Capital Punishment for Traffic Violations
by digby
Another taser death:
A 43-year-old man from the Lake Arrowhead area died after San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies used a Taser to subdue him after a traffic stop, authorities said Wednesday.
A deputy attempted a traffic stop on Allen Kephart, a local DJ and teacher’s assistant from Crest Park, after he allegedly ran a stop sign Tuesday on Highway 189 in Blue Jay, said Cindy Bachman, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.
Kephart pulled into a Valero gas station parking lot about a quarter mile away, got out of the car and "became combative and uncooperative" with the deputy, Bachman said. Additional deputies arrived at the scene to assist, she said.
"The deputy attempted to place him under arrest, at which time he was Tased," Bachman said. “He became unconscious, and medical aid was immediately provided -- CPR."
Kephart was taken to a local hospital, where he was declared dead.
Kephart’s father, a member of the Sheriff’s Department’s volunteer mounted Rangers unit for decades, called his son’s death a senseless use of excessive force. The incident happened when his son was returning to the family home after filling up his car with gas in Crestline.
"To me, it’s not just a traffic stop. It’s murder. You don’t kill a person for running a stop sign," said Jack Kephart, also of Crest Park.
The father said witnesses told him that the deputy slammed his son to the ground. His son was Tased about eight times by two deputies, said Jack Kephart, who dismissed assertions that his son was combative with the deputies.
“He’s never raised a hand in 43 years. He goes to church three times a week. He does the audio for the church in Crestline," Jack Kephart said. “He works three jobs. He’s never had a drink. Never done drugs. Never smoked. Never done nothing."
I have no idea what precipitated the tasering, but since there were witnesses and possibly video I'm sure we'll find out. The victim was heavy, weighing about 350 pounds, so I'm sure they'll say that was what caused his death rather than the multiple electrical shocks delivered by the police. After all, if you take the risk of running a stop sign while being fat, the police can't be responsible for what might happen.
I don't know the statistics, but I would imagine that it was unusual for an otherwise upstanding citizen to be killed as a result of a traffic stop prior to the use of tasers. Police relied on their psychological training and had the patience to talk down an irate citizen (if he was in fact irate) rather than escalating the situation by introducing the threat of and then delivering excruciating pain. Because the police aren't held accountable for this, citizens are being killed.
Perhaps this fellow really was so out of control that they had no choice. But I've seen enough of these things at this point to believe that the onus is on the police officers to prove it. Nobody should die because they ran a stop sign unless they pulled a deadly weapon on the police who stopped them and the officer had no choice but to defend themselves. That is not the usual situation with these taser killing.
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