Cops Hit Handcuffed Man With Taser 9 Times In 14 Minutes

[LikeLinus]

There is something very important that was left out of that article. CNN's report says

"In the year since Winnfield police received Tasers, officers have used them 14 times, according to police records -- with 12 of the instances involving black suspects. Ten of the 14 incidents involved Nugent, who has no public disciplinary record."

This officer has fired 10 of the 14 reported incidents for using a taser? Are you freaking joking? I think it's fairly obvious what's going on here....

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/...taser.death/index.html

 

[QueBert]

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
There is something very important that was left out of that article. CNN's report says

"In the year since Winnfield police received Tasers, officers have used them 14 times, according to police records -- with 12 of the instances involving black suspects. Ten of the 14 incidents involved Nugent, who has no public disciplinary record."

This officer has fired 10 of the 14 reported incidents for using a taser? Are you freaking joking? I think it's fairly obvious what's going on here....

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/...taser.death/index.html

and I betcha all 10 were involving black suspects, sounds like a real winner...

 

[Whisper]

Originally posted by: Chiller2
I personally think it has little to do with race more to do with having a bully and a thug with a badge and a criminal as a police chief. White or black it would have been the same thing the bully just needed the slightest excuse. Money and power are more important than race these days.

In many instances, I might agree with you. However, when Louisiana is involved, I'd have to at least give it a second thought. Don't get me wrong, there are countless great things about the state, and just as many great people in it. However, during my three years here, the amount of bigotry and, possibly worse, naive racism has been eye-opening. It's still the exception rather than the rule, but it's more common than in many other places I've been.

 

[PokerGuy]

Man, that's just sick. Unless the facts as presented are completely and totally wrong, I see no conceivable way that this cop -- along with the others participating in the arrest -- should not be facing murder charges. As far as I'm concerned, anytime someone is in cuffs and on the ground, it's almost impossible to justify tasing them. Cuffed and on the ground, someone can not be a threat sufficient to warrant potentially dangerous force using a taser.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: pontifex
Nugent spotted Pikes walking along the street and attempted to arrest him on an outstanding warrant for drug possession, according to Police Chief Johnny Ray Carpenter. Pikes took off running, but another officer cornered him outside a nearby grocery store. Pikes resisted arrest and Nugent subdued him with a shock from a Taser.

Then on the way to the police station, Carpenter related to the newspaper, Pikes fell ill and told the officers he suffered from asthma and was high on crack cocaine and PCP. The officers called for an ambulance, but Pikes later died at the hospital.


hmm...I wonder how the "victim" could have avoided this situation?

ohh why stop there?

"An autopsy determined there were no drugs in Pikes' system and that he did not have asthma, according to Dr. Randolph Williams, the Winn Parish coroner"

Even if he wasn't high at the time, he was wanted for drug charges anyway and he ran from the police and resisted arrest. still not quite the upstanding citizen.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: pontifex
Nugent spotted Pikes walking along the street and attempted to arrest him on an outstanding warrant for drug possession, according to Police Chief Johnny Ray Carpenter. Pikes took off running, but another officer cornered him outside a nearby grocery store. Pikes resisted arrest and Nugent subdued him with a shock from a Taser.

Then on the way to the police station, Carpenter related to the newspaper, Pikes fell ill and told the officers he suffered from asthma and was high on crack cocaine and PCP. The officers called for an ambulance, but Pikes later died at the hospital.


hmm...I wonder how the "victim" could have avoided this situation?

ohh why stop there?

"An autopsy determined there were no drugs in Pikes' system and that he did not have asthma, according to Dr. Randolph Williams, the Winn Parish coroner"

Even if he wasn't high at the time, he was wanted for drug charges anyway and he ran from the police and resisted arrest. still not quite the upstanding citizen.

Let's nail this down.

Are you saying (based on your quotation marks around the word "victim"), that the police are entitled to taser a handcuffed suspect until he dies (and possibly even after he dies) because he has a warrant out for his arrest and runs from the police? While I have worked extensively as a prosecutor and am not anti-cop by any means, people have all kinds of reasons for running from the police, and given what ultimately occurred, one can't help but wonder whether the decedent was justifiably afraid of this officer in particular.

While the decedent probably wasn't going to nominated for Citizen of the Year, it's plainly the case that the arresting officers are lying about what occurred during the arrest (they claim he said he was high on crack and PCP, and that he complained of asthma, all of which was false), and that he was tased repeatedly long after he was incapable of resisting. I don't believe this death can be justified, and hope the decedent's estate litigates this all the way through trial, to continue to keep the spotlight on what appears to be a badly broken police department.

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: pontifex
Nugent spotted Pikes walking along the street and attempted to arrest him on an outstanding warrant for drug possession, according to Police Chief Johnny Ray Carpenter. Pikes took off running, but another officer cornered him outside a nearby grocery store. Pikes resisted arrest and Nugent subdued him with a shock from a Taser.

Then on the way to the police station, Carpenter related to the newspaper, Pikes fell ill and told the officers he suffered from asthma and was high on crack cocaine and PCP. The officers called for an ambulance, but Pikes later died at the hospital.


hmm...I wonder how the "victim" could have avoided this situation?

ohh why stop there?

"An autopsy determined there were no drugs in Pikes' system and that he did not have asthma, according to Dr. Randolph Williams, the Winn Parish coroner"

Even if he wasn't high at the time, he was wanted for drug charges anyway and he ran from the police and resisted arrest. still not quite the upstanding citizen.

Case closed :thumbsup:

He was quite obviously asking to be tasered to death while handcuffed.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
There is something very important that was left out of that article. CNN's report says

"In the year since Winnfield police received Tasers, officers have used them 14 times, according to police records -- with 12 of the instances involving black suspects. Ten of the 14 incidents involved Nugent, who has no public disciplinary record."

This officer has fired 10 of the 14 reported incidents for using a taser? Are you freaking joking? I think it's fairly obvious what's going on here....

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/...taser.death/index.html

WTF... the police chief needs to be fired as well.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: pontifex
Nugent spotted Pikes walking along the street and attempted to arrest him on an outstanding warrant for drug possession, according to Police Chief Johnny Ray Carpenter. Pikes took off running, but another officer cornered him outside a nearby grocery store. Pikes resisted arrest and Nugent subdued him with a shock from a Taser.

Then on the way to the police station, Carpenter related to the newspaper, Pikes fell ill and told the officers he suffered from asthma and was high on crack cocaine and PCP. The officers called for an ambulance, but Pikes later died at the hospital.


hmm...I wonder how the "victim" could have avoided this situation?

ohh why stop there?

"An autopsy determined there were no drugs in Pikes' system and that he did not have asthma, according to Dr. Randolph Williams, the Winn Parish coroner"

Even if he wasn't high at the time, he was wanted for drug charges anyway and he ran from the police and resisted arrest. still not quite the upstanding citizen.

Let's nail this down.

Are you saying (based on your quotation marks around the word "victim"), that the police are entitled to taser a handcuffed suspect until he dies (and possibly even after he dies) because he has a warrant out for his arrest and runs from the police? While I have worked extensively as a prosecutor and am not anti-cop by any means, people have all kinds of reasons for running from the police, and given what ultimately occurred, one can't help but wonder whether the decedent was justifiably afraid of this officer in particular.

While the decedent probably wasn't going to nominated for Citizen of the Year, it's plainly the case that the arresting officers are lying about what occurred during the arrest (they claim he said he was high on crack and PCP, and that he complained of asthma, all of which was false), and that he was tased repeatedly long after he was incapable of resisting. I don't believe this death can be justified, and hope the decedent's estate litigates this all the way through trial, to continue to keep the spotlight on what appears to be a badly broken police department.

nice way to put words in my mouth.

I'm not condoning what the police did, i'm just saying if the guy wouldn't have broken the law to begin with, he wouldn't have been in this situation at all.

 

[Scarpozzi]

What happened to the good old days when cops would just walk up to your window and call you a chicken F$%#ER?

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: waggy
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/...taser.death/index.html

WINNFIELD, Louisiana (CNN) -- <snip>
hmm who knows. seems they are actually looking into it.

Following the read of a far less-questionable article, it seems like they've got a real problem department (or at least a chief and a former deputy). Hopefully they can get it straightened out and send some people to jail - dirty cops and departments end up make all cops look bad.

Originally posted by: sunzt
i love how the cops and lawyer fail to mention the fact that Pikes got tazed NINE times, and also tazed while HANDCUFFED and ON THE GROUND! WTF? I guess they're gonna hope the jurors don't hear that part of the story.

You should re-read the first article; the bad officer - Nugent - admits to exactly that in his report; it's the chief denying it. Seems like an exceptionally stupid thing for the chief to do.

Originally posted by: Born2bwire
Man, if only we had a forum where we could post news stories and discuss them!

Maybe you could bring that up to a mod. If only there were one posting in this thread.

Originally posted by: pontifex
Even if he wasn't high at the time, he was wanted for drug charges anyway and he ran from the police and resisted arrest. still not quite the upstanding citizen.

While I generally agree with you on that statement and I'm usually pretty vocal on defending cops (or at least giving the benefit of doubt) for the sometimes-impossible job they have to do, I'm not so sure that would have made much of a difference in this case. It sounds more and more like this guy was just a bully with a taser and a badge, and a boss that liked to cover for him.

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: pontifex
Nugent spotted Pikes walking along the street and attempted to arrest him on an outstanding warrant for drug possession, according to Police Chief Johnny Ray Carpenter. Pikes took off running, but another officer cornered him outside a nearby grocery store. Pikes resisted arrest and Nugent subdued him with a shock from a Taser.

Then on the way to the police station, Carpenter related to the newspaper, Pikes fell ill and told the officers he suffered from asthma and was high on crack cocaine and PCP. The officers called for an ambulance, but Pikes later died at the hospital.


hmm...I wonder how the "victim" could have avoided this situation?

ohh why stop there?

"An autopsy determined there were no drugs in Pikes' system and that he did not have asthma, according to Dr. Randolph Williams, the Winn Parish coroner"

Even if he wasn't high at the time, he was wanted for drug charges anyway and he ran from the police and resisted arrest. still not quite the upstanding citizen.

Let's nail this down.

Are you saying (based on your quotation marks around the word "victim"), that the police are entitled to taser a handcuffed suspect until he dies (and possibly even after he dies) because he has a warrant out for his arrest and runs from the police? While I have worked extensively as a prosecutor and am not anti-cop by any means, people have all kinds of reasons for running from the police, and given what ultimately occurred, one can't help but wonder whether the decedent was justifiably afraid of this officer in particular.

While the decedent probably wasn't going to nominated for Citizen of the Year, it's plainly the case that the arresting officers are lying about what occurred during the arrest (they claim he said he was high on crack and PCP, and that he complained of asthma, all of which was false), and that he was tased repeatedly long after he was incapable of resisting. I don't believe this death can be justified, and hope the decedent's estate litigates this all the way through trial, to continue to keep the spotlight on what appears to be a badly broken police department.

nice way to put words in my mouth.

I'm not condoning what the police did, i'm just saying if the guy wouldn't have broken the law to begin with, he wouldn't have been in this situation at all.

That's completely irrelevant, and your comments come accross with an implied 'he got what he deserved' tone.

If you jaywalked, or sped, and a cop pulled you up and beat you to death with a nightstick, then 'if you hadn't broken the law to begin with, you wouldn't have been in that situation at all'.

It doesn't justify it, you didn't deserve it, and it's irrelevant. If a cop uses unjustified force on someone, it doesn't matter what he just did. That's not how our legal system works, and nor should it.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: pontifex
Nugent spotted Pikes walking along the street and attempted to arrest him on an outstanding warrant for drug possession, according to Police Chief Johnny Ray Carpenter. Pikes took off running, but another officer cornered him outside a nearby grocery store. Pikes resisted arrest and Nugent subdued him with a shock from a Taser.

Then on the way to the police station, Carpenter related to the newspaper, Pikes fell ill and told the officers he suffered from asthma and was high on crack cocaine and PCP. The officers called for an ambulance, but Pikes later died at the hospital.


hmm...I wonder how the "victim" could have avoided this situation?

ohh why stop there?

"An autopsy determined there were no drugs in Pikes' system and that he did not have asthma, according to Dr. Randolph Williams, the Winn Parish coroner"

Even if he wasn't high at the time, he was wanted for drug charges anyway and he ran from the police and resisted arrest. still not quite the upstanding citizen.

Let's nail this down.

Are you saying (based on your quotation marks around the word "victim"), that the police are entitled to taser a handcuffed suspect until he dies (and possibly even after he dies) because he has a warrant out for his arrest and runs from the police? While I have worked extensively as a prosecutor and am not anti-cop by any means, people have all kinds of reasons for running from the police, and given what ultimately occurred, one can't help but wonder whether the decedent was justifiably afraid of this officer in particular.

While the decedent probably wasn't going to nominated for Citizen of the Year, it's plainly the case that the arresting officers are lying about what occurred during the arrest (they claim he said he was high on crack and PCP, and that he complained of asthma, all of which was false), and that he was tased repeatedly long after he was incapable of resisting. I don't believe this death can be justified, and hope the decedent's estate litigates this all the way through trial, to continue to keep the spotlight on what appears to be a badly broken police department.

nice way to put words in my mouth.

I'm not condoning what the police did, i'm just saying if the guy wouldn't have broken the law to begin with, he wouldn't have been in this situation at all.

So is he a victim or isn't he? Your position is like saying a mugging victim deserves it because it wouldn't have happened if he'd left his house. We either have the right to be free from police brutality or we don't, and I say we do (as does the Supreme Court).

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: pontifex
Nugent spotted Pikes walking along the street and attempted to arrest him on an outstanding warrant for drug possession, according to Police Chief Johnny Ray Carpenter. Pikes took off running, but another officer cornered him outside a nearby grocery store. Pikes resisted arrest and Nugent subdued him with a shock from a Taser.

Then on the way to the police station, Carpenter related to the newspaper, Pikes fell ill and told the officers he suffered from asthma and was high on crack cocaine and PCP. The officers called for an ambulance, but Pikes later died at the hospital.


hmm...I wonder how the "victim" could have avoided this situation?

ohh why stop there?

"An autopsy determined there were no drugs in Pikes' system and that he did not have asthma, according to Dr. Randolph Williams, the Winn Parish coroner"

Even if he wasn't high at the time, he was wanted for drug charges anyway and he ran from the police and resisted arrest. still not quite the upstanding citizen.

Let's nail this down.

Are you saying (based on your quotation marks around the word "victim"), that the police are entitled to taser a handcuffed suspect until he dies (and possibly even after he dies) because he has a warrant out for his arrest and runs from the police? While I have worked extensively as a prosecutor and am not anti-cop by any means, people have all kinds of reasons for running from the police, and given what ultimately occurred, one can't help but wonder whether the decedent was justifiably afraid of this officer in particular.

While the decedent probably wasn't going to nominated for Citizen of the Year, it's plainly the case that the arresting officers are lying about what occurred during the arrest (they claim he said he was high on crack and PCP, and that he complained of asthma, all of which was false), and that he was tased repeatedly long after he was incapable of resisting. I don't believe this death can be justified, and hope the decedent's estate litigates this all the way through trial, to continue to keep the spotlight on what appears to be a badly broken police department.

nice way to put words in my mouth.

I'm not condoning what the police did, i'm just saying if the guy wouldn't have broken the law to begin with, he wouldn't have been in this situation at all.

That's completely irrelevant, and your comments come accross with an implied 'he got what he deserved' tone.

If you jaywalked, or sped, and a cop pulled you up and beat you to death with a nightstick, then 'if you hadn't broken the law to begin with, you wouldn't have been in that situation at all'.

It doesn't justify it, you didn't deserve it, and it's irrelevant. If a cop uses unjustified force on someone, it doesn't matter what he just did. That's not how our legal system works, and nor should it.

no, that's irrelevant. i'm not sure how jaywalking or speeding equates to drug charges and resisting arrest? If you break the law you deal with the consequences.

you're still assuming i believe that the tasering to death was justified.

 

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: Anubis
hey numbnuts LINK to the article

Hey douchebag, here you go.

lol

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: pontifexno, that's irrelevant. i'm not sure how jaywalking or speeding equates to drug charges and resisting arrest? If you break the law you deal with the consequences.

you're still assuming i believe that the tasering to death was justified.

the consequences are getting arrested and spending more time in jail. not tasering until the guy is dead

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: pontifex

no, that's irrelevant. i'm not sure how jaywalking or speeding equates to drug charges and resisting arrest? If you break the law you deal with the consequences.

you're still assuming i believe that the tasering to death was justified.

You yourself created that assumption by referring to him as a "victim."

First of all, the fact that he had a warrant for his arrest doesn't necessarily mean he committed a crime (though he certainly may have done so). My point is that there is no legitimate nexus between him having a warrant and him being murdered by the police, and to the extent you claim there is, you are essentially blaming him for his own death.

The Rodney King video is a good illustration of this concept. Rodney King deserved to be arrested. His evasion was far more flagrant than this guy's, and frankly I find it understandable that the cops might treat him a little roughly in arresting him given the high-speed chase he had led them on (that is not to excuse the use of violence toward a suspect - I regard that as an issue of training and discipline - but it does make it understandable). What he did not deserve or earn, however, was to be beaten and tased over and over after he was already in custody. Once he submitted, the need for the use of force ended, and there was no excuse for what happened after that.

Here, this guy had a warrant for his arrest and fled police on foot. By all accounts (and this is apparently undisputed), he was tased repeatedly AFTER being handcuffed. None of that can be excused by his conduct prior to his arrest.

I would be interested to know the details of what led to the issuance of the arrest warrant in this case. My guess (based on my significant experience in working with cops) is that the cops recognized him as a troublemaker and looked for a reason to arrest him. In and of itself that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I would just be interested in whether this "drug-related arrest warrant" was related to the possession of a use quantity of drugs or whether he was a violent drug kingpin, as it seems to me that would be relevant to whether there really was a pressing need to arrest him.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: jonks
This one sounds pretty indefensible. It was not some guy walking drunkenly towards the police with his hand in his pocket refusing to obey orders.

This part is pure gold:

Here in the birthplace of two of Louisiana's most colorful and notorious governors--Huey and Earl Long--the police chief committed suicide three years ago after losing a close election marred by allegations of fraud and vote-buying.

Just four months later, the district attorney killed himself after allegedly skimming $200,000 from his office budget and extorting payments from criminal defendants to make their cases go away.

The current police chief is a convicted drug offender who got a pardon from Edwin Edwards, the former Louisiana governor who is serving time in federal prison for corruption convictions.

All of that tangled history is now wrapped up in the Pikes case, because Scott Nugent, the officer who Tasered him, is the well-connected son of the former police chief who killed himself--and the protégé of the current chief, who hired him onto the force.

Seriously...what a fucking racket. That kind of city history belongs in a mob movie.

 

[Number1]

The use of tasers does NOT reduce the number of times police officers deploy and use their firearms. Their only use is to subdue unruly individuals but they become lethal far too often.

Tasers should be eliminated.

 

[jonks]

Originally posted by: Number1
The use of tasers does NOT reduce the number of times police officers deploy and use their firearms. Their only use is to subdue unruly individuals but they become lethal far too often.

Tasers should be eliminated.

Wouldn't the better move be to crack down hard on improper use of tasers? Otherwise the next time a guy with a knife walks towards a cop menacingly they would just shoot and kill him instead of attempt to take him down with a taser.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: pontifexno, that's irrelevant. i'm not sure how jaywalking or speeding equates to drug charges and resisting arrest? If you break the law you deal with the consequences.

you're still assuming i believe that the tasering to death was justified.

the consequences are getting arrested and spending more time in jail. not tasering until the guy is dead

thats exactly what i'm saying

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: Number1
The use of tasers does NOT reduce the number of times police officers deploy and use their firearms. Their only use is to subdue unruly individuals but they become lethal far too often.

Tasers should be eliminated.

Have any numbers on their use and lethality?

Originally posted by: jonks
Wouldn't the better move be to crack down hard on improper use of tasers? Otherwise the next time a guy with a knife walks towards a cop menacingly they would just shoot and kill him instead of attempt to take him down with a taser.

:thumbsup:

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: rivan

Originally posted by: Number1
The use of tasers does NOT reduce the number of times police officers deploy and use their firearms. Their only use is to subdue unruly individuals but they become lethal far too often.

Tasers should be eliminated.

Have any numbers on their use and lethality?

Originally posted by: jonks
Wouldn't the better move be to crack down hard on improper use of tasers? Otherwise the next time a guy with a knife walks towards a cop menacingly they would just shoot and kill him instead of attempt to take him down with a taser.

:thumbsup:

part of the problem is that tazer makers have sued to get rulling on death over turned and any mention of tazers taken out of corener reports. So any numbers you find are not going to be true.

but yes tazers have there place and yes they should crack downon improper use.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: waggy

part of the problem is that tazer makers have sued to get rulling on death over turned and any mention of tazers taken out of corener reports. So any numbers you find are not going to be true.

Link?

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: waggy

part of the problem is that tazer makers have sued to get rulling on death over turned and any mention of tazers taken out of corener reports. So any numbers you find are not going to be true.

Link?

Yes, please.