Tape shows 5 Taser shocks in 1 minute

Atlanta Journal Constitution
Published on: 05/12/05

Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter has a reputation as an aggressive prosecutor. Some even accuse him of being too zealous, and recent cases demonstrate why.

In April, Porter charged a single mother with felony murder after her 3-year-old son was killed in a house fire. Why? Because she had left the boy alone with his 4-year-old brother to go to work, a case other prosecutors might have handled as negligent homicide.

In February, when a 16-year-old driver was indicted on charges of racing and causing a fatal car wreck, Porter charged the girl's father as well, accusing him of providing her a car with bad brakes and bald tires. That decision earned him air time on both CNN and "Good Morning America."

And these days, of course, Porter's face once again adorns national TV as he contemplates whether to file criminal charges in the case of Jennifer Wilbanks, the runaway bride.

In the case of Frederick Williams, though, that trademark Porter aggressiveness has been nowhere in sight.

Williams, who had suffered epilepsy since a toddler, suffered a psychotic breakdown a year ago, was arrested after a struggle and taken to the Gwinnett County Jail. In a bizarre chain of events, Williams died of a heart attack after he was hit with a Taser stun gun five times in 43 seconds, even though at the time he was handcuffed behind his back, his legs were bound to a chair restraint and he was pinned down by a half-dozen officers.

Initially, Porter promised Williams' family a grand jury inquiry, a pledge he proved reluctant to keep. Almost a year later, when Porter finally did convene a grand jury, he did not seek indictments, nor did he bother to show the grand jury a videotape of the deadly incident taken by a sheriff's deputy. Instead, he says, he asked jurors whether they wanted to open an inquiry into the jail's policy regarding Taser use, and they declined.

That decision not to show jurors the videotape has drawn considerable criticism. However, documents obtained through the state Open Records Act suggest there's a lot of other interesting evidence they never saw either.

For example, grand jurors apparently never saw the videotaped questioning of Sgt. Michael Mustachio, the jail officer who made the decision to "hit" Williams with five blasts from a hand-held Taser stun gun. In an interview conducted by detectives with the Gwinnett County Police Department, Mustachio explained why he chose to use the Taser on a fully restrained Williams.

At the time, officers were trying to wrestle Williams into a restraining chair. According to Mustachio, "He was arching his back up, kinda like a kid who you're trying to put in a car seat — you know how they arch their back up? Lt. Cook was giving him commands to stop resisting, so . . . I went over and point-contacted him with the Taser."

The videotape seems to tell a different story, though. It's a little unclear, but it appears that Mustachio applies the Taser first, and that Williams starts bucking only in reaction.

That interpretation is bolstered by yet another videotape that the grand jury probably never saw. (Porter refused to comment when I called him Wednesday.)

As part of their investigation, two officers with the Gwinnett police department, Cpl. Damon Cavender and Lt. William Walsh, volunteered to help recreate the Williams tragedy. Both men were physically restrained by other officers and were then hit with the Taser.

Their physical responses, caught on tape, were almost identical to the response of Williams. All three men arched their backs in a desperate bucking motion.

"While being shocked I felt an extreme amount of physical pain in the area where I was being shocked," Cavender wrote in his official report. "The pain was so intense that I would have done anything to get away from it."

Walsh had a similar response, telling investigators "that although he was bucking and rearing back into the chair, his natural instinct was to get away from the Taser."

It seems pretty clear, given that evidence, that much if not all of the bucking that Mustachio and other deputies interpreted as resistance from Williams was instead just a natural human reaction. Every time Mustachio applied the Taser, Williams bucked in pain. Every time Williams bucked in pain, Mustachio interpreted the action as continued resistance, requiring another Tasing.

Before the fifth and final Tasing, Williams suffered the heart attack that would kill him. He lost consciousness and was never revived.

"After the fifth tap [with the Taser], why did you stop?" Mustachio was asked. "Why wasn't there a sixth?"

"He had stopped bucking," Mustachio said.

In interviews with detectives, Mustachio and other officers on the scene expressed astonishment that Williams kept fighting through the Taser hits, attributing it to almost superhuman strength. However, a later report by the sheriff's Professional Standards Unit suggested another explanation. It noted that the Taser can be used two ways. It can fire a prong up to 20 feet that delivers an electrical charge that incapacitates its human target. It can also be used in "drive-stun" mode, in which the weapon is held against a subject's body and then fired.

Used in drive-stun mode, as it was in the Williams case, the weapon causes intense pain but does not incapacitate.

And even though Mustachio had been certified for Taser use, he told detectives he didn't know the two modes would have different impacts.

As is often the case, Mustachio's character and credibility are important in assessing his description of events. Had they seen his testimony, grand jurors also would have wanted to learn that last January, Mustachio was fired by Sheriff Butch Conway for shooting a neighbor's dog while off duty.

A copy of Mustachio's dismissal letter, released as part of the Open Records request, tells Mustachio that "you shot and killed a dog that was 30-40 yards from your parents' residence because it was barking and causing a disturbance. At no time did you state that you felt the dog was vicious or acting in a threatening manner."

Mustachio fired six or seven shots at the dog, using both a rifle and a .45 caliber pistol, then tried to hide the dog's body from authorities. He cut off the dog's tracking collar and damaged its antenna, so it could not be traced. "Only after a White County deputy was called back to the scene by the dog owner, because the tracking device continued to indicate that the dog was in the area, did you confess to what you had done," the letter stated.

In reading the report by Gwinnett County police and a later report by the sheriff's Professional Standards Unit, it becomes clear that both agencies did a thorough job. The willingness of officers to volunteer for an excruciatingly painful re-enactment, for example, speaks well for their professionalism and bravery.

In both reports, however, investigating officers repeatedly interpret facts and situations in ways that cast their fellow law enforcement officials as positively as possible. There's nothing necessarily corrupt in that phenomenon. It's just human nature, a natural sympathy for colleagues.

That's why an honest, thorough grand jury investigation might have been useful in casting light on what happened, and on ways to avoid such tragedy in the future.

Instead — speaking figuratively — Danny Porter got cold feet and caught the first Greyhound to Albuquerque.

— Jay Bookman is the deputy editorial page editor. His column appears Thursdays and Mondays.

I've been watching the news regarding
the death of Frederick Williams who
was taseered several times in less
than 1 minute. Watching it here
makes my blood boil. I'm also curious
about the time frame. In the video
it shows him going unconsious about
6:17:03. There is a still shot at
6:17:41 that shows a clearly un-
conscious Mr. Williams. He actually
looks dead. Then the tape goes to
6:19 and quickly to 6:20.

I wonder what was going on during
those lapses in time?

Clearly this tape should have been
shown to the Grand Jury. The DA
says they were "told what was in it".
and choice not to see it. Of course
that could depend on how the infor-
mation was presented to them.

Someone should be charged for what
happened to Mr. Williams.

Taser used as insturment of torture and punishment. Please stop this torture instrument!!! My third letter to Congress woman Barbara Box and Ellen O Tausher.

quote:
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Tape shows 5 Taser shocks in 1 minute
author: LATEEF MUNGIN [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
Source

A videotape of the struggle between Frederick Williams and Gwinnett County [Georgie] Sheriff's deputies shows he was struck with a Taser stun gun five times within one minute. Within four minutes, the 31-year-old Lawrenceville man had lost consciousness.

Videotape shows Williams tasered repeatedly
His last words were: "Don't kill me, man. Don't kill me."

A videotape of the struggle between Frederick Williams and Gwinnett County Sheriff's deputies shows he was struck with a Taser stun gun five times within one minute. Within four minutes, the 31-year-old Lawrenceville man had lost consciousness.

The tape, filmed at the Gwinnett County jail, was part of an 11-month investigatory file that District Attorney Danny Porter's office released this week. The file became public after Porter announced he will not press criminal charges against deputies involved in the incident. Porter asked the grand jury to consider the case this week.

"The evidence and particularly the videotape raised questions that were most appropriately answered by the grand jury," Porter said. "The grand jury declined to go forward."

Melvin Johnson, an attorney representing Williams' wife and four children, has seen the videotape.

He said he disagrees with the district attorney's decision. He has asked the FBI to investigate.

"He was pleading for his life," Johnson said. "They claim they were trying to immobilize him but he was already in handcuffs. They were clearly trying to inflict pain on a person they thought had injured one of their fellow officers."

Williams was arrested May 25, 2004, during a domestic disturbance at his home.

According to police reports, Williams' family said he refused to take his epilepsy medication and was acting violent and irrational.

Williams got into an altercation with the first officer arriving on the scene, Gwinnett police Officer R.E. Kenyon. According to an incident report, Williams charged the officer and grabbed his baton as Kenyon tried to strike him. The two struggled over the baton and Kenyon lost his balance, falling to the ground, bloodying his nose.

Kenyon called for backup over his police radio. Several officers arrived and tackled and subdued Williams.

He was taken to the jail, where deputies were alerted that they had a "delta," Gwinnett law enforcement slang meaning a combative inmate.

About 11 deputies were standing at the back door of the jail as an officer dropped Williams off, including a deputy who was videotaping the episode.

Williams, his arms handcuffed behind his back, his feet bound, was rocking back and forth in the back of the police car as deputies approached. The deputies grabbed him out of the car and carried him into the jail. As they were carrying him, Williams pleaded with deputies not to kill him. It was his last audible comment.

They carried him through the jail entrance to an area where restraint chairs are located. They placed him in a chair that resembles an adult-sized car seat used to immobilize combative inmates.

Williams appeared to be attempting to free himself from the chair, surrounded by deputies.

One deputy wrapped his arm around Williams' head and chin. Others were holding his arms and legs as Deputy Michael Mustachio applied the Taser to his chest.

One deputy commands Williams to stop resisting.

"Do you want another one?" Mustachio said, referring to the stun gun.

Within one minute, Williams was shocked a total of five times.

His handcuffs were not removed until after he lost consciousness.

Once it was clear that Williams was unconscious, deputies began to administer aid. Someone called for an ambulance.

Williams never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead two days later.

Gwinnett police Detective Steve Shaw investigated the incident and concluded that deputies did not violate the Sheriff's Department policy or any laws.

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Police Taser, Kill Teen Acting Strangely In Horse Pasture
18-Year-Old Allegedly Charged At Officer
Source

AKRON, Ohio -- Springfield Township police are investigating the death of a man after he was stunned with a Taser gun by a police officer, NewsChannel5 reported.

Investigators said that Richard Holcomb, 18, was shirtless and acting strange in a horse pasture just after midnight Saturday. That's when police said he reportedly charged at officer Christine Albrecht.

She ordered Holcomb to stop and then stunned him with the Taser gun.

Holcomb was later pronounced dead at Akron City Hospital. The Summit County Coroner has not yet determined a cause of death.

This is the second time someone has died in Summit County after being shocked by a Taser gun.

Autistic Teenager Is Beaten by Deputies After Being Mistaken for a Prowler
 http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBDXKXEM6E.html
The Associated Press
Published: Mar 22, 2005

MOUNTAIN GATE, Calif. (AP) - An autistic teenager suffered a head injury and a broken elbow in a beating by three sheriff's deputies who mistook him for a prowler, authorities say.
Pierre Cowell, a 17-year-old who does not speak, had wandered from his home early Friday.

A neighbor, who did not recognize him, called 911 after seeing him outside her home about 2 a.m., Capt. Tom Bosenko said Monday. The woman became alarmed when she heard the doorknob jiggling, he said.

As three deputies approached the house, Cowell ran toward them and bumped one of them, Bosenko said. When Cowell didn't respond to the officers' commands, they used a baton, stun gun and pepper spray to subdue him.

"The officers were very much concerned for their safety," Bosenko said, adding that the deputies thought Cowell was under the influence of drugs. He said that the officers did not know that an autistic teenager was missing at the time.

Cynthia Cowell said she was unaware her son had left their home Friday until deputies came to her door.

"He doesn't understand anything to do with danger. He has to have someone constantly with him," she said.

She said she was surprised the deputies did not know he was autistic until she told them. "Being totally nonverbal would be a clue," she said.
**************************************************
----- Original Message -----
From: Dan Willams
To: Barbara Boxer ; Nancy Pelosi ; Diane Feinstein
Sent: Friday, February 11, 2005 10:49 AM
Subject: Kickbacks paid to Local Police by Private Prison-Industry complex, and Taser International.

HEY YOU!

Taser International is paying kickbacks to Police. Is this being investigated in California?

We have police walking around our community with ELECTRIC cattle prods and now we find Taser Internatioal has been paying the Police kickbacks. Also, people are dying--Amnesty International issued a report that blamed at least 74 deaths since 2001 on Tasers.

Are the Democrats in the back pocket of Corporations and just do EVERYTHING they ask without question? We have an attorney general that is involved in torture!!!! Are you trying to turn America into a Latin American dictatorship?

There are alarms sounding here and you're asleep at the wheel.

Taser spokesman, Homeland Security nominee, and crony Bernard Kerik has received millions of dollars from Taser International for lobbying and arming local police departments with this electric torture device--the taser gun.

Kerik is involved with lobbying for the Private Prison-Industrial complex such as the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the GEO Group (formerly known as Wackenhut), Correctional Services Corporation (CSC) and Correctional Medical Services.

Are you going to wait until for these PRIVATE PRISON cronies start installing CREMATING OVENS? Let's start earlier, OK?

Who is watching this cronyism? What is going on here?

This is CRIME against the American people!!!! DO SOMETHING!!!!

This issue of Stun guns, death, and kickbacks has to be investigated. I emailed all of you about this scandal six months ago and since then dozens of people have died!

The press in not doing its job, the politicians are not resisting these Straussian FASCISTS thugs!!!

quote:
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Cashing In On Cons
By Silja J.A. Talvi, In These Times. Posted February 10, 2005.


"In November 2004, Amnesty International issued a report that blamed at least 74 deaths since 2001 on Tasers and called for a suspension of their use until further studies could prove just how "non-lethal" these weapons were. Headline business news emerged during the ACA conference: Taser executives were reported to have sold $91.5 million of their own stock, raising suspicions that they sought to maximize their own profits before their product lost ground. The company subsequently announced that sales were projected to slow in the months to come. The stock plunged 30 percent. As if all that weren't bad enough, Taser International President Tom Smith said in an interview that four active-duty police officers had been offered stock options for law enforcement training programs they supervised, which in turn had 'led directly to the sale of Tasers to a number of police departments.'

It's a good thing that former Taser spokesman Bernard Kerik cashed in when he did. The former New York City police commissioner made more than $6.2 million in pre-tax profits from the sale of Taser stock in the month leading up to his abortive Homeland Security nomination."

...Randy DeLay, the brother of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), lobbied the Bureau of Prisons to send its prisoners to RCDC [Reeves County Detention Facility], at the behest of county officials.

Randy DeLay isn't the only member of his family with an interest in corrections. In December, Rep. DeLay accepted a $100,000 check from the CCA for the DeLay Foundation for Kids.

The CCA has become a leader in securing private prison contracts. In FY 2003, the CCA generated more than $268.9 million in revenue. Greasing the palms of legislators nationwide hasn't hurt: In 2004, the CCA's political action committee gave $59,000 to candidates for federal office – 92 percent to Republicans.

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