Deprivation of rights under color of law ... for tasering
by digby
This could be a big case. I hope so anyway:
Two former small town police officers in South Carolina should spend at least a year in prison for shocking a mentally disabled woman at least eight times with a Taser without giving her time to follow their orders, federal prosecutors say.
Both Eric Walters and Franklin Brown will be sentenced on federal charges Monday in Florence. The two Marion police officers pleaded guilty to deprivation of rights under color of law in October.
Walters was patrolling in Marion early on the morning of April 2013 when he saw 40-year-old Melissa Davis walking out of the yard of a home for sale. He asked her what she was doing, thinking she might have broken into the home, then shocked her with his Taser, according to court papers.
After Davis fell to the ground, Walters ordered her to put her hands behind her back, then shocked her four more times before she could respond, prosecutors said.
By the time Brown responded, Walters had determined Davis did nothing wrong and was removing the Taser probes from her back. Brown noticed one of Davis' hands had slipped from her improperly applied handcuffs and ordered everyone to move away and shocked Davis again, even though she was not trying to fight or escape, according to court papers.
Brown shocked Davis twice more, then offered to let her go if he could shoot her in the forehead one more time with his Taser, prosecutors said.
Brown told the other officers at the scene he shot Davis with the Taser because he "did not want to touch that nasty (obscenity)," according to his plea agreement.
Both officers are white. Court records did not indicate Davis' race.
Prosecutors said they agree with federal sentencing guidelines that ask for 12 to 18 months behind bars for Walters and an 18- to 24-month sentence for Brown. The guidelines are tougher for Brown because Davis was in a vulnerable position when he shocked her.
Walters' lawyer asked for a six-month prison sentence and six months of home detention because he is in poor health after several heart attacks suffered before age 39. The lawyer added that Walters had a good record as an officer before the incident. Brown's lawyers did not file any motions asking for mercy before the sentencing.
Prosecutors said the officers should have known Davis had a diminished mental state, and a lawsuit filed by her caretaker against the officers and the city of Marion said she was well known around town.
The civil suit said along with the physical pain and suffering from the shocks and their after-effects, Davis also continues to need help to deal with mental anguish from what happened. Her lawsuit is seeking a minimum of nearly $2 million.
The officers originally faced state charges, which were dropped when federal prosecutors took over. At least three officers in South Carolina have been recently charged with shooting unarmed suspects.
The fact is that mentally disabled people are often unable to follow an officer's orders. As are deaf people or those who are in the midst of a seizure or old people. Sometimes people who are nervous or anxious in the presence of police (kind of like whitecoat anxiety when you're in the presence of a doctor) can make people behave in ways that police don't care for and see as disrespect.And in all those cases and more, cops routinely shoot people with electricity to make them behave and often administer electro-shock after they are in custody to deliver some street justice for having failed to show proper respect.
And nobody gets this worse than the mentally ill. Sometimes, there may be no choice. If they are a danger to themselves or others, it might be the best way to quickly de-escalate. But the police most often use these torture weapons gratuitously and unnecessarily, either for their own convenience or out of malice. Maybe a few cases like this will start to change the legal atmosphere that allows it.
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