When are black organizations like the NAACP and others going to deal with the real issues impacting our communities. take for an example the case of the Police Officer in Charlotte, N.C. who gets a 5 day suspension for sentencing and carrying out "on the spot death by electrocution" of 17 year old black teen. The Black teen was tased 37 seconds! No national black leadership organization see anything wrong with the on-going killings of blacks by rogue cops. Is the NAACP tracking and speaking out on these issues? Read more about the story below:
Yes, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer involved in a deadly "on the spot death by electrocution" of a teenager will not lose his job, but he will be suspended for five days.
As reported by WNCN Darryl Turner died in March after the officer Tased him seven-times longer than recommended. Surveillance video from the Food Lion where Turner worked shows his last moments alive.
It shows a confrontation with a supervisor, and then Officer Jerry Dawson arrives and fires his Taser at the 17-year-old, striking Turner in the sternum.
Tasered While Black publisher says "There is growing evidence that a number of blacks in America are receiving 'high tech judge and jury on-site electrocution' by police around the country. Not only should the justice department investigate these crimes against humanity in the streets of America, we a nation must stand up and demand the end of these actions by police who seem to be ill-trained to use this weapon of next to last resort."
As reported by station kare11.com
Charlotte, North Carolina police officer is on a five-day suspension after using a Taser on a teen for too long. Darryl Turner died in March after the officer Tased him for 37 seconds, more than seven-times longer than recommended by the manufacturer of the stun gun.
Surveillance video from the Food Lion grocery store where Turner worked showed his last moments alive.
It shows a confrontation with a supervisor, and then Officer Jerry Dawson arriving and firing his Taser at the 17-year-old, striking Turner in the sternum.
"The initial use of the Taser is not in question," said Deputy Chief Ken Miller of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
For 37 seconds, Dawson continued to stun the teen.
An autopsy revealed Turner died of a heart attack.
"I wouldn't want to be Tased for 37 seconds," said Dr. Joe Kuhns with the University of North Carolina at Charlotte's Department of Criminal Justice. "I can assure you of that. It's a lengthy period of time."
Kuhns said he supports the use of Tasers.
"For the most part, their use has been effective," he said. "It's reduced officer injuries. It's reduced suspect injuries."
But a report by the National Institute of Justice study says that since 1987, there have been 300 deaths from so-called "CEDs" or conducted energy devices.
"Many are associated with continuous or repeated discharge of the CED," the report states.
"Typically, people are incapacitated with a Taser in under 10 seconds," Kuhns said.
According to the NIJ report, "There may be circumstances in which repeated or continuous exposure is required, but law enforcement should be aware that the associated risks are unknown. Therefore, caution is urged in using multiple activations of CED as a means to accomplish subdual."
Turner's family believes he didn't have to die.
"The officer was not confronted with circumstances that required the use of that type of force," said Ken Harris, an attorney for Turner's family.
Amnesty International is tracking taser abuse as a human rights abuse issue in the United States. Since June 2001, more than 320 individuals in the United States have died after being shocked by police TASERs. Most of those individuals were not carrying a weapon. Amnesty International is concerned that TASERs are being used as tools of routine force -- rather than as an alternative to firearms.
