This gent seems like the neighbor from hell, especially if the comments following the story are true. As reported by The Bradenton Herald:
A 48-year-old man was arrested at 3:30 p.m. Sunday in Myakka after violating Manatee County’s noise ordinance a fourth time, according to authorities.
Pete Hunsader was playing loud music in the 2400 block of 53rd Avenue East, Myakka, when deputies asked him to turn it down, according to a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office report.
If you are wondering how someone could withstand and do all of those things, you’re in good company. The judge was also puzzled. As reported by The Herald Mail (Hagerstown, MD):
A Hagerstown man who broke a set of steel handcuffs and was shocked with stun guns 30 or more times during a struggle last summer with five police officers was acquitted Tuesday during a trial before a judge in Washington County Circuit Court.
Yup. Acquitted of all charges.
It won’t surprise you, after watching the video below, that this woman filed a lawsuit. You can read more here.
Why chase a non-violent suspect who is the subject of a “suspicious person” call when you can just Tase him? If you don’t know that The Juice is opposed to the frequent overuse of Tasers, then you must be a new reader. When used appropriately, the Taser is a good law enforcement tool. So is a gun, but that doesn’t mean you go all Wild West with it unless you have to. In yet another case of Taser overuse, check out this report out of Florida, per News-press.com:
Responding to a suspicious person call, an officer approached Martinez [who is homeless] as he was sleeping on a lawn chair by the pool around 1 p.m. at the complex at 4904 Vincennes St.
Clearly this suspicious man, who was SLEEPING on a lawn chair was a serious threat. Why wait until he runs to Tase him? Should have done it while he was sleeping. After all, he was trespassing.
What’s next? Tasing every pulled-over motorist before requesting a license and registration? For god’s sake man, you don’t have to tase someone just because you can! Here’s a ridiculous story out of Cincinnati, as reported by WKRC:
A St. Paris, Ohio man, not even registered in the Flying Pig Marathon, caused quite a commotion at the race Sunday morning.
Not registered? Tase him!
Think of the last place a man would want to be kicked? Well, the same goes for being tased. Just ask the Arizona police officer who got zapped there. Per The Arizona Daily Star:
A Nogales police officer who claims his former sergeant used a Taser on his genitals last February has filed a federal lawsuit against the Police Department and former sergeant.
Yeowwww!
According to the lawsuit, Sgt. Sergio Bon “aggressively” pushed a clipboard holding citations at Officer Pedro Molera when Molera placed the clipboard on Bon’s desk on Feb. 8, 2010. Bon then unholstered his Taser, removed the front cartridge and pointed it at Molera, the lawsuit states.
When Molera responded “Are you going to use it? Go ahead,” Bon placed it on Molera’s penis over his clothes and squeezed the trigger for a “couple of seconds,” the lawsuit states.
[Police Chief] Kirkham previously confirmed Bon, an 18-year veteran, resigned as a result of the incident, and acknowledged Bon would likely have been terminated had he not submitted his resignation.
You can read more here.
It was a bad day for Hamilton County, Ohio’s finest, but not nearly as bad as it was for John Harmon. Mr. Harmon, a diabetic, was suffering from low blood sugar when a police officer noticed he was driving erratically. So, after the police pulled him over, officers smashed Mr. Harmon’s window, dragged him out of the car, tased him seven times, and just basically shit-stomped him. As reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer:
John Harmon was coming off a late night at work when he left his downtown marketing firm for his Anderson Township home just after midnight in October 2009.
The 52-year-old longtime diabetic’s blood sugar levels had dipped to a dangerously low level causing him to weave into another lane.
A Hamilton County sheriff’s deputy spotted him on Clough Pike and suspected drunken driving. What happened over the next two minutes and 20 seconds should never happen to anyone, Harmon said.
Deputies broke the window of Harmon’s SUV, shocked him seven times with a Taser, cut him out of his seatbelt and wrestled him to the ground, severely dislocating his elbow, and causing trauma to his shoulder and thumb.
You can read a lot more, and see a video from one of the police cars, here.
Oh no you didn’t just taze my 86-year-old granny. They did, at least that’s one of the allegations in a Complaint recently filed in federal court in Oklahoma by Lona Varner and her grandson Lonnie Tinsley against the City of El Reno, Oklahoma and a few of its police officers. Here are some of the allegations from the Complaint:
On or about December 22, 2009 the plaintiff Lona M. Varner was in her apartment at 1955 S. Shepard Ave, Apt. 703, El Reno, Oklahoma, in her hospital-type bed. She was also connected to a portable oxygen concentrator with a long hose.
Yes, granny was in bed, on oxygen … Enter Lonnie:
A severe winter storm was moving into the area and Ms. Varner’s grandson, LonnieD. Tinsley, came to the apartment to check on her at the request of his father, now deceased; because Lona Varner is 86 years-old and in marginal health, she takes several prescribed medications daily; Lonnie’s grandmother was unable to tell him exactly when she had taken her meds, he was concerned and called 911 to ask for an emergency medical technician to come to her apartment to evaluate her.
911, so here comes an ambulance, EMTs …. Nope.
As many as ten El Reno police … came to the apartment and pushed their way through the door.
Ms. Varner told them to get out of her apartment. Instead, the apparent leader of the police (Duran) instructed another policeman to “Taser her!” He stated in his report that the 86 year-old plaintiff“took a more aggressive posture in her bed,” and that he was fearful for his safety and the safety of others.
Really, can you make this stuff up? No doubt the officers involved will make that case.
Lonnie Tinsley told them, “Don’t taze my Granny!” to which they responded that they would taser him; instead, they pulled him out of her apartment, took him down to the floor,handcuffed him and placed him in the back of a police car.
The police then proceeded to approach Ms. Varner in her bed and stepped on heroxygen hose until she began to suffer oxygen deprivation.
The police then fired a taser at her and only one wire struck her, in the left arm; thepolice then fired a second taser, striking her to the right and left of the midline of her upper chest and applied high voltage, causing burns to her chest, extreme pain and to pass out.
Sweet Mary. If these allegations are true, The Juice can think of some tasering that ought to be done.
The police then grabbed Ms. Varner by her forearms and jerked hands together,causing her soft flesh to tear and bleed on her bed; they then handcuffed her.
What about Lonnie?
The police freed Lonnie Tinsley from his incarceration in the back of the police carand permitted him to accompany the ambulance with his grandmother.
Lona Varner was transported by paramedics to Parkland Hospital in El Reno wherethe burns to her chest and the torn flesh on her arms were treated.
Ms. Varner was transported in the early morning hours of December 23, 2009 fromParkland to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Oklahoma City where she was placed in the psychiatric wardat the direction of the El Reno police; she was held there for six days and released.
Wow! What a bizarre case. Thanks to The Bike Lawyer, Steve Magas (www.OhioBikeLawyer.com) for bringing this to The Juice’s attention via Courthouse News.
Here’s the entire Complaint on www.courthousenews.com.
Really? You’re going to use a taser (in the back!) on a guy who posed NO THREAT to anyone? Have you read the manual? Even used properly, people die, Jack. Think about it.
For more taser posts, scroll down a bit, and enter “taser” in the “Search This Blog” box.
I told you not to tell me that! Per Arkansas Online:
Ozark Police Chief Jim Noggle said age is not a factor in determining when his officers use a Taser on someone.
Noggle said Tuesday that officer Dustin Bradshaw used his Taser last week on a 10-year-old girl who was kicking and combative with Bradshaw after her mother called police.
According to a report filed by Bradshaw on Nov. 12, the officer was called to an Ozark home for a domestic problem. The girl was on the floor of the house screaming and crying. She refused to follow her mother’s instructions and the mother told Bradshaw to use his Taser.
Bradshaw carried the girl to the living room and told her she was going to jail, according to the report.
“While she was violently kicking and verbally combative, [the girl] struck me with her legs and feet in the groin,” Bradshaw wrote in the report.
“The subject was actively resisting arrest at this time,” Bradshaw wrote. “I was having a difficult time placing the cuffs on her and administered a very, very brief drive stun to her back with my Taser. She immediately resisted and was placed in handcuffs.”
The girl would not walk on her own so Bradshaw carried her to his police car.
She was taken to the Western Arkansas Youth Shelter in Cecil.
The girl’s father has been in contact with police, Noggle said, and he is upset the officer used a Taser.
Legal Juice