Teen In Coma With Brain Damage After Being Tased By Cops
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D.B. Hirsch is a political activist, news junkie, and retired ad copy writer and spin doctor. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Real news. With snark, invective, and lots of links. Guaranteed behaving badly.
juicyfruityyy September 16th, 2014 at 9:31 pm
So sad. They never verified anything. What is wrong with these cops?
M D Reese September 16th, 2014 at 9:37 pm
It will be interesting to see what happens when/if all cops are required to wear cameras. I understand that in areas where cops wear cameras, complaints about police brutality have gone down.
whatthe46 September 16th, 2014 at 10:22 pm
sadly, i bet they find a way to disable them. i’m sorry to say, but i don’t trust them. and its a shame that the good cops can’t be distinguished from the bad ones. they all wear the same uniform. so, they all look alike to me.
Hirightnow September 16th, 2014 at 10:30 pm
Yup.
It will be continuous use of the “recording system was malfunctioning” excuse, unless it shows what they want you to see.
cheeriogirl September 16th, 2014 at 11:44 pm
I’m hoping for a mandatory period of time off for the first offense of the camera being turned off, without pay.
There would be NO second time.
whatthe46 September 17th, 2014 at 12:04 am
i agree. i also think that cops should be on a strict probationary period. 1 year seems reasonable considering they have to prove themselves safety to the public. anytime you have the power over people as they do, then you need to prove you respect that power and have control over that power. otherwise, get the fk outta dodge.
M D Reese September 17th, 2014 at 1:51 pm
Oh I’m sure there will be some shenanigans. But not for long, if there are consequences. They should take away all their military gear as well.
whatthe46 September 16th, 2014 at 9:41 pm
1st, my heart goes out to the family and a speedy recovery to this kid. 2ndly, i have to say, the FBI jumped in on this really fast. hummm. 3rdly, “Major Paul Thurman says that he believes Runnels’ version of events” well, i would have been shocked had he said anything differently. this kids only hope is that the FBI believes the friends’ version of events. and this is not a big kid. if his friend can hear the explaination of the car windows disfunction, certainly this bastard cop could hear. also, if this kid was in fact afraid to open the door, it had to have been because this “cop” was giving him reason to be fearful of him from the jump. otherwise, i don’t see why he would have refused to open the door. ****** what do they mean by, a woman’s name was associated with the car? was she related to this kid in some way?
M D Reese September 16th, 2014 at 9:33 pm
Aren’t cops even trained how to talk to people anymore? Like maybe ask a question or two before they start firing?
juicyfruityyy September 16th, 2014 at 9:42 pm
No. They are not required to doing anything they don’t want to. Hey, he has the Mayor backing him up. But this 17 year old is losing his life. I bet that he was unarmed.
whatthe46 September 16th, 2014 at 9:52 pm
except for maybe the remote control for the xbox game. i think what likely pissed him off too was this kid setting up to record this on his phone.
M D Reese September 17th, 2014 at 1:55 pm
Maybe all of us CIVILIANS should start wearing small lapel cameras.
cheeriogirl September 16th, 2014 at 9:37 pm
And yet, the young man received a severe traumatic brain injury from his encounter with this policeman. How does the cop say that happened?
M D Reese September 16th, 2014 at 9:38 pm
They like to push people’s faces into the concrete–especially if they are mentally ill or physically handicapped.
whatthe46 September 16th, 2014 at 9:51 pm
or do a 6 man pile up.
M D Reese September 17th, 2014 at 1:53 pm
…that’s the Palin party game…
Tommy6860 September 16th, 2014 at 10:08 pm
If they they are offended by their frail stature.
M D Reese September 17th, 2014 at 1:53 pm
All the while yelling “Stop resisting!”
Hirightnow September 16th, 2014 at 10:26 pm
He probably had cigarettes on him, and was possibly selling them singly.
tiredoftea September 16th, 2014 at 10:33 pm
So, when is Congress going to recognize that the terrorists are already here?
whatthe46 September 16th, 2014 at 10:46 pm
when it happens to someone they give a damn about.
Snick1946 September 16th, 2014 at 10:35 pm
I am in my late 60’s. I have always been leery of cops but lately I am scared to death of them- especially these young bucks fresh back from patrolling as MPs in Iraq or someplace. It’s as if we are suddenly occupied and are the enemy. My son is 18 and just started driving to college classes every day and I live in fear, not so much of careless drivers, but that he will be stopped by moronic cops like this.
Shades September 16th, 2014 at 10:59 pm
I feel like I’m watching some horror movie where zombie cops are going around killing people. No wonder people are afraid of them.
Skydog2 September 17th, 2014 at 3:43 am
A few regrettable instances and people pretend it’s the norm.
Carla Akins September 17th, 2014 at 5:50 am
There were at least three such instances in August alone, it’s time to recognize we have a problem.
Skydog2 September 17th, 2014 at 8:25 am
We have a problem but with only 3 out of a population of 314 million means it’s not widespread or the norm.
Comments like “cops are going around killing people” and “the terrorist are already here” are simply over the top.
Carla Akins September 17th, 2014 at 11:42 am
Please tell me you understand that three well known cases in a single month, doesn’t equate statically with the entire US population population?
Skydog2 September 17th, 2014 at 12:24 pm
Sure, so if there’s 30 cases per month (360) it comes to 0% of the total population.
To be clear, even if there were only 1 case per year that case is important just not widespread or the norm.
Carla Akins September 17th, 2014 at 1:24 pm
I never said that, you understand how numbers work – right? The three well-known (well-known, not only) events from last month cannot be used to apply statistically as you’re attempting to do. However it can be used as an indication of an accelerating trend.
Skydog2 September 17th, 2014 at 2:11 pm
“indication of an accelerating trend” – I agree with this statement as the number of people killed improperly killed by the police has gone from extraordinarily rare to extremely rare.
Hasun Byam September 17th, 2014 at 6:31 pm
ok your talking about the 3 you know of there are way more you nevre hear about , I remember being told by a cop as a young man that I had a chose take a beating and go home or go to jail, I took the beating it was Friday and did not want to stay in jail all weekend, what I did to get to that point is beyond me I was walking and fit the description
whatthe46 September 17th, 2014 at 6:45 pm
that’s terrible.
whatthe46 September 17th, 2014 at 6:44 pm
apparently he needs more murders by cops per month to become angry. disgusting. we shouldn’t have 1 period. they are unjustified and we don’t need to hear one more incident like these at all.
Shades September 17th, 2014 at 9:20 am
Until it happens to someone you know.
Carla Akins September 16th, 2014 at 11:01 pm
This is a local story for me, and without a doubt the Independence PD leave a lot to be desired but I’m not so sure this is as clear cut as some of the cases we’ve seen in the news so much lately.
There was/is a bench warrant for the tag (traffic court) for failure to appear – the windows are tinted so it’s not unreasonable to have pulled the car over.
Masters (the 17 yr-old) is the son of a Kansas City policeman – which I guess means nothing except it adds an odd twist.
According to the incident report 11 minutes lapsed between the time he was pulled over and was subsequently tazered. That seems to be a fair amount of time to be discussing his need to get out of the car. I wonder if he wasn’t having some type of stress-induced medical issue that caused him to be unable to move, or get out of the car? Particularly, now that we know he experienced cardiac arrest.
IPD has had a couple of press releases, they provided the Officer’s name and have mostly appeared to be cooperative although a tad reluctant to discuss the department’s policy on tazer use. Apparently there is dashcam video but we have not seen it yet.
whatthe46 September 16th, 2014 at 11:21 pm
i was wonder what the warrant was for and my first thought was if it was for a traffic warrant, then why the response by the police to be so “forward” if you will. and i guess my question as to why the FBI involvment came so quickly has been answered. (father’s a cop). whoa, wait. now, that makes me ask this question, if the IPD thinks that this was an ok action taken, how does this father feel about it since its his son and not some “thug?”
Carla Akins September 16th, 2014 at 11:39 pm
It was for a traffic warrant in another city (they’ve never indicated which city) but a valid reason to pull him over – so far not one word from his father. During a press conference, the IDP Captain was asked if he knew the father and he stated he did not, but I do think it had a bearing on FBI’s quick involvement.
At the very least it could have been handled better, he appears to be a frail young man in the pictures – but this is a long way from Mike Brown’s shooting or the young veteran shot in Walmart holding the toy gun. I read earlier tonight he was coming out of his coma and is responding to stimuli so they are hopeful for a full recovery.
cheeriogirl September 16th, 2014 at 11:42 pm
A full recovery would be nothing short of a miracle at this point. it’s far more likely he will suffer permanent brain damage.
Carla Akins September 17th, 2014 at 5:23 am
One of the local news station ran a piece about some aggressive measures that ER doctors are taking to stop some of the long-term damage in these situations He said doctors have become better at treating these types of situations – I’m guessing since they see more of these reactions. Sheesh.
whatthe46 September 16th, 2014 at 11:48 pm
“but this is a long way from Mike Brown’s shooting or the young veteran shot in Walmart holding the toy gun.” you’ve got that RIGHT! or the young man that was shot 6 times in the back. i watched a clip of his mother tonight speaking and the vigil with family and friends. my heart broke. she said when asked what did he look like, they discribed him as “brown with an afro” and she knew. and she said it was because he was black. she’s white and the father is black. i wonder if his family had any perception of the police and the recent murders by cops and that it was likely justified shootings, before this happened to him? i think that’s a normal thought.
Carla Akins September 17th, 2014 at 5:17 am
I know – they always run that picture of him with that little sideways grin, it’s heartbreaking. The “shopper” that called 911 originally is back-tracking his story, the video does not backup the callers allegations.
Of course – none of that makes it okay for the police reaction. The irony and hypocrisy of shooting a black man holding a toy gun in the toy aisle at Walmart – compared to the lengths gone to even with this young man (Masters) is night and day (no pun intended) and this one may still turn out to be a poor LE action.
I don’t think many could dispute the need for a different screening and training process for law enforcement.
mea_mark September 17th, 2014 at 9:18 am
I bet the boys father had instructed his son on his rights and what to do and was probably doing the right thing and the officer didn’t like it. The father probably called the FBI right away and explained what he knew about his son. If Masters had a phone, even may of had his dad on the phone at the time. I can only imagine how mad I would be if I was that father listening in.
whatthe46 September 16th, 2014 at 11:42 pm
carla… i have another theory. since this kid’s father is a cop, i wonder if he felt “untouchable” and antagonized this bastard of a cop. that being said, i’m not blaming this kid at all. again, there still, regardless, was no reason to taze this kid and man handle him the way he did. a big mouth (if its the case or not) is not a reason for this sort of a response. this kid is fighting for his life.
Carla Akins September 17th, 2014 at 11:44 am
I truly don’t know. Hopefully we’ll know more soon – is prognosis was improving this morning reportedly.
Carla Akins September 17th, 2014 at 2:02 pm
Local news states he is now awake and communicating but some memory loss. http://www.kmbc.com/news/teen-hospitalized-after-taser-incident-with-police-now-communicating/28105500
rg9rts September 17th, 2014 at 4:16 pm
They released the name because as the PD found in Ferguson, their records will be hacked and everything including his SSN will be public.
Carla Akins September 17th, 2014 at 5:17 pm
Or because it’s the law.
rg9rts September 17th, 2014 at 5:37 pm
Trust me that wasn’t the reason Ferguson PD let the info out
I’ll bet he was getting credit cards up the wazoo. His home address and salary were thrown in for good measure
Carla Akins September 17th, 2014 at 5:41 pm
I was referring to IDP, but I agree. As a public/government employee his salary was published, but in MO all law enforcement and civic employees know this. There’s a website. The other is tougher to get.
rg9rts September 18th, 2014 at 3:21 am
The info was hacked before they even released his name.. Remember it was a secret
whatthe46 September 17th, 2014 at 1:54 am
who thinks that another way to keep cops in line is, if they
have ever been fired or resigned due to misconduct upon a civilian that results
in a civil suit, that not only should the city/state/county be responsible for
the reward, but the officer in question lose whatever pension they would have
received after service. Furthermore, if
he/she was not fired or resigned, but was involved in a civil suit that was
caused by their actions, regardless if they were not fired/resigned, will have
to share at min. ¾ of their pensions to cover the reward won in a law
suit. I bet you we won’t find anymore cover-ups
at the risk of losing money out of their own pockets.
rg9rts September 17th, 2014 at 4:13 pm
Looks like EVERY cop should have a camera
rg9rts September 17th, 2014 at 4:13 pm
Department guidelines…….LOL…..Next will be the Eric Garner stranglehold
Nicholas Russell Harris September 18th, 2014 at 7:58 pm
Now even whites aren’t safe from brutality. Told you all it was a matter of time.
Sadly I think Furgeson may well only have been the beginning. If i were a reaident in this town i would be calling the Furgeson people and saying “Hey we have more brutality here, let’s get a big movement together and protest in this town to” for only by the collective action of the people can the brutality be stopped.