybe a grounding or two by their parents to come out and protest.

Thames Valley District School Board issued a statement after the protest concerning the disciplinary action of the students who walked out of class.

"Any issues concerning this is being dealt with on a case by case basis. No suspensions have been issued at this time."

We all have a say in this world. Let this be a wakeup call for all of us young adolescents of this generation.

Change starts with us don't be afraid to stand up for what you believe in.

Cole Froude is a Glendale High School co-op student doing his placement at the Tillsonburg NewsNews

Teens against Tasers

September 27, 2011
Jennifer O’Brien and Craig Glover, London Free Press

Taunting police and chanting obscenities, a crowd of rowdy youths took to London streets for nearly eight hours Monday, protesting against last week’s caught-on-video police Tasering of a city-high school student.

“F--- the police,” the protestors — most of them students at Beal secondary, near where the incident took place — chanted, dozens of them thrusting their middle fingers up at a handful of police officers who stood outside police headquarters.

Occasionally, the crowd changed its chant to “peace and love,” “shame on you,” or “stop police brutality.”

But the overriding message was against the police.

“It’s taking a bunch of teenage kids to tell the police they are doing a bad job,” shouted one protestor by megaphone.

“We had a 17-year-old shot in the face with a Taser, and we want accountability.”

The protest started about 9 a.m. in front of Beal, then grew in size and volume as protestors marched to the nearby police station, before heading west again on Dundas St.

The crowd sat down in the middle of the intersection at Dundas and Richmond streets, one of the city’s busiest downtown crossings, then moved on to City Hall before turning back to hit the same stops.

Though fueled mostly by peers of the teen who was Tasered after a fight on Dundas St. last Thursday, the protest was organized by a non-student group via Facebook over the weekend.

“We all watched the YouTube video of a Beal student being Tasered in the head without warning last week. It’s outrageous,” said Anthony Verberckmoes, one of several organizers encouraging students to join the protest early Monday.

“People are fed up with police brutality,” he said.

The crowd generated support, even as protestors held up traffic.

“I don’t mind waiting,” said Brea Felton, whose car was stopped on Richmond St. during the downtown sit-in.

“That was uncalled for,” she added of Thursday’s Taser incident.

The Tasered youth, 17, is charged with assault with a weapon in the dustup with two other young men before the officer arrived, subduing the 17-year-old with a shot from his stun gun.

Many protestors said they were proud to stand up for their beliefs, but didn’t like all the vulgarity.

“It looks like we’re the aggressive ones,” said Dylan Wilson, 18.

Several students said they were told protesting would mean a one-day school suspension, but a Thames Valley District school board spokesperson said no students were suspended for taking part.

Police cruisers followed the marchers and at stops, officers stood as some youths waved fists, screaming obscenities at them.

“Today, it’s not a matter of preventing them from having a voice,” said Police Chief Brad Duncan. “Some of them were doing things I would term as silly . . .

“Many of these protestors were very up and close and screaming in our officers’ faces and they showed the utmost professionalism.

“When dealing with protests and . . . with young persons, one thing you want to be very careful about is allowing them the opportunity to exercise that right (to protest),” said Duncan. The chief said he stands by his officer.

Taser used to break up teen brawl

September 23, 2011
Dale Carruthers, QMI Agency

LONDON, Ont. - A teenager is in hospital and a group of high school students are threatening a protest against police after an officer used a Taser to break up a brawl in London, Ont., on Thursday.

The clash between two young men around noon was captured on a cellphone video reviewed by QMI Agency and later posted to YouTube.

The images show one combatant hitting the other with a chair, when an officer on foot hurries in from the street and shoots a dart from a Taser stun gun at a young man wearing jeans and a black shirt.

From the video, it appears the two boys had separated when the officer approached.

The crowd gasps in horror as the Taser's prongs appear to hit the young man in the face. He falls to the ground and is motionless for nearly one minute.

"You shot him in the head. You never even asked him," screams another male on the video.

The officer didn't give any warning before using his stun gun, said witness Vivian Greening.

"He just pulled out the Taser and shot him," she said. "They didn't even try to talk to the kids (or) yell at the kids."

Student Cody Hill, 17, who was in the crowd watching the fight, also said the cop Tasered the boy without warning.

It's not clear from the amateur video, with its imperfect audio, whether the officer gave a warning.

The onlookers spilled onto the street to watch the fight, many of them students at nearby H.B. Beal Secondary School.

Hill and a group of friends say they plan to hold a protest on Monday to decry the police response.

Police confirmed a 17-year-old who was Tasered was taken to hospital and another boy is in custody, but wouldn't comment if the officer issued a warning before using the stun gun.

"Our investigation is unfolding," said Const. Dennis Rivest. "There's a number of people that need to be interviewed right now and we still have a lot of work that we have to do to complete this investigation.”

The boy's injuries aren't life-threatening, police said.

"And we're going to wait before any further comment on the situation."

Canadian researcher Andrew Podgorski, who studied stun guns for the Canadian government, said youth are more at risk of injury and death from being hit with a Taser's 50,000-volt jolt.

"The younger you are, the more susceptible you are," said Podgorski. "Younger people are generally . . . smaller in size."

One in 1,000 people who get Tasered die, said Podgorski, adding those under the influence of drugs and alcohol are more likely to die.

According to use-of-force statistics, London police used stun guns 28 times in 2010.

In 2004, Londoner Peter Lamonday, 33, died shortly after being Tasered by police at a convenience store.

Taser International sells tasers to Jammu and Kashmir (India) to shock protestors in the trouble torn region

JK police gets TASER guns to ‘shock’ protesters
M HYDERI, Greater Kashmir

Srinagar, Sept 8: The Jammu and Kashmir police has procured TASER guns to quell protests in Valley.

Reliable sources told Greater Kashmir that police procured around 50 TASERs from the US based gun making firm.

The TASER trademark, as per observers is an acronym for Thomas A Swift's Electric Rifle.

THE BOLT

After Pepper, and Pump Action Guns, TASER is the latest sophisticated weapon introduced in Kashmir. Pleading that TASER is Non-Lethal Weapon, police said it would be used to nab protesters by “putting them to shock”.

TASER, as per police, is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current of around 900 volts to disrupt voluntary control of muscles.

“Someone struck by a TASER experiences stimulation of his or her sensory nerves and motor nerves, resulting in strong involuntary muscle contractions,” said a police official owning the gun in the City.

The gun, as per police, fires two electrically charged pins on the target putting him to shock so much so that he or she goes unconscious instantly.

“Basically the gun is meant to nab the uncontrollable lot in the mob,” said a police official adding that it could hit close range targets up to the distance of around 25 feet.

PHASED INDUCTION

In the first phase, the guns are learnt to have been introduced in the summer capital of Srinagar after which cops in other districts of the trouble-torn region would be equipped.

“Presently in Srinagar officials above the rank of ASI (Assistant Sub Inspectors) have been equipped with the Taser gun,” added a police official.

Officials said the security agencies introduced the TASER as an alternative to deadly assault riffles like AK- 47 and INSAS, allegedly used mostly on the protesters in this trouble torn region.

Citizens protest the use of a taser on a 10-year-old

Letter to the President of the United States

To: President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC, USA 20500

Subject 21st Century Electronic Lynching

Mr. President,

This letter was written to express the protests of concerned Individuals, Civil Rights Organizations and activists who complain that our civil rights have been so eroded that it is now acceptable Police policy to use cruel and unusual punishment on a Citizen without due process of law. We the undersigned Citizens, Citizen Groups and Civil Rights Organizations, protest that the 4th, 8th, and 14th amendments of the constitution are being systematically violated by Police Officers using electronic torture devices on Citizens and non-Citizens.

Representatives of the company that manufacturers electronic torture devices lied to Police Officials when they told them that the devices had been tested and were found to be non-lethal. They bragged instead about the excruciating agony and terror caused by their use. It is impossible for the manufacturer to have tested these electronic torture devices with electrodes shot at different depths under a victims skin, and in all possible places on the human body, and for the extended times experienced in the field, also they could not have tested the devices on victims with various medical, physical and mental conditions. Had this happened there would have been many deaths of the test subjects. Instead, the company in effect used Police Officers as lab assistants and the public as lab rats for their tests, then they harvest Para-Medic and Medical Examiners Reports all for free. They scammed an all too willing law enforcement community with half truths and outright lies. The best estimate that we can find to date indicates that thousands of victims have suffered cruel and unusual punishment and 476 victims were tortured and died after being electrocuted with an electronic torture device in the US and Canada. Medical records prove many victims suffer neurological damages after being electrocuted with an electronic torture device by a Police Officer.

Michael Patrick Jacobs Jr., a bipolar 24-year-old black youth, who needed medical attention was tortured for 54 seconds with 50,000 volt electrodes shot into his neck and chest. He was not a criminal. His 21st Century Electronic Lynching was declared a homicide by the Tarrant County, Tx. Medical Examiner. After his taser torture death the taser manufacturer sent bulletins to all Police departments to direct Officers not to shoot a victim in the chest area to avoid causing cardiac arrest. This was after 12 years of vehemently denying that tasers could be lethal and after 424 prior taser related torture deaths. The inaccuracy of the devices gives Police Officers little control over where they will be shot into the flesh of a victim so each use is playing Russian Roulette with a victims life.

Mr. President, there is no more cruel and unusual punishment than being slowly electrocuted with 50,000 volts of electricity delivered under the skin. Please take the time to count down 54 seconds to understand just how long Michael Jacobs and thousands of others have suffered the agony of electrocution. The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled in 2009 that the 4 seconds of agony suffered by a convicted felon, before death occurred in the electric chair, was cruel and unusual punishment, and unconstitutional. Electrocution has been abandoned as a means of execution. Michael Jacobs who was convicted of nothing, cruelly and senselessly suffered the agony of being electrocuted with over 20 times the voltage (and pain) used in the electric chair, with a 50,000 volt barb shot into his neck and chest, for 13.5 times longer than a convicted criminal had to suffer in the chair before death happened. He suffered 54 seconds of agony before his young healthy heart was caused to fail. He is survived by two Fatherless Children and a grieving Mother and Father who blame themselves for calling for help to medicate their son and got him tased, tortured to death instead. Michael Patrick Jacobs Sr. wishes the Police had shot his son in the leg instead of torturing to him death. He said "at least he would still be alive." Google his name for the full story.

The complete Michael Patrick Jacobs Junior test is readily available to anyone who doubts that being tased for 54 seconds is cruel and unusual punishment and torture. Ft Worth, Texas has a Police Officer that is expert in administering it.

The 9th District Court made the ruling this past September that a taser could only be used when an Officer's life or the life of someone else was in danger. Police Officers train and by instinct do not use a taser in a life threatening situation, they use a lethal weapon just as they trained for and always have. This is backed by FBI records and we agree that a Police Officer is justified in using lethal force in defense of his life or to prevent harm of an innocent life. That said, any time a Government Official intentionally takes a citizen's life that act must be investigated and evaluated as to it's constitutional validity. In the 9th District Court ruling, the Judge declared that the use of electronic torture devices (tasers) causes severe pain and terror. By the very definition, severe pain and terror constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. The United Nations declared that the use of a taser against a victim is "a potentially lethal form of torture".

After the famous case of the Polish immigrant who was tortured to death in a Vancouver, British Columbia airport for failing to comply with police orders, the Canadian government made the ruling that tasers could only be used in life threatening situations. Again Police Officers do not use tasers in life threatening situations. On the news this evening a Police Officer shot a Pit Bull that was attacking him. He didn't use his taser.

The use of water boarding on terrorists was condemned by you, and high ranking members of The Democratic Party, as torture while it was being done on George Bush's watch and water-boarding produces no physical pain and is mild compared to electrocution with 50,000 volts of electricity under the skin. Our troops are sacrificing their lives every day for the avowed purpose of eliminating the use of torture and terror by our enemies while torture and terror is being inflicted on our own Citizens daily by Police Officers, without due process of law. No one is fighting for these tortured, terrorized Citizens. 41 percent of the torture deaths resulting from taser use in 2009 were black men and boys.

Mr. President, an 84 year old Grandmother and 10 year old children have been tortured with a taser by Police. One little 10 year old child was taser tortured in her home by an Arkansas Police officer because she refused to take a shower before bed time. Tear down this wall and end this terrible atrocity. 84 year old Grandmothers should not be made to live in fear and cringe each time they see a Police Officer. Be the President that is remembered in history as the President that ended barbaric torture and terror in the USA. Set the standard for all the world and issue an executive order outlawing the use of torture of any kind and especially electrical torture. Outlaw the possession, manufacture, sale, and/or use of electrical torture devices in the USA by anyone, including Police Officers, our Military and the CIA here and abroad. Return the dignity and respect to this Nation that we once had.

Signed
Kyev Tatum SCLC President
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Texas
sclctarrantcounty@yahoo.com
kyevtatum@yahoo.com

Signed
Hector Carrillo LULAC District Director
League of United Latin American Citizens
hcarrillo29@hotmail.com

Signed
Deryl Muhammad--Representative
Nation of Islam
derylmuhammad@yahoo.com

Signed
Drew X
Chairman New Black Panther Party
drewx2003@yahoo.com

Signed
Tom Franklin
Pastor New Mt. Calvary Baptist Church
The Taser-Torture-Death Memorial Site
frenklinart@aol.com

Signed
Marcus Hardin SCLC Texas
Strategist, Researcher, Historian
mhardin104@aol.com
http://truthnottasers.blogspot.com/

Signed
Friendship Rock Missionary Baptist
A. Scott Harper
asharper35@yahoo.com

Signed
Eddie Griffin (BASG)
eddiegriffin_basg@yahoo.com
http://eddiegriffinbasg.blogspot.com/

Signed
Julie Walker
Prevent Dangerous Harm Inc.
jwalker@preventdangerousharm.com
www.preventdangerousharm.com

Anti-Taser group gathers 1,000 names

April 16, 2010
Columbia Tribune

People for a Taser-Free Columbia have gathered more than 1,000 signatures during the first two weeks of the grass-roots organization’s petition drive.

The group’s goal is to rid Columbia of the threat and use of conducted energy devices by residents and law enforcement officials through a referendum to be placed on the November ballot. Yesterday, volunteer Mary Hussmann said the group has collected an unofficial tally of more than 1,000 signatures since April 1.

The total number of signatures required for the petition will be determined by the official total of voters in the April 6 mayoral election, which has not yet been certified by the Boone County clerk’s office. Volunteers will be required to gather 20 percent of that total, which Hussmann said she estimates will be about 3,700 signatures.

The group is shooting for 4,000 signatures, she said, and hopes the election results will be certified sometime next week. Keep Columbia Safe was required to gather 2,579 signatures to place its downtown camera referendum on the April ballot.

Boone County Clerk Wendy Noren could not be reached for comment.

Oregon Group Gathers Signatures for Taser Restrictions

April 10, 2010
By Stacia Kalinoski, kezi.com

EUGENE, Ore.--Outrage over E-P-D's use of taser guns has spurred one man to try and change the policy.

Randy Prince wants a city ordinance that classifies tasers as deadly weapons. He brought the idea before the public at the Saturday Market, recruiting others to help him gather signatures. He's hoping to find enough names to put the proposal on the November ballot.

Though no one has died from being stunned by EPD, Prince says it has happened elsewhere, and therefore says it makes sense to place it under the same restrictions as a firearm.

He wants to limit taser use to the very serious cases, and says an ordinance will help decrease potential abuse of the weapon by officers.

"We think by carrying this petition that it's not enough to advise the police chief through some city council committees.

We want the principal established that people shouldn't be killed over lesser offenses, and the problem is, is that the taser does kill," he said.

Prince needs more than 12,000 registered Eugene voters in the next three months to get this on the November ballot.

Saturday, he recruited nearly 20 others to help him, and he plans to hit the campus area hard the next few weeks to gather signatures.

Prince said this measure could also regulate civilian use. While not putting a ban on tasers, he said new rules could change how residents use tasers for self defense.

Taser backer persists

April 9, 2010
By Edward Russo, The Register-Guard

Eugene attorney Jeff Salisbury understands why some residents want to curtail police use of Tasers. The electric stun guns are “powerful and painful,” he said.

But Salisbury, who played an influential role in Eugene’s decision to equip the city’s police with Tasers, disagrees with a possible ballot proposal to restrict the weapons’ use by officers.

Proponents are organizing a petition drive to ask Eugene voters to pass an ordinance classifying Tasers as deadly weapons, the same as firearms.

The signature-gathering drive for the petition could start Saturday in downtown. Proponents will need to gather 12,062 signatures of Eugene voters by July 15 to place the proposal on the Nov. 2 ballot.

Since Eugene police began carrying Tasers two years ago, officers frequently have used the stun guns, which have replaced pepper spray as the weapon of choice by officers when confronting resistant people. If successful, the ballot measure could prompt police to curb or even eliminate their Taser use.

Salisbury said the ballot measure doesn’t make sense.

“Tasers are not lethal; they are a non-lethal alternative to deadly force,” he said. The ordinance “would stand truth and logic on its head.”

Salisbury’s role in Eugene’s Taser debate came about through tragic circumstances.

His 19-year old, Ryan, had struggled with bipolar disorder for more than a year and had attempted suicide before the early morning of Nov. 14, 2006, when he suffered a psychotic break and lost control.

Jeff and Denise Salisbury had called police for help while they were barricaded inside a bedroom at their south hills home with their two younger sons and another child.

After police arrived, Ryan Salisbury walked toward officers with a kitchen knife in his hand, ignoring their orders to stop. He wasn’t halted by several hits from beanbag rounds. An officer then shot him five times as his parents watched from a bedroom window.

Afterward, Jeff and Denise Salisbury and others urged the police department to equip officers with Tasers so they would have an alternative to shooting someone in similar life-and-death situations.

The police department agreed. Since 40 officers started carrying them in 2008, the stun guns have been used mostly without controversy to subdue and control people that officers believe could injure other people, officers or themselves.

But two high-profile incidents involving the same officer focused public attention on the weapons and prompted the likely petition drive by south Eugene resident Randy Prince.

The proposed ordinance would allow police to use Tasers only in situations where firearms, or deadly force, would be justified.

A police officer, therefore, could use a Taser when dealing with a mentally troubled person who posed a deadly threat, as Ryan Salisbury did, Prince said.

“A Tasering would have been much more effective and could have been used in that situation, where a team of officers was dispatched to deal with a mentally ill, knife-wielding subject,” he said.

But people have died in other cities after being stunned by Tasers, Prince said, so it’s reasonable to put the weapons under the same deadly force rules as firearms.

Under Eugene Police Department rules, officers use Tasers to get people to comply with officers’ orders, Prince said. That creates the chance for officers to abuse the weapons and use them on people who shouldn’t be shocked, he said.

But Salisbury said the classification of Tasers as deadly weapons would hamstring police.

He’s concerned that police officials would take Tasers away from officers if the weapons had to be operated like firearms, eliminating them as an option.

On the other hand, if police are allowed to keep Tasers but only are permitted to use them in life-and-death situations, officers “may opt for the gun instead of the Taser since both are classified as deadly,” Salisbury said. “So why not use the gun anyway?”

“Having the Taser keep its non-lethal status will make it easier and more clear to the officers that they should try to use it before resorting to their .45 (caliber pistol), a truly lethal weapon,” he said.

Salisbury does, however, favor changing how the city disciplines officers who violate the department’s Taser rules. Under department policy, the police chief decides if an officer has violated the rules, and the chief imposes discipline.

Instead of the petition drive to restrict the use of Tasers, Salisbury said, concerned citizens should ask city officials to institute “clear and well-defined sanctions” for officers who violate Taser guidelines. And instead of the police chief handling discipline, the task should be given to a “quasi-independent authority comprised of police and nonpolice representatives,” Salisbury said.

Protest calls for end to use of Tasers

May 22, 2009
BY STEVE NEAVLING • DETROIT FREE PRESS

More than 100 protesters marched at the 8 Mile border of Detroit and Warren on Thursday, calling for the end of Tasers by police in the wake of the death of a 16-year-old Detroit boy in April.

The protesters, organized by the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, also called for the termination of Warren police officers who chased Robert Mitchell into an abandoned house in Detroit on April 10 after he fled police during a traffic stop.

Police said Mitchell was shot with a stun gun after he refused to stop. He died a short time later. The cause of death has yet to be determined by the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office.

"This isn't just about Robert. We need to save all the children," Mitchell's mother, Cora Mitchell, told those gathered before the marchers moved out.

Robert Mitchell's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Warren in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

"This is about human beings getting together to stop the killing. We have to stop this madness," said protester Sandra Hines, 55, of Detroit.

Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer defended his officers, saying they followed procedure. "The Taser is an acceptable tool throughout this country and has probably saved thousands of lives," Dwyer said Thursday.

London battens down hatches in fear of violent G20 protests

March 31, 2009
JULIA BELLUZ, Special to The Globe and Mail


LONDON -- Turkish visitor Ozlem Bas reserved at The Ritz this week, expecting to luxuriate in one of London's poshest hotels.

Instead, she found the landmark in the British capital's tony Mayfair district turned into a bunker. Nearly all of the hotel's street-level windows and doors have been covered in protective blue panels for fear that the many protests planned for this week's summit of the Group of 20 could turn violent.

"It's not very nice at all," said Ms. Bas, an arts and culture producer in London for five days of business and pleasure. Every time she enters the hotel, staff members ask whether she is a guest, which has left her feeling "like a prostitute."

"No one," she said, "wants to feel like the youngest girl in the house."

Like every other visitor to London this week, Ms. Bas is having to deal with the threat of violence arising from the protests planned for the G20 meeting, and which seem likely to overshadow the summit itself.

Even before a group called Bank Bosses Are Criminals smashed several windows at the mansion of Sir Fred Goodwin, former chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland, and vandalized his Mercedes last week, authorities were warning of an ugly mood at the G20 protests, and financial institutions and businesses around London have been stepping up security.

Brace Yourselves, advised a headline in The Economist. Anarchy Back in the UK, declared the Daily Mirror.

Sir Paul Stephenson, head of London's Metropolitan Police Service, described preparations for the G20 as "probably as big a single operation as the Met has done." Sir Paul has ordered all police leave cancelled for the summit and deployed more than 10,000 officers - many armed with 50,000-volt taser stun guns - in the capital at an estimated cost of $13-million.

The demonstrations intended to bring London to a standstill this week will not overlook such tried-and-true issues as war, globalization and climate change. But with the global economy in recession and many people outraged at executive compensation that is perceived as being overly generous for the times, the main event will target the City, London's financial district, and the business leaders who work there. Anti-capitalist groups, which have mushroomed on the Internet, have proclaimed April 1 "Financial Fools' Day."

"We're a bit concerned that the banks are taking over the government, rather than the governments taking over the banks," said Mark Barrett, 39, an organizer of one such group, G20 Meltdown. The group has planned four parades, each led by one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, set to converge on the imposing porticoed headquarters of the Bank of England tomorrow. On Thursday, the day of the G20 meeting, "a giant Monopoly game" will occupy the space in front of the London Stock Exchange.

"We've got people who've lost their jobs, their homes," Mr. Barrett said. "People who have been fed up with the economic system for decades, people who have been involved in the environmental movement."

Of the concern over the possibility of violence, Mr. Barrett said, "It's a big joke. We're going to be hanging mannequins, not actual bankers."

The Metropolitan Police do not see the humour and have advised London's banks to increase security around their offices tomorrow and Thursday. Banks, including UBS, Citigroup and the Royal Bank of Scotland, told employees in London this week to cancel unnecessary meetings, work from home if possible, and, if they must come to work, to wear something less conspicuous than a pin-striped suit.

Spokespeople for the banks refused to comment on security preparations, and bankers have been instructed not to talk about how they will respond. But a finance worker outside the Bank of England was willing to share his game plan, even if he did decline to be named. "We're not going to wear our Rolexes next week," he said. "And we'll put on our 'Down with capitalism' T-shirts to fit in."

The protests are expected to cause losses worth millions of pounds as protesters block roadways and commuters find themselves unable to reach their offices because of train and Tube cancellations.

So far, though, demonstrations have been more creative than catastrophic.

On Saturday, 35,000 people took to the streets of London for the Put People First march, hailed as a peaceful revolution. Its theme was "jobs, justice and climate" and its vague message to world leaders: "Make the economy work for people and the planet."

More than 100 charities, environmental groups and trade unions - including ActionAid, Oxfam, Greenpeace and the Salvation Army - came together for the colourful, music-filled march though London. Only one arrest was reported.

G20 protesters face police with Tasers

March 29, 2009
David Leppard and Steven Swinford

SCOTLAND YARD is to deploy officers armed with 50,000-volt Taser stun guns to deal with violent demonstrators planning to disrupt this week’s G20 summit in London.

The centrepiece of the security plan will be hundreds of officers from the Metropolitan police territorial support group, who are routinely armed with speedcuffs, extended batons and CS gas spray.

The Met confirmed yesterday that they will be supported by officers equipped with Tasers on stand-by should trouble break out.

“There will be an armed response vehicle element to this operation and [those officers] will be carrying Tasers,” said a spokeswoman.

The Met’s admission that Tasers could be used for the first time in the UK during riots came as protest groups claimed police had contacted them to warn that a day of protest in the City on Wednesday would be “very violent”.

All police leave has been cancelled and 10,500 officers, including reinforcements from other forces, will be deployed in the biggest policing operation undertaken in London.

Demonstrations intended to bring the capital’s financial centre to a standstill on Wednesday and disruption to the G20 summit at the ExCel centre in Docklands on Thursday will provide the first big test for Sir Paul Stephenson, the new Met commissioner. He will be aware that the protests provide an opportunity to show the world that London is up to the security and public order challenges of the 2012 Olympics.

With yesterday’s TUC march, a state visit from the president of Mexico tomorrow and the arrival of 40 delegations including 19 heads of state for the G20 summit on Thursday, the week presents a series of complex operational challenges the like of which the Met has not seen in recent history. The organisers of the protests – an alliance of environmental campaigners, anti-capitalist and religious groups – insist they will be peaceful. However, police fear that anarchist elements are likely to stir up trouble.

Police expect up to 1,500 protesters to converge on the Bank of England on Wednesday. At 12.30pm, other demonstrators are expected to “swoop” on the European Climate Exchange centre in Bishopsgate, where they plan to erect pop-up tents, makeshift toilets and even a bicycle-powered cinema, marking the start of a 24-hour Climate Camp.

WHO’S DEMONSTRATING

London Anarchists: have appealed for people to join in “direct action” similar to that seen at previous anti-globalisation protests

Whitechapel Anarchists: London group which praised the attack on the home of Sir Fred Goodwin, the disgraced bank boss

Class War: veteran anarchists who are encouraging supporters to “burn a banker”

G20 Meltdown: A new organisation which will host a carnival at the Bank of England

Climate Camp: environmentalists behind direct action at Heathrow airport and power stations in North Yorkshire and Kent

Climate Rush: group against airport expansion who have “rushed” parliament

People and Planet: student network campaigning to end world poverty, defend human rights and protect the environment

Stop the War Coalition and CND: anti-war protesters against Iraq and Afghanistan wars

March to ban tasers in Sonoma County

by Carl ( impactpetaluma [at] gmail.com )

As part of a larger campaign to end the use of Tasers, the October 22nd Coalition Against Police Brutality is calling for a press conference and march on Friday, February 13th at 5:30pm in Santa Rosa. Folks will march from Courthouse Square to the Sheriffs Office and demand that they end their use of tasers.

Inspired by the successful vigil and protest on December 26th, and by an outpouring of opposition to violent police practices, civil rights and police accountability groups are uniting with victims of police violence to call on the Sonoma County Sheriffs Department to ban the use of Tasers. To achieve this end we are circulating a petition, as well as literature informing people of the danger of Tasers, and the reality of police brutality in our community. The petition reads: “We, the people of Sonoma County, believe that the Sheriffs Department’s use of the Taser has repeatedly led to the unnecessary pain, suffering and death of our community members. As such, we hereby call for an immediate and outright ban on the Sonoma County Sheriff Department’s use of the weapon.” Furthermore, we are calling for a rally and march for Friday, February 13th at 5:30pm, starting at Courthouse Square and ending at the Sheriffs Department in Santa Rosa.

Contrary to the opinions expressed by the Sheriff and some members of the press, the use of Tasers is NOT an acceptable practice, nor does it do anything to make our communities safer. It is often said that Tasers are a “less-lethal” alternative to more lethal means of police intervention. But is the electric chair really more humane than the firing squad? Does electrocuting an unarmed civilian in to submission, or sometimes to death, improve safety or peace in our society? And is the amount of suffering that accompanies Taser use even justifiable in any circumstance? We don’t believe so. We cannot be fooled in to thinking that giving the police more weapons will create less violence, or that if we remove the Taser from the police arsenal then they will have no other choice but to just kill everyone. We are not interested in finding more efficient, “less-lethal” ways for police to hurt people. We want them to stop hurting people. We want them to be accountable to the community.

This problem goes well beyond a handful of cases of brutality, however. We believe that there is a systematic disregard for the lives of our people, specifically people of color, the immigrant community, people with substance abuse issues, and people with mental health problems (to name a few). It is undeniable that there is an urgent lack of treatment facilities in Sonoma County for those suffering from either mental illness or substance abuse. Roughly 400 people a day are turned away from drug/alcohol abuse treatment in Sonoma County alone. People suffering from these problems inevitably end up on the streets, or in unstable situations, until they reach a crisis point. We feel that the police are not the ones who should be dealing with people in these situations. There must be adequate treatment available to everyone.

There have also been numerous calls for more police oversight in the form of a Civilian Review Board. This would certainly be an improvement from the current practice of inter-department investigations and could lead to more accountability. We support these calls and hope to see a public process established where law enforcement must answer to the community.

Contact Petaluma CopWatch for more info:

707-338-5318

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

Police report concerns citizens

September 2, 2008
KOMU, Columbia, Missouri

COLUMBIA - A small group of community activists complained Tuesday about police policy regarding tasers. Several members of the Grass Roots Organizing (GRO) complained how the Columbia police failed to address taser concerns in last months report. One complaint is about loose and subjective regulations. The group also says the report does not include public input for taser rules.

The members of GRO collected more than 500 signatures to present to the city council. The petition demands police create a task force to study taser use, and to delay the training or arming of police officers, until the task force completes its study and the city council votes on it.

"There should be imminent danger before this powerful weapon is used," GRO member Renee Kientz said.

Residents say the public needs more information and knowledge on tasers.

The police department did not return phone calls regarding the issue. The GRO members will be at the city council meeting Tuesday night.

Third police taser incident in three weeks prompts demands from human rights groups

What: Stop Police Taser Abuse Press Conference

When: Today/Tues. September 2, 2008 @ 5pm

Where: Outside of the Office of Allegheny County DA Stephen Zappala

303 County Courthouse
436 Grant St.,
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Who: Various Human Rights Groups

A group of organizations that came together following the death of Andre Thomas to support his family and the residents of Swissvale in their quest for truth and justice are again joining forces in response to the questionable Tasering of Jason Schmidt on August 22nd and the announcement that same day that North Braddock Borough had settled for $100,000 the suit brought by Shawn Hicks, who last year was Tasered three times by police who came into his house unannounced while he was asleep on his couch. In his suit, Hicks said police, who claimed they thought he was a burglar, continued to Taser him even after he offered to show them his ID.

The groups plan a press conference and march beginning at noon Tuesday, September 2, outside the office of District Attorney Stephen Zappala at the County Courthouse in downtown Pittsburgh.

"The concerns we expressed after Andre Thomas died have not been fully addressed," said Black and White Reunion spokesperson Celeste Taylor. "Now another young man has been Tasered under questionable circumstances. We applaud District Attorney Stephen Zappala and Medical Examiner Karl Williams for convening a committee to examine the physical effects of Tasers, but that is not enough. All police officers involved in both the Thomas and Schmidt tragedies should be removed from their duties pending the outcome of an independent investigation. One young man is dead and another is hospitalized in a coma. Their families and the residents of these communities deserve to know why, based on facts."

Added David Meieran, of Stop Taser Abuse Today (STAT!), "Nationwide, more than 360 people have died after being Tasered. The U.N. Committee Against Torture has declared that Tasers are in violation of the U.N. Convention Against Torture, and Amnesty International has called for a moratorium on their use. Rather than continue business as usual, we demand a moratorium on the use of Tasers until it can be demonstrated that their medical implications are sufficiently understood and that police have acceptable use-of-force policies in place. Taser International boasts that their product is 'safer than Tylenol.' Well, the same burden of proof should apply in the case of Tasers that does with Tylenol."

The Black and White Reunion and its partnering organizations reiterate the demands in their August 25th letter to law enforcement officials and are now adding additional concerns that should be taken up by the newly formed committee:

1. The newly formed Allegheny County committee of law enforcement and medical professionals must have access to the factual information about Taser and use-of-force policies in EACH police department in Allegheny County. We ask that the District Attorney compile this information and make it available to the public immediately.

2. In light of the Andre Thomas and Jason Schmidt cases, the committee should examine, in addition to the physical effects of Tasers, the existing police policies, procedures, and training in their use, and recommend changes to safeguard the public against their misuse. All members of the newly formed committee should review the reports about Taser/use-of-force policies from Amnesty International, which has called for a moratorium on Taser use.

3. In order to increase public support and expand its knowledge base, the committee should invite residents and activists, and representatives of the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University law schools to participate. At minimum, the committee should make a complete and public report of its findings.

4. Because in two recent cases there were indications that the victim might have been mentally ill and/or experiencing a reaction to prescribed or illegal drugs, the committee must include mental health and law enforcement professionals with expertise in appropriate responses to individuals in these types of distress. We believe that there are better, more humane ways to manage these situations than to risk killing or disabling the victim with Tasers, and we believe police policies, procedures, and training should reflect best practices.

5. There should be a countywide moratorium on the use of Tasers until the committee has completed its study and released its findings. If it is determined that it is possible to use Tasers safely, the moratorium should continue until appropriate public policies, procedures, and training are in place. If it is determined that it is NOT possible to assure safe use of Tasers regardless of policies, procedures, and training, their use should be discontinued entirely.

We join with the families in demanding forthright, honorable, and compassionate responses to the death of Mr. Thomas, the disability of Mr. Schmidt, and the countless injuries and deaths that have resulted from improper use of Tasers.

We ask again that the appropriate law enforcement and criminal justice authorities report publicly what actions they intend to take to address these issues.

The Black and White Reunion
and the
Black Political Empowerment Project (B-PEP)

Billy Jackson
NAACP Pittsburgh Branch

Paradise Gray, One HOOD

Stop Taser Abuse Today! (STAT!)

Contacts: Celeste Taylor: 412-670-0937
David Meieran: 412-216-9821

Paradise Gray
One Hood
Http://www.1hood.org
Http://www.myspace.com/paradisegray

Group protests use of tasers following death

September 2, 2008

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Upset over the death of a Swissvale man whom police used a taser on, one community group is taking its complaints to the streets today. The group "Black & White Reunion" is angry about the death of Andre Thomas.

Thomas, 37, died at UPMC Braddock Hospital last month -- not long after a Swissvale policeman used a taser gun on him, because he was allegedly acting erratically and screaming.

The community group plans to hold a news conference and march outside the Allegheny County Courthouse at noon today. Black & White Reunion officials are calling for further investigation into the physical effects of tasers and better training for police officers.

New Zealand: taser decision unprincipled and dangerous

Friday, 29 August 2008
Press Release: Campaign Against the Taser

Campaign Against the Taser (CATT) has expressed deep concern about the Police Commissioner's decision to introduce Tasers, describing it as unprincipled and dangerous. "Our analysis of the preliminary information about the trial initially released by the police indicated that more than 40% of incidents between just September 2006 and March 2007 were in breach of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) drawn up to regulate Taser use during the trial period", spokesperson Marie Dyhrberg said today.

"The Police Commissioner's decision has been made despite repeated calls for delay until the public had had the opportunity to view and comment on all relevant information about the trial, not just the summaries released by Police, which the Chief Ombudsman called "sanitised". Despite the Chief Ombudsman's recommendation in May that wrongly withheld information be released to CATT, the police have still not provided information covering the full year of the trial."

In CATT's report, Stun guns in Aotearoa New Zealand? The shocking trial, serious concerns were raised about inappropriate and dangerous use of Tasers during the trial, such as use of the weapons in service stations, on individuals in mental health crisis, on people whose behaviour was not assaultive, and the disproportionate number of Maori and Pacific people targeted with Tasers. In addition, it highlighted the increasing controversy over the use of Tasers overseas as the death toll among those struck by police Tasers continues to rise, and the United Nations Committee Against Torture's description of the use of TaserX26 weapons as constituting a form of torture which could in certain cases cause death.

"There has been no public discussion of these concerns, and without the complete set of information about the New Zealand trial, it has not even been possible for the public to properly assess the trial. The trial has been run by Police, assessed by Police, and now the decision has been made by Police, with no transparency or openness in the process", Dyhrberg said. "Transparency is especially important in a trial, which is supposed to provide an opportunity for reflection and considered debate - this trial has had neither."

"The Police Commissioner said that the debate in the House on Wednesday did not raise any new issues. That is no wonder - how can the matter be properly debated when most of the relevant information is kept secret? A decision such as this, which will change the face of policing in New Zealand, should be subject to a rigorous democratic process and public scrutiny. The decision is both unprincipled and dangerous, and the lack of process and transparency around it is unacceptable in a modern democracy."

It is inevitable that at some point there will be serious injuries or deaths related to Taser use, and that the introduction of the Taser will needlessly increase the violence of policing in New Zealand. CATT remains concerned about the lack of thorough and independent investigations into Taser use and its effects. The Campaign is also concerned that Tasers will be used as a tool of routine force, not of last resort, and that vulnerable groups (such as those with mental health issues) will again be inappropriately subjected to electric shocks.

Drummond was tasered several times: witness

Come on people - if the RCMP officer says that William Drummond was only tasered once, then it *must* be true! If the RCMP "file itself" has no indication that there was more than one Taser being used, then it *must* be true! RCMP files are never wrong, are they??

Note to William Drummond: Be VERY skeptical of the RCMP's statement that the "electronic record" of the device shows that the taser was deployed only once that day. It has been proven time and again (my brother's case is a classic example) that the electronic record or data download feature cannot be relied upon for any degree of accuracy.

RCMP played that card early in the Dziekanski incident as well (before witnesses and a video came forward with a much different story).

July 30, 2008
ROBYN YOUNG, METRO HALIFAX

William Drummond was allegedly hit with a Taser several more times by a plain-clothes police officer after being tasered once by an RCMP officer Jun. 22.

Rev. Michael Alden Fells of Digby told reporters outside the Halifax Regional Police station yesterday that a witness to the Jun. 22 altercation reported the additional Tasering. “He actually witnessed one of the officers Taser William Drummond three or four times,” Fells said. “He asked him to stop because he thought he was going to kill him.”

Fells says the witness, a young white man named Chad Tid, was reluctant to come forward with this information, but finally filed a statement with Digby RCMP on Monday night. Tid was not at home yesterday but a family member said “he made his statement to police” and he’s not going to answer any more questions about what he saw that night.

Drummond, who was at the protest yesterday said he doesn’t know if he was hit with more than one Taser, but he knows he was shocked three or four times. “I felt two more zaps and then when I was on the ground I felt another one,” he said. Police have confirmed Drummond was Tasered once by an RCMP officer.

Sgt. Mark Gallagher with the RCMP said Drummond was only struck once with a Taser. “The file itself does not have any indications that there was more than one Taser that was being used,” Gallagher said.

New Zealand: Chief Ombudsman says the police have wrongly withheld information from the public about a trial of taser stun guns

The Chief Ombudsman says the police have wrongly withheld information from the public about a trial of taser stun guns.

A group opposed to the police use of the weapon, Campaign Against the Taser, laid a complaint with the Ombudsman following last year's trial. It says a large amount of factual information was kept from the public by police on the grounds that it personally identified those involved.

However, a spokesperson for the group, Marie Dyhrberg, says the information has been requested to assess the trial, including the extent to which police followed their own guidelines. Ms Dyhrberg says the Chief Ombudsman recognises the information should be made available, because there is a very strong public interest in the transparency of the scheme, and whether or not tasers ought to be introduced.

In a letter to the group, the Chief Ombudsman Beverley Wakem upheld their complaint, stating the original police summaries of the trial are extremely brief and sanatised.

She is recommending the police release the information.

JUNE 7, 2008 - UPDATE

WHY DOES THIS ALL SOUND SO FAMILIAR?!?! Oh I remember now - the RCMP here in Canada pulled the same crap.

Police to publish more details on Taser use

The Police say they will follow the Chief Ombudsman's recommendation to release information excluded from the year long Taser trial. The Chief Ombudsman has criticised police for "sanitising" incident reports by withholding information.

Taser opponents say the police's climb-down is too little too late.

The 12- month test of the 50,000-volt Taser stun gun ended last August. Police records show during that time, Tasers were drawn on 128 occasions and discharged 20 times.

Summaries of every incident involving a Taser are posted on the Police website, but in her report the Chief Ombudsman Beverley Wakem says: "Many of the summaries are extremely brief, and have the overall effect of sanitising the original reports."

Green Party police spokesman Keith Locke says this amounts to police secrecy. "I think the police started out this trial with the impression that we definitely need the Taser, and we don't really need to justify ourselves too much. "The Ombudsman pulled the Police up and says 'you've got to give a full account to the public'."

Mr Locke points to a number of incidents where people were shot with the Taser because they failed to cooperate with police. "The Taser is only supposed to be used according to police specifications in really dangerous situations, not where someone jiggling around and being a bit slow to allow the hand cuffs on," he says.

"What information has been published by the police is scant, it is misleading and it is very, very brief in terms of the actual incidents themselves and what the public ought to be shown and consider if they're going to be part of a decision whether to arm the police again," says Marie Dyhrberg of the Campaign Against The Taser group.

But Police deny the brevity of the incident reports had anything to do with a lack of transparency, although there was not much transparency today. No one from Police national headquarters was available for comment, but in a statement Police said they believe strongly in free and frank reporting of all incidents. They also said they will now be releasing all Taser-related information to the public.