Ypsilanti High School student who was Tasered faces felony charge
An Ypsilanti High School junior who was Tasered in March has been charged with resisting a Washtenaw County sheriff's deputy at the school.
Delonte Price, 17, is charged with assaulting, resisting or obstructing a police officer, Washtenaw County Court records show.
If convicted of the felony offense, he faces up to two years in prison.
Deputy John Campbell shot Price in the chest with a Taser after Price resisted arrest and pushed the school's principal, according to the incident report obtained by AnnArbor.com under the Freedom of Information Act.
Campbell wrote in his report that he intervened at 1:40 p.m. March 19 after hearing someone outside his office yelling obscenities and threatening to beat someone up. His office is across from the school's main office.
Campbell walked into the hallway and saw Price, "who was visibly upset, drop his bookbag" and continue to "yell obscenities to an unidentified student," the report said. According to the report, Price began walking toward some students and had a "visibly aggressive posture."
Price’s mother, 37-year-old Zakiya Price, said her son was arguing with the students because he was standing up for his younger brother, who also attends the school.
Delonte Price twice refused orders to go into Campbell's office, the report said. Campbell grabbed Price’s right arm in an attempt to take him into custody for disorderly conduct, the report said.
According to the report, that's when Price turned and hit Campbell’s arm, grabbing the front of Campbell’s uniform with both hands.
When Principal Jon Brown approached, Price pushed him away with his left hand in the "chin and neck area," the report said. Campbell grabbed onto Price’s arms, the report said, but Price continued to "push and pull away."
“I deployed the Taser to chest area…as I have been trained to do,” the report said. "(Price) turned and fell to the ground. Once he fell to the ground, I immediately turned the Taser off."
Zakiya Price denies allegations that her son pushed Brown or hit Campbell's arm. For a deputy to shoot her son with a Taser was "uncalled for," she said.
Delonte Price had no "visible injuries, and did not complain about being injured," the report said. Campbell handcuffed Price and called dispatch. Another deputy was sent to the school to take Price to jail.
Price remains suspended from school, but is receiving home-based educational services provided by the district, Ypsilanti Public Schools spokeswoman Emma Jackson said.
Zakiya Price took her son to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital to be evaluated three days after the incident when he complained of chest pain, numbness to his fingers and shortness of breath, she said.
According to the report, the probes of the Taser X26 didn't penetrate the student's skin, but lodged in the back of his T-shirt.
"He felt the jolts," she said. "I honestly think it was excessive force. If he had some sort of weapon or something, I could understand it. He had nothing. His hands were empty."
Sheriff Jerry Clayton said the internal investigation continues, but there’s no indication Campbell acted inappropriately.
“In my cursory review, I didn’t see any violation of our policies or procedures as it relates to subject control,” he said.
Campbell is no longer the school resource officer at Ypsilanti High School because he was rotated to a position as a patrol officer, Clayton said. That rotation was planned prior to the incident, Clayton said.
Clayton said no other cases of deputies Tasering students have occurred at schools during his more than 16 months as sheriff.
School surveillance cameras did not capture the incident. Delonte Price is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. June 14 at 14B District Court in Ypsilanti Township.
He was released from jail about 12 hours after his arrest, his mother said. She believes the deputy had other options.
"You mean to tell me you can't tackle him and wrestle him to the ground?" she said.
Lee Higgins covers crime and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at (734) 623-2527 and email at leehiggins@annarbor.com.
Comments
walker101
Sun, Aug 22, 2010 : 6:15 a.m.
Delonte Price twice refused orders to go into Campbell's office, according to the report, that's when Price turned and hit Campbells arm, grabbing the front of Campbells uniform with both hands. That's good enough for me to taser someone, this kid has no respect for authority and is out of control.
worriedaboutYpsiyouth
Sun, May 23, 2010 : 9:57 a.m.
There are so many more issue here beyond the Taser. Do you know this young man's criminal history? His affiliation with a gang? How many local pastors/ministers and retired or un-employed men are volunteering at the high school to help mentor young men like De'Lonte? Obviously, his mother raised him the best she knew how. Can she really be faulted for doing all she knew how to do? Who steps in when mom's best isn't good enough? It can not be the schools alone. Where is the community? Who will be there for his trial? Mom with the bad values or some help from the community? How come it is only our business when it reaches the news? Just questions...
ironyinthesky2
Sat, May 22, 2010 : 8:47 a.m.
Jeralyn and others who think the young man shouldn't have been tasered: What, exactly, should have happened? Hopefully you can come up with something better than tackling and taking down... Please - enlighten me.
Jeralynn
Fri, May 21, 2010 : 4:05 p.m.
Aside from the fact that this kid was obviously upset, and was wrong, I do think that he shouldn't have been tased. It's not like he was coming at them with a weapon. Too all of those that think "bad parenting" may have come into "play": how do you know what this young man was taught? I know plenty of young people that were taught to respect authority, and still had some issues respecting authority. At the age of 17, he is responsible for any and all of his actions! Don't blame the mother for something that the young man could've handled on his ownn, without being aggressive.
Shitari123
Fri, May 21, 2010 : 3:31 a.m.
Good Job, Zakiya! Way to raise your kid the right way!
Anonymous Due to Bigotry
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 11:50 p.m.
I don't really understand the worship of and blind faith in Amnesty International. While they have a good mission statement, they seem to have shown some incredibly bad judgment when it comes to fulfilling it. They aren't a scientifically rigorous organization and have no reputation as such. I don't understand the point of the videos. The argument here is not that force can't be misused by the police. The argument is that TASERs aren't particularly dangerous and in fact are less dangerous than things like choke holds, wrestling with suspects, etc., when one of these research-approved methods is justified and necessary. The other thing that I think the reporter was a bit negligent on with this story is the failure to mention how large Delonte Price is. Some people seem sure that he's some skinny 120 lb. kid or something but somehow I doubt that's the case. Just because someone is 17 doesn't mean they're some little guy.
Matt Cooper
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 10:38 p.m.
Inspector: According to the article, which quotes the deputy's report, he stated: I deployed the Taser to chest areaas I have been trained to do, the report said. "(Price) turned and fell to the ground. Once he fell to the ground, I immediately turned the Taser off." Mitch: So you'd rather the deputy grab the defendant and engage him in physical combat and risk getting himself injured, maimed or even killed? And why would he be silly enough to do that? Why in the world would anyone be stupid enough to even suggest it? That cop has no idea what weapons the defendant has/had on him, nor does he have anyone there to back him up other than a school principle who I'm sure is untrained in the ways of physical managemnt of criminals. Pardon me for saying so, but your position on this is based on: 1. Uninformed opinion, 2. Misleading "facts", and 3. Amnesty International stastistics which are questionable at best.
Inspector 57
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 9:46 p.m.
"He was shot in the back which means he was going away from the officer not coming toward him or threatening him at the time he was shot." That doesn't necessarily follow. If someone tackles you face-to-face and is using his body to press you up against a wall, are you going to have a cleaner shot at his back or at his chest?
bunnyabbot
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 8:51 p.m.
as far as we can tell from the story is the kid was out of control and acting irrationally, even the mom leads you to believe that if she would have been ok with her son being taken down to the floor, it's admitting her son needed to be restrained (out of control). School officials and the liason officer are there to help keep the enviorment safe for learning etc. police officers are required to have repeated training using tasers. I am also sure that the deputy understands full well in what situation to use physical force or the taser. Delonte Price probably have gotten hurt had he been physically restrained (and the officer and perhaps someone else) as for 3 days later his shortness of breath could have been from having an anxiety attack. I'm sure he was still upset/embarrassed/worried about the whole thing. additionally as someone that went throught PiHi I saw several instances of kids out of control, one kid threw a chair against a blackboard cracking it and flipped a table that 8 kids were sitting at all within a few seconds. a principle out in the hall heard screaming came in and had to restrain the kid with a short scary struggle (we were afraid the kid would get loose) I also remember in 5th grade a very strong boy who would pick fights with everyone, his mom would drop him off at school and he would cuss her out, slam the car door and pretty much was like that all day long, everyday for months, are teacher even told the class if he acted like that that it would be ok "for all the boys to get him to the ground and someone run to get me or the principle or the maintenance man" she literally said that. Then one day he picked a fight with a girl (me) who than was getting the best of it and he picked up a chair and brought it over his head to swing down on me (which would have split my head open) before two boys jumped out of their seats and pinned him to the floor, the teacher returned ran to get another teacher and the two teachers and the principle carried him out screaming, cussing, spitting and kicking. (the really needed a straight jacket and this kid was only 11) Needless to say we never saw him again, but for 6 months we had that rage of his just waiting to explode at any moment, which wasn't fair to the rest of us. but for a 17 year old, I say tase him
Matt Cooper
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 8:43 p.m.
Bottom line: Had this kid done as he was asked to do (this includes multiple requests by the deputy to go into his office, as well as other requests by the principle to go into his office, none of these requests being innappropriate to the situation) he never would have gotten tased. He made a CHOICE to disregard the spoken orders of at least two persons in authority. He made a conscious CHOICE to put his hands on the principle. He made a conscious CHOICE to grab the arms of the deputy (which is assault on a police officer, a felony in Michigan (2002 PA 262). He made a CHOICE to resist arrest. He made a CHOICE to refuse to control his own behavior. None of this is the fault of the deputy.
trespass
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 8:34 p.m.
mg0blue Attempted resisting/obstructing is a misdemeanor and is more appropriate for these facts.
Matt Cooper
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 8:14 p.m.
Mitch: I'm wondering if you've ever been through any kind of law enforcement training? Or ever tried to subdue another person? Ever studied what 'excessive force' really means? Ever even heard of the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, which states: Article 3 Law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty. Commentary : ( a ) This provision emphasizes that the use of force by law enforcement officials should be exceptional; while it implies that law enforcement officials may be authorized to use force as is reasonably necessary under the circumstances for the prevention of crime or in effecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of offenders or suspected offenders, no force going beyond that may be used. Most state, city and local police departments use this exact wording, or at a minimum wording that closely mirrors that of Article 3 in their own department policies. This deputy used the minimum force necessary to effect the arrest of this defendant. And contrary to what you or the defendants mother might think, the deputy was under no obligation whatsoever to engage this defendant in physical combat. The police are not there to engage in street fighting. They are there to protect and serve. And there is nothing in the rule book that says they are to EVER, under ANY circumstance, place their own physical safety and well being in danger by choosing to do battle with a criminal suspect instead of using the next level of restraint.
jjc155
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 7:59 p.m.
@mitch said"Clearly someone felt the officer acted inappropriately" again you are commenting on the actions of an officer instead of what your original arguement was, which was tasers kill people. That incident could have included spray, baton, hands on, handgun and regardless it was the officers actions not the taser that had anything to do with it. So which is it, Tasers kill many people or some cops are bad? Right or wrong on the officers part the suspect undoubtly sustained less injury than with any other "tool" that the officer could have used. Was Taser International sued as part of this (if not it would sure seem that no one involved, read the suspect, had any problem with the taser itself). Was the officer dropped from the suit when it was settled (as is common with settlements, it stays in the agency's name, by settlement I read that as a out of court settlement vs a jury award? $40k is very little for a excessive force settlement, they average roughly 100k, just saying. was the officer fired for violating policy and/or statue? did his actions violate policy or statue? I know of agencies that put tasers right above verbal direction in their force continum, fyi. As for the preganant women, she did not look nor tell them that she was preganant. Cops are not the amazing kresgan, lol, but that is neather here nor there as I have an issue with the fact that the officer delivered a drive stun to the side of her neck, which is considered deadly force and he was clearly not justified in doing that, but AGAIN what does that have to do with the taser? he could have punched her in the side of the neck and it still would have been deadly force (thats right, closed hand strikes to the side of the neck are deadly force!open hand are not btw) and the level of her resistence clearly did not rise to the level of deadly force, but that is NOT a taser issue, is it? That officer was wrong in his actions at the point at which he deployed the drive stun to the neck. everything up to that depends on his dept policy and state statues. I guess a simple way of explaining your rational is that cars should be banned because thousands are killed yearly due to neglience (their own or someone elses) and accidents. good night all.
ypsiman
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 7:52 p.m.
Mitch what would you have done? hugs and kisses and love would not stop him,The tazer was the right weapon of choice. ITs people like you who cry foul everytime. My kids go's to that school the kid is huge,How would you stop him? Just answer the question?
AnneB
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 7:20 p.m.
Mitch, to me this sounds like it might have been a situation where the officer might have had to use his gun if he did not have a taser. It is difficult to tell from the story how roughly the officer was grabbed or how large the young man is. What if he had tried to grab for the officer's gun or if the officer's gun was knocked loose? As for 'standing up for his brother', I just read about boy who was 'standing up for his [deceased] brother and nearly killed another student!
mg0blue
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 6:15 p.m.
@trespass - They did not "overcharge" the suspect to get a plea, they appropriately charged him with the crime that he committed: Resisting and Obstructing, which is a felony. http://www.legislature.mi.gov/%28S%281i1dsm55j4xdppqnwoptn5vv%29%29/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-750-479 Look at the key word...."obstruct" I don't even see why this debate needs to be had. The guy committed a crime, did not follow officers orders, got tased, got arrested. Nobody was injured, including the officer, and life goes on. Remember when you're saying that this cop should have just fought with him that he is not superhuman. He is an average person, and has the exact same risk of getting hurt as anyone else when getting into a fight.
trespass
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 5:57 p.m.
Did anyone notice that the police officer said that he deployed the taser to the chest but that the darts were found in the back of the T-shirt (A pretty significant discrepancy when you are charging the student with assault). He was shot in the back which means he was going away from the officer not coming toward him or threatening him at the time he was shot. A taser should be used to protect an officer not to capture a fleeing suspect. They knew who the student was so they could have taken him into custody later if he fled. I think there is something like a 1 in 100 chance of severe injury or death when an individual is tasered (injuries from falls or cardiac arrhythmias) A felony charge is used only to blackmail the suspect into taking a plea on a lesser charge. The Prosecuter should make the appropriate charge and not get lazy by overcharging the student.
jjc155
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 5:53 p.m.
@ mitch said "As you will see, the officer had no reason to tase the man, but still decided to." What exactly does the independant actions of a police officer have to do with the tool that he used? The Taser is an inadamint object that can not think or act on its own and is only put into motion with human interaction. I have seen the video that you mention and it can be viewed either way. While I do feel that the officer was rather quick to deploy the taser it was also clear (to me atleast) that he was about to arrest the subject for disorderly conduct, ordered the subjects hands behind his back and when the subject clearly was not going to comply he tasered him, which may be fully within his dept policy and state statue I might add (do you know if his actions were or not). Did the suspect die? recieve any more injuries other than some scrape? Realize that the officer was by himself and appears to be out in the middle of nowhere (ie backup not around the corner)and the suspect vehicle was occupied by atleast one other person. Devils advocate can play both ways, LOL. I was expecting a much better attempt mitch, but I think our convo is getting off track here. Sooooo....again I commend Dep Campbell for handling his situation with the tools he was give and commend him for his restraint in not letting emmotion or adrenaline get the best of him.
scooter dog
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 5:44 p.m.
He'll get probation,Thats what Melinda Morris gave some guy who shot his son so this is minior compared to attempted murder. Might get 15 days or less also in jail.
Anonymous Due to Bigotry
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 5:41 p.m.
@Mich: If AI isn't a "hack group" then post a link to the detailed research paper that they've written describing their criteria and methodology for the study that they used to come up with that ridiculous number. I'm afraid I don't buy the appeal to AI's authority fallacy. I want to see the study and I'm also curious as to how many criminologists are employed by AI. If you go to the NCJRS web site and search for "taser" you'll find numerous studies written by people with PhD's on this subject. What do they say? We have thousands of coroners across the country who determine cause of death and "taser" being the cause should be solidly documented in numerous reports. Or are you saying that all of the coroners are part of some conspiracy? It should be easy to come up with indisputable numbers based on autopsies. Also again I quote: "0 deaths from the 760,000 training exposures". It should be obvious that it's in AI's interest to exaggerate and sensationalize things. They used to be about denouncing obvious cases of political persecution but now they do stuff like defend accused child rapists and murders in Saudi Arabia.
jjc155
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 5:38 p.m.
@mitch, one last thing, tasers (as in the ones produced by Taser International)are not NON lethal they are LESS lethal. many people wrongfully call them NON lethal but they are not and Taser International will tell you that too and have right from the begining of their company, which as I am sure you know have been around in one form or another producting Electronic Control Devices for close to 20 years.Just so that you and I are on the same page. Also as for videos UNLESS you post video's of people being killed by a Taser International product we are talking apples and oranges (I posted a link to a person being tackled, as you support, being turned into basically a vegetable, who coincidentially would likely be fine has he been tasered, but that is a what if that we will never know the outcome too).
Lokalisierung
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 5:37 p.m.
ok then mitch...i guess I'll wait for your videos to post and then take a look.
jjc155
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 5:29 p.m.
@mitch, yes I know that Amnesty International is not a hack organization, hell I used to donate to them. I stopped when I realized how they report stats. As for research, why is it that taser master instructors routinely volunteer at the yearly "convention" to take triple, quadruple and even quintuple the amount of time that an actual taser gives on a 5 second cycle. Why is it that every single vonultary exposure that someone goes through involves paperwork that goes back to taser international for their research, why is it that every year when some group says "xyz" about tasers, taser international replicates the scenario at their meetings (suchas as a couple years ago it was the temp of suspects that was killing them, so that had five people sit in a hot tub for an hours, raise their temps substantially, had then jump out and then take 2 five second rides each, guess what no one died, LOL and the list goes on) Just as Amnesty International is not a hack organization neither is Taser International (give them a call and they will send you a book that is about 18inches thick by now with all the studies, good or bad), I am in not way affiliated (as in not an employee) with Taser International how ever I think they deserve a fair shake too. J-
Lokalisierung
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 5:23 p.m.
@ Mitch...before you go make sure to look at that video posted in the story. Of course it is just one case and all but it is quite eye opening. More than just a broken hand can occur.
Lokalisierung
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 5:02 p.m.
Yes good link jjc. When watching the video you really feel the impact of that savage assault. Really this points towards, and sorry I forget the exact term, "post chase disorder" or somethign to that effect (isn't really a disorder). Cops are trained in this as they had been chasing the "suspect" and commonly in these situations have so much adrenaline pumping they use too much force in the physical restraint. I believe that is what happens in many tasering deaths just like other deaths. If this officer would have simply told the suspect to get on the ground and be cuffed all would have ended ok. instead he uses all his weight and end up jamming this kids head into a wall; sad stuff. probably a taser in this circumstance would have been a better use...although this cop probably would have juiced him more than needed.
alterego
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 5 p.m.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Agitated teen. Don't - some other kid or school person gets hurt. People cry. Do - taze and people cry. Tackle, the kid busts a rib, splits a lip, knocks his noggin - people cry. Tackle, kid gets away, gets tazed. People cry. What are you going to cry about today?
Anonymous Due to Bigotry
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 4:54 p.m.
Why didn't the reporter also get a quote from the boy's father? I think fathers usually have a more realistic idea of what was really going on with their son compared to mothers who usually seem to think that their little baby could never do anything wrong, etc.
mg0blue
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 4:31 p.m.
@jjc - good link!
mg0blue
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 4:26 p.m.
@Loka - I wasn't "over-simplifying" the situation, just stating a fact about accountability....something that society seems to lack nowadays.
Lokalisierung
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 3:51 p.m.
Rural mom I was responding to somehting blue said over simplifying the situation we're talking about, just like you did claiming to have never been taserd.
jjc155
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 3:49 p.m.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011882857_harris17m.html?prmid=obinsite here is a recent news story (not aa.com) for the "cop should have tackled him" group. Enjoy the reading, J-
mg0blue
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 3:28 p.m.
@Loka - You know what I meant....don't bring an unrelated tragedy into this discussion
RuralMom
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 3:25 p.m.
Lokalisierung - SERIOUSLY?? What does the Detroit Police's epic failure to serve a no knock warrant int he middle of the night for a fugitive have to do with Tasing an out of control student at the high school? That's just something even remotely comparable.
jjc155
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 3:24 p.m.
If Dep Campbell would have struck the teen with a baton and blew his knee out or had sprayed him with chemical spray and sent him into an asthma attack (do some research on how many people have died from being sprayed with chemical spray since its inception) the "anti" people would be crying about why he was not tasered. If Dep Campbell would have tackeled the teen and he hit his head on the hard hall floor and had a closed head injury there would be cries of "what was something else not done!" Bottom line is it appeared that Dep campbell used his taser within the guidelines set by WCSD and within the statues of the state of michigan. Oh and by the way it worked exactly as designed. It reduced the risk (and actual) injury to both the teen and to Dep Campbell and infact according to the article produced no visible injury, which is much better that punching someone in the nose or hitting them with a stick, right? I commend Dep Campbell for having the restraint not to break the teen in two (which I am sure he could have). You need to realize that in Michigan Officers are allowed to use one level of force above the suspects level of resistence ie: badguy punches or attempts to punch the officer, the officer can hit them with a baton (which carries a much higher possibilty of injury)or deploy a taser (which is much safer for all involved). @mitch Amnesty International (and other groups) severly over state taser deaths. The look at it like this; If a guy was tasered on Tuesday and died on Wednesday (even after being released from custody), that is a taser death.They also look at it like this;if a person was tasered but died from excited delirum (which they would have likely died from anyways, look it up) or from acute drug intoxication and the taser use is not even mentioned in the cause of death findings, they still consider it a taser death. Maybe you should look at the nunmber of wrongfull death and product liabilty suits Taser International has lost over the years. If what you say is true about 351 deaths it would be correct to assume that the number of lost suits should be very close to that number right? Do some research and post the number for all to see and be amazed at how far from the at number it truely is. As for your assertion that tasers should only be used when an officer can use his gun, is ludicris at best. Why used a less lethal force option against lethal force, Please explain! I'm my opinon if an officer does this he should be disciplined for putting others in harms way. lastly I have been tasered (full 5 sec ride with darts in my back), it sucked for exactly 5 seconds, but I made it out fine and I am twice the age of this "victim." J-
Lokalisierung
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 3:19 p.m.
Hey Blue...you think the 7 year old girl killed in Detroit resisted? Second "murder" case related to Police in Detroit on "the First 48."
RuralMom
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 3:16 p.m.
Show me statistics where the "suspect" was completely innocent. Didn't have a gun, hadn't caused a disturbance, was found NOT to have drugs on them, did nothing to provoke the need for the use of the taser. In all my years (42) I have never had an officer pull a gun on me or taser me, because I conduct myself properly and within the law. You have to come to the table with clean hands to begin with. I am not saying everyone who gets tased deserves it, I am saying they play a part in the officers choice to utilize this tactical weapon.
mg0blue
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 3:14 p.m.
To everyone that is debating the deaths caused by tasers or by forcefully tackling someone, let's also add in another very interesting fact. Studies have shown that when people do what they are supposed to do, obey the lawful orders of a police officer, and don't act like morons, that they are killed or injured 0% of the time. Just saying....
Anonymous Due to Bigotry
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 3:03 p.m.
Also from the last article: Here's some additional research: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/224081.pdf Based on what I can gather from that paper (which is based on the Orlando, FL Police Department policy) shoving an officer would be "use of force continuum" level 5 ("push away", see page 42). According to the document: Level 4 use of force includes TASER, empty hand strikes, impact weapons, less lethal munitions and K9 deployments. Level 5 includes incapacitating choke holds and the Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint (LVNR) Note that choke holds are considered a greater use of force than a taser. Now, out of TASER, police dogs, empty hand strikes, impact weapons, less lethal munitions (ex: rubber bullets from a 12 gauge shotgun), or Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint, what would you rather see used? Which of these indicated use-of-force options that match the situation would seem the least brutal to you? It's ridiculous that none of this was mentioned in the article considering that it was pointed out multiple times by comments in the last article.
Anonymous Due to Bigotry
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 2:59 p.m.
@Mich:: "Use a taser only if you would normally use a gun. Period." There are people with PhD's in stuff like this who spend lots of time doing research and writing academic papers on what the procedures should be. They aren't just rendering random opinions as you appear to be doing. Also, pasted from a comment to the last article: Here are some additional statistics regarding taser deaths from http://ecdlaw.info/ Arrest-Related Deaths All Causes * 2006 710 deaths * 2005 679 deaths * 2004 670 deaths * 2003 627 deaths ECD (taser) (temporal, not causal) * 2006 not reported * 2005 24 deaths * 2004 9 deaths * 2003 3 deaths Also, quoted from http://ecdlaw.info/outlines/08-28-08%20Kroll%20Appendix%201.pdf 5.3 Mortality Rates From 1982 to July 2008, there were 12 autopsies in which an ECD has been listed as a cause of death or as the cause of death. Added to the 6 cases in which the ECD actually contributed to a death from a secondary fall gives a total of 18 cases. There were also 0 deaths from the 760,000 training exposures. This gives a very conservative upper-limit mortality rate of 13.1 per million exposures. In none of the 12 non-fall autopsies, has the alleged ECD contribution withstood legal or scientific scrutiny. Counting only the 6 deaths (from secondary head inju- ries with falls) after an ECD exposure, the actual total mortality rate for a human exposure is 4.4 per million. In 2004 there were 18,807 deaths from falls out of 2,397,615 total deaths, out of the general population of 293,656,842, which yields a mortality rate from falls in the general population of 6.4 per million.
Lokalisierung
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 2:50 p.m.
"Lokalisierung, probably this is not the first time a student has pushed an authority figure; however, this student didn't it just once, but several times and to two different people." Well I don't thnk this is the first time a student has pushed multiple people either. He was pushing them away, most likely "get you hands off me" and not pucnhing them or somehting like that. At least that makes a difference to me. "If the kid is charged with a felony..." Yeah we won't know that for a little bit, but he can also be charged with a felony just so the charges his pleads to will be on the higher end side. I don't think kids should be allowed to hit school officers (well Pioneer's OD), but this can probably be solved by giving this kid a couple misdemeanors, couple years of probation, anger classes etc. I don't want him having trouble getting a job in 7 years casue he got out of line at school once. Just my opinion of course.
Anonymous Due to Bigotry
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 2:45 p.m.
"You mean to tell me you can't tackle him and wrestle him to the ground?" she said. Apparently she hasn't heard of the West Willow incident, and she's totally unaware of the use-of-force continuum used by police officers. I think it's rather sad that the reporter on this article didn't ask some questions to the local authorities about the use of force continuum and where taser use falls on that continuum, especially given the number of times that it was mentioned in comments on the last article. @Mitch: The lapse in critical thinking there is that you haven't compared the number of deaths due to tasers with the number of deaths due to choke holds, etc. My research would indicate that tasers really are safer than the alternatives if you actually bother to compare with other arrest-related deaths. Also, 351 sounds like a gross exaggeration regardless of how you count. If there's any basis to that number at all, and it's not just totally fabricated, then most of those are "temporal" and not "causal" deaths. In other words, just because someone was running, fell down, and hit their head and died while being shot by a taser doesn't mean that they couldn't have just as easily hit their head and died from being tackled while running (which happens all the time). Therefore, in that case, there would be nothing special about the taser in contributing to the death (no heart attack due to the voltage, etc., which is incredibly rare).
uawisok
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 2:43 p.m.
The reason I posted a question that was removed "I wonder what the father thought of this boy's behavior" was that if I had behaved like this boy did I would have taken the tazer over what awaited me when I got home...the displine my father would have given would make the tazer pale in comparison!!
CountyKate
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 2:43 p.m.
Lokalisierung, probably this is not the first time a student has pushed an authority figure; however, this student didn't it just once, but several times and to two different people. To me, it seems like he was totally out of control. He would not go into the officer's office, where they might have been able to resolve things, but continued his behavior in the school's hallway, where other students could have been at risk from his actions. Seems to me the officer acted under extreme provocation and in a manner appropriate for the situation. If the kid is charged with a felony, it means the prosecutors thought it was a step up from "an outburst at school" and deserving of more stringent charges. This is beyond "boys will be boys." Mitch, I'm surprised your attempt to highjack this thread into a referendum on Tasers hasn't been monitored off. That's not the subject of this story.
Lokalisierung
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 2:38 p.m.
And of course we're somehow going to have to address the fact Cocaine seems to have a huge role in that list.
Lokalisierung
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 2:35 p.m.
"I would rather police use tasers only when they would normally use their gun." I can understand your point but do not agree with it. I thnk a Taser can be used inbetween the 2. I don't think the Taser is to replace the gun in situations. Ceartainly I also do not want cops just blasting someone for failing a couple of "verbal commands" as stated in some of those cases in your link. If someone is resisting arrest and continually struggling with cops I think it's Ok; like the guy in the famous "Don't ***** tase me BRO" online incident. Of course this list makes me wonder how many deaths have occured by other means of restraining a suspect in the years 2001-2008.
John Hritz
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 2:16 p.m.
This debate is all about the force continuum from simple verbal commands to deploying a firearm. It varies somewhat from dept to dept. http://www.policetest.info/FORCE_CONTINUUM_POLICE_USE_OF_FORCE.htm
RuralMom
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 2:11 p.m.
Mitch-you don't think some kids are out of control? This "kid" had ZERO respect for authority. Gives excuses of defending his brother, and is backed by his Mother, who really should be mortified at this point! Two wrongs don't make it right, you have to come to the table with clean hands.
Lokalisierung
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 2:01 p.m.
Mitch - I believe the problem with claims like yours are they overplay the "fatal consequences" angle. Surely you would agree that restraining/fighting with a suspect can also have "fatal" outcomes as well?
djm12652
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 1:51 p.m.
I love the fact that the "moderator" decides in his/her infinite wisdom what is a contrbutory comment...
Lokalisierung
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 1:08 p.m.
I guess we just went to different schools then. You really think this is the first time a student has "pushed" a teacher, principle, heck even a police officer?
eyeloveypsi
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 12:49 p.m.
Lokallslerung - Happening for years? I've been around for years and this is the first time I've heard of a student going after the principal and the liaison officer in Ypsi. This is not a typical outburst and it must be dealt with severely. Being 17 is no excuse, poor parenting is no excuse. There are consequences for actions and this young man should be dealt with appropriately. It's not "one mistake", it's a big mistake. All of us should know not to go after principals and police officers.
Lokalisierung
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 11:48 a.m.
I'm fine with tasering, just as I'm fine with the fact he'll plead down to some misdemeanors. He's a young kid that had an outburst at school, which has been happening for year and years and years. Don't stick him with a felony and hamper his life for one mistake.
glimmertwin
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 11:16 a.m.
>> was standing up for his younger brother, who also attends the school. Unless his brother was right there at the hands of someone, this means nothing.
DaLast word
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 8:37 a.m.
In many cases the purp may be stronger than the adults trying to corral them. Neither the principal or the police officer could afford to be seen losing this battle, it would only breed more disrepect. The law is the law, obey it or face the consiquences. I would also think that a look into this students history would be relevent.
Smiley
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 8:23 a.m.
If he truly was "standing up for his younger brother" I understand this incident right up until "he refused orders to go into Campbell's office" and then got physical with the authority figures. I agree with the other posters that this is the point where the parenting issue comes into light.
RuralMom
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 8:12 a.m.
Mom's comments say it all! At this stage of his life he should know there are consequences for ill behavior, and she should be horrified he NEEDED to be tased! They don't whip out the Taser in a school setting for giggles you know! Mom needed to march his behind into the school and have him apologize in front of the entire school for his disruption to the school day and then have him volunteer to wash some Police Vehicles or other such type of duty. This Mom is the epitomy of what is wrong with kids today!
Mikey2u
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 8:11 a.m.
Another example of "Raising our daughters, and loving our sons." If these young men aren't given any direction at home they will be lost forever.
CountyKate
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 7:53 a.m.
What flyingpatricio said. (I think we need an "agree" button in the comments section.) Does this mom realize her son could have been more hurt by being tackled and thrown to the ground than by the Taser? Seems to me the officer tried several times to get the young man to leave the situation and go to his office. In fact, I counted five times, in this story, where efforts were made to get Price to behave before the officer was forced to resort to the Taser. What this mom should have done was teach her son to respect authority and accept responsibility for his actions. Instead, she's trying to turn this incident back on the officer and make it his fault. Way to set an example there.
rosewater
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 7:47 a.m.
Teach this kid some manners and respect and this whole thing could have been avoided.
flyingpatricio
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 6:59 a.m.
"You mean to tell me you can't tackle him and wrestle him to the ground?" she said. If she raised him right he shouldn't need to be tackled and wresteled to the ground by an authority figure, especially a cop.
Cash
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 6:46 a.m.
I'm not going to "rah rah" police or tasers. I don't really care about that part of the story. I am on the side of this young man. Someone needs to be on his side because no one is giving him tough love he needs. He needs to learn to follow orders from people in authority, whether he likes the orders or not, or he will be learning this in prison, the hard way. Prison guards are much less kind than this policeman was, believe me and there will be no one there to save him.. If the guards don't teach him, the gangs will. And then he will sit in "the hole", alone hungry and scared. This is reality. Mom, stop worrying about police and school officials and start worrying about teaching your son to succeed in a world where there is authority that must be obeyed. Help him accept that truth and he can make something of himself. Or he can spend his life going in and out of prison or be killed.
ironyinthesky2
Wed, May 19, 2010 : 6:19 a.m.
I can only imagine the fuss takling and taking this young man to the ground would have caused. We need to trust our police and young people, in and out of school, need to respect authority (as we all should). Too many young people think they are literally above the law and that there will be no consequences for their actions.