Florida Taser Death

bcingu 2011-04-23 00:45:34 UTC #1

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110422/BREAKINGNEWS/110422002/Man-dies-after-being-Tased-Universal-Orlando-CityWalk

A man who was causing a disturbance outside Universal Studios in Florida died after being shocked with a Taser stun gun by off-duty police, US authorities have said.

Adam Spencer Johnson, 33, was said to have been acting irrationally when the five officers approached, police said.

The officers used a stun gun because Johnson was "violently" resisting arrest, said Sgt Barb Jones.

Mr Johnson became unresponsive on the ground and was later pronounced dead.

The off-duty officers responded to a call from a security guard at Universal Studios early on Friday morning about a man acting irrationally outside the Cinemax theatres in the city of Orlando.

"He was kind of pacing around, grabbing his beard, grabbing his head and hair, and they were trying to get a hold of him. He was being disorderly," said Sgt Jones, of the Orlando Police Department.

One officer shocked Mr Johnson with a Taser stun gun, before placing him under arrest.

Police said they immediately tried to revive Mr Johnson when he became unresponsive. He was later declared dead at Dr Phillips Hospital.

All officers involved in the incident with Mr Johnson, who was a resident of Winter Haven, are being placed on administrative leave during the investigation.

ORLANDO -- A man acting irrationally at Universal Orlando died early Friday morning after being shocked with a stun gun by an off-duty Orlando police officer, authorities said.

The man, identified as 33-year-old Adam Spencer Johnson, of Winter Haven, was taken to Dr. P. Phillips Hospital after the incident and was pronounced dead, police said.

According to Orlando police, officers working off duty at the theme park were called by Universal Orlando security at 12:25 a.m. about a person who was acting irrationally -- pacing back and forth, pulling his hair and rubbing his beard -- in front of the theater at Universal CityWalk.

"The security from Universal said that he may have been grabbing a patron. His behavior was completely irrational," Orlando police Sgt. Barb Jones said.

When officers tried to restrain Johnson, he violently resisted, so an officer shocked him with a Taser, police said. Johnson was then handcuffed, according to police.

While Johnson was on the ground, he became non-responsive, police said. The officers performed CPR on Johnson, who was then taken to the hospital.

Police said a toxicology report will determine if drugs or alcohol played a factor in Johnson's behavior.

Orlando police said there's surveillance video of the incident, and it was turned over to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which will investigate the death.

All of the Orlando police officers, one of whom was on patrol and four who were working off duty, will be placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.

bcingu 2011-04-23 00:48:22 UTC #2

So to reiterate:
he was pacing back and forth
grabbing his beard
MAY have been grabbing a patron
presumably unarmed
required five cops and a taser

I hope this guy was really large and on PCP or something...

PB_Andy 2011-04-23 04:09:35 UTC #3

The officers stated that he was violently resisting arrest. Who knows if this actually happened, but that is what it says in the article.

Nards 2011-04-23 15:14:19 UTC #4

I don't know much about police procedures and the statistics of it all, but I am on the side of tasers. I mean without them it would be billy clubbing or shooting the knees or choking the guy.
I'm not being facetious when I say we don't hear about all the times a taser gets used properly, only the deaths.
Well, I guess we get some good videos of when it's used properly! Those are good for a laugh.

QuadasarusFlex 2011-04-23 16:26:26 UTC #5

I disagree actually. Im more afraid of dying from a taser than I am about being beaten with a night stick.

Nards 2011-04-23 16:34:07 UTC #6

Avoid that by being good! I'm thinking about other people, like up-to-no-goodniks.

QuadasarusFlex 2011-04-23 16:49:24 UTC #7

I forgot what country in Asia you live in but do they use excessive force over tehre on criminals as much as they do in the states? Do they use Tasers or nightsticks or even some kind advance technology that hasnt been over here?

Otep 2011-04-23 18:42:05 UTC #8

In East Asia, there's no such thing as excessive force.

When I say this, I'm thinking of the stories I've heard from Japan, and the complaints I've heard in red China. No idea how things are where Nards is.

QuadasarusFlex 2011-04-23 18:51:14 UTC #9

Well,when I think of police in Japan or China,I think of 2 completely different things. Japan;Older Japanese guys that give you a slap on the wrist and wish you on your merry way. In China,I think of guys lining you against the wall and spraying you with a Kalashnikov for jay walking.

boatguy 2011-04-23 22:23:00 UTC #10

I believe it was Singapore or Indonesia where that American kid got caned for spray painting cars back in the mid 90s, and everyone here was in such an uproar. "That's not right!" "He's an AMERICAN! He's got RIGHTS!"

Are you kidding me? He was being a jackwagon (been wanting to use that) in a foreign country, and you expect me to feel sorry for him? If you break the law, regardless where you are, you p[ay the penalty. That's how it works, why is that so hard to understand?

As far as the tasing thing, nothing is foolproof. It is supposed to be a less-than-lethal alternative, but you never know how an individual will react to it, especially if they have health problems. Sucks, but like Nards said, we never hear about all the times they are used appropriately without incident. Don't tase me Bro!

anon31651765 2011-04-23 22:50:38 UTC #11

Another instance of a lazy cop using a stun gun when he had no right to.

I thought these were to be used as alternatives to being fucking shot??

Nards 2011-04-24 02:47:56 UTC #12

From what I can tell the police here are like those in any other Western democratized country. So like no kneeling down for two in the head kind of stuff.

bcingu 2011-04-24 06:10:48 UTC #13

Singapore. Still sounds like a somewhat austere punishment to me, but yeah, that guy was being a dick and brought it upon himself. Also, I've been to Singapore and I have to say, the place runs really smoothly. Many different cultures and ethnicities living together and treating each other very civilly. When I was there, I just made sure to neither kick ass nor chew bubblegum and spit it on the sidewalk.
Also, no mosquitos FTW.

austin_bicep 2011-04-24 06:30:50 UTC #14

Tasers are a great tool for police officers. It gives them one more option before needing to use deadly force. Anything that can come into play that can prevent the use of deadly force is a great tool for police.

Without a taser and only a handgun, what do you do when someone is going to violently assault an officer even with just their fists?

The officer has to think about several things including the fact that a violent person has the ability to grab the officerâ??s gun and use it on them in close quarters. A taser, prevents this from happening because the violent offender, gets zapped, lives in 99.9% of cases and then gets arrested. If you leave the officer with their gun as their only weapon, it'd be justifiable for them to shoot someone that attacks them even if the attacker is using less force (their fists) because of the risk this person creates with the possibility that they will grab the officerâ??s gun and use it against them. Like I said before anything that will prevent the use of deadly force is a great tool for police. Unfortunately this person died from something that will not kill someone the very vast majority of the time.

The reason why shooting someoneâ??s knee or hand doesn't work is very simple.

First, police officers are not going to shoot someone if their life or a victimâ??s life is not in danger and even so, in a lot of cases police will try to handle the situation with other means first.

When it is justifiable to shoot someone, it is a decision that is made with the intent to kill the person they are shooting because of the threat they pose to the officerâ??s life and the people they may harm in the community.

You shoot at the body and not the legs because, it is a larger target and much easier to stop the criminal as quickly as possible. In these situations there is no time to waste trying to disable the criminals arm or leg. Plus if shot in the upper thigh, good chances are you'll hit an artery and have them bleed out anyways. When someone is shooting at you, why would you risk your life to try and stop them without killing them, by taking hard shots at a much smaller target. That is how you wind up dead.

The police are not out there to kill people. They are only going to use deadly force when a perpetrator of the law is also going to be using deadly force. You shoot to kill for you safety as well as the publics.