cappie Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 A teenager who carried a Bible and shouted "I want Jesus" has died in a St Louis hospital after being shot twice with a police stun gun, authorities said today. The growing use of stun guns by US law enforcement agencies has raised concerns among human rights groups. In a report released in March, the organisation Amnesty International said it had logged at least 156 deaths across the US in the previous five years related to police stun guns. In a statement today, police in Jerseyville, about 65 kilometres north of St Louis, said 17-year-old Roger Holyfield would not acknowledge officers who approached him and he continued yelling "I want Jesus". Police tried to calm the teen, but Holyfield became combative, according to the statement. Officers fired the stun gun at him after he ignored their warnings, then fired again when he continued struggling, police said. Holyfield was flown to St Louis's Cardinal Glennon Hospital after the confrontation on Saturday; he died there on Sunday, police said. An autopsy was planned for today. The statement expressed sympathy to Holyfield's family but said city and police officials would not discuss the matter further. Calls today to the Jerseyville Police Chief, Brad Blackorby, were not immediately returned. The department has been using stun guns for about five months, according to the statement. The rise in stun gun-related deaths accompanies a marked increase in the number of US law enforcement agencies using devices made by Taser International of Scottsdale, Arizona. About 1000 of the nation's 18,000 police agencies used Tasers in 2001; more than 7000 departments had them last year, according to a government study. Police had used Tasers more than 70,000 times as of last year, Congress's Government Accountability Office said. Amnesty International has urged police departments to suspend the use of Tasers pending more study. Taser International said the group's count was flawed and falsely linked deaths to Taser use when there has been no such official conclusion. AP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatholicCid Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Why wouldn't they just force him too the ground? What would he do, swing with the bible? Why were they even after him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ardillacid Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Don't mess around with the cops. Easiest way about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatholicCid Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Just as the cops shouldn't mess around with stun guns... If only the article talked a little bit more about why the cops came or what the charges would be for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KizlarAgha Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Well, the issue here is that cops are trained that their stun guns are non-lethal. Under normal circumstances, they are. But in rare cases they aren't. So, the police are far more likely to pull out pepper spray or a stun gun than a firearm in order to subdue a suspect. Imagine the death rate if people could be killed by pepper spray in this country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ardillacid Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Well if you become combative with the cops you should expect to get your butt kicked. Its unfortunate that he died, but c'mon. If you want to pick a fight pick someone who doesn't carry lethal weapons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest T-Bone Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 [quote name='CatholicCid' post='1107256' date='Oct 31 2006, 11:56 PM'] Just as the cops shouldn't mess around with stun guns... [/quote] Yeah, since leathal force is soooooo much better. [quote] If only the article talked a little bit more about why the cops came or what the charges would be for. [/quote] Law enforcement was on the scene most likely because there was an agitated individual. Just because the "cops" approach someone who appears to be agitated doesn't mean there are any charges. The youth appeared agitated. The law enforcement officers tried to calm the youth and assess the situation. In theses situations, the individual usually ceases and desists. If they do not, and the officers determine that they represent a danger to themselvs or to the public, no arrest is made, but the individual is taken into custody for a civil hearing. What happened is a tragedy, yes. But from the information provided, only a moron would try to fault the officers involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suuran Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 I'll echo what others have said. This is tragic, but kids need to learn that, when a cop tells you to do something, you do it. A cop's job is to stay in absolute control of a situation, and once he gets into a hand-to-hand fight with you, he risks losing control. Some kids are bigger and heavier than your middle-aged cop. Cops aren't there to give you a fair fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Knight Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Pepperball guns are a much better less than lethal weapon, however they are generally used for crowd/riot control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatholicCid Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 (edited) [quote name='T-Bone' post='1107279' date='Nov 1 2006, 05:05 AM'] Yeah, since leathal force is soooooo much better. Law enforcement was on the scene most likely because there was an agitated individual. Just because the "cops" approach someone who appears to be agitated doesn't mean there are any charges. The youth appeared agitated. The law enforcement officers tried to calm the youth and assess the situation. In theses situations, the individual usually ceases and desists. If they do not, and the officers determine that they represent a danger to themselvs or to the public, no arrest is made, but the individual is taken into custody for a civil hearing. What happened is a tragedy, yes. But from the information provided, only a moron would try to fault the officers involved. [/quote] 'Of course, i meant lethal force when I said they shouldn't mess around with stun guns...' I just see why two stun guns would be necessary in this situation... Hence why I wish there was more detail Edited November 1, 2006 by CatholicCid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest T-Bone Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 If the subject doesn't submit after one shot with the Tazer, what should law enforcement do? Just let a potentially dangerous individual "do thier thing"? A Tazer is not considered leathal force. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatholicCid Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 (edited) Yes, a stun gun is not lethal force... I just wish it explained more about the situation and why it was necessary to even tazer him once. And from the situation with so few details, I don't think it would be fair to call him a "potentially dangerous individual" Edited November 1, 2006 by CatholicCid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catholicinsd Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Those cops should not longer be cops. They took the life an innocent young man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suuran Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 (edited) Did you read my post? The young man wasn't quite innocent. He was resisting society's law-enforcement authorities...and all authority does come from God. It's not a good thing that he was killed, but Tazer-related deaths are rare enough that I think they can safely be considered "non-lethal force". Cops [i]stay in control[/i]. They do not allow the people being dealt with to take control of a situation. That's why we pay them. Edited November 1, 2006 by Jalazar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catholicinsd Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 [quote name='Jalazar' post='1107614' date='Nov 1 2006, 02:46 PM'] Did you read my post? The young man wasn't quite innocent. He was resisting society's law-enforcement authorities...and all authority does come from God. It's not a good thing that he was killed, but Tazer-related deaths are rare enough that I think they can safely be considered "non-lethal force". Cops [i]stay in control[/i]. They do not allow the people being dealt with to take control of a situation. That's why we pay them. [/quote] Other than shouting "I want Jesus" what was the young man doing wrong? And was he handicapped at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts