It appears that Andre Thomas was right. The Swissvale, Pennsylvania man knocked on doors of an apartment complex yelling that someone was trying to shoot him. The police arrived and, when he allegedly failed to comply with their orders, shot the unarmed man with a taser and then, according to witnesses, beat him. He died at a hospital later and an autopsy is planned.
Swissvale officers reported that they stopped Thomas, 37, in front of the apartment building and that he refused to submit to them. They proceeded to hit him with a taser. Witnesses claim that he was forced to the ground and handcuffed — and then was stomped on and beaten by police.
The incident has triggered protests and the FBI is investigating.
For the full story, click here.
It seems like we are getting one taser incident gone awry every day. Are the police just getting out of control? I cannot imagine how the police are going to talk their way out of this one. With a man handcuffed and subsequent to a tasering, they kick and punch him to death, according to a witness. These police officers need to be brought up on criminal charges and charged with murder. The only way we can contol out-of-control police officers is to charge them with crimes and then the families need to file civil suits against the officers and the city that they work for. After some convictions and some large damage awards, the police departments may finally learn that the rule of law also rules them.
I’m surprised at your response this time. I would think that you would find this incident at least as humorous as the young man who was decapitated and cannibalized on the Greyhound bus. Or does this victim deserve more consideration because he is American?
Once again Rafflaw, we’re in total agreement.
The reason these out-of-control police are tasering and shooting people under suspicious circumstances is because they are not being held accountable by the citizens they are supposed to serve. I guess these renegade cops are just taking their cues from President Bush, who doesn’t thinks the law or the constitution applies to him either. After all, if the President doesn’t have to obey the laws, why should they?
zakimar:
I am truly worried about your rotator cuff with you carrying around that big chip all the time.
You should be more worried about the mental state of people who could find amusement form such a horrible act.
it seems to me that the tasers are pretty useless. seeing as how every article notes the police have to taze the guy 19 times, or taze him the beat him to death. If they are so useless that they cant knock a guy out with one jolt, THEN GET RID OF THEM.
I mean srsly, if they shot their guns and after shooting the guy 19 times he was still a menace, or if they shot him THEN had to beat him to kill him, i would think they would get different guns. whats up with the tazers, unless of course its just for sadistic reasons they keep them…
It seems that these taser incidents are rising dramatically. The common thread is that somehow the police officers feel their orders are not being followed, or that the person has not addressed them with the proper deference. Many of them appeared have possibilities of non-violent resolution. I feel this particularly strongly because I have a cardiac implant and a taser would literally kill me. I find myself being overly deferential to police officers, airport personnel and others that might put me into peril. Frankly, I would not participate in a protest march because of this. This angers me since i know my citizenship rights are being diminished.
My anger, however, is irrelevant when compared to the dangers that people of color, or people who seem different from the norm, face on a daily basis. This over zealous law enforcement is directly enabled by the mindset spread by the Bush administration. This mindset gives tacit permission for some police to feel that their authority demands total submissiveness. Bolstering this is the unspoken message that most police have been given that their job is to protect wealth and whites from encroachments by those of color and those lacking wealth.
Many police officers come to their jobs with a positive calling to do good. The local systems and prejudice erode their idealism, while their co-workers enhance a feeling of separateness from the citizenry. Those among them who are corrupt, or sadistic are protected by the powers that be and are defended by political demagogues whose underlying message is racism and elitism. This is an American problem of long standing and that is why I support Attorneys who battle this and the ACLU. Not to be overly dramatic, but the fight against this kind of behavior is one of the ongoing struggles that will define the success of our Constitutional System.
We have become a Police State, where the Police command, not serve, the people. These taser incidents are allowed in order to frighten the public. And it is working. We’re all scared to speak up or make the slightest belligerent-seeming motion, whether when around Authority Figures or surfing the internet.
Perhaps I should have said the police CONTROL rather than serve the populace. Its always been the case for the African American and other minority communities, but now it is aimed at everyone.
Man Knocks On Doors Screaming Someone Was Trying to Shoot Him: Police Arrive and Shoot Him
It just bristles with efficiency.
I would also add Susan their departments leadership. Things are getting out of control and I think it’s up to us the people to change it as we see we can do that.
Rafflaw
“These police officers need to be brought up on criminal charges and charged with murder. ”
I notice from the picture that the dead man black.
Therefore it would be a waste of time bringing the police up on charges.
Compare Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell and Tarika Wilson.
The Taser company has invented the term “excited delirium” to explain all those deaths wrongly attributed to tasers. Someone needs to invent a similar term to describe that condition that causes a policeman to taser a handcuffed man 9 times or one with a broken back 19 times.
Something like acute fear loss of control taser frenzy.
Rafflaw
Society cannot afford to punish police for the occasional shooting, beating or tasering to death even when the victim is innocent in that narrow and technical sense of the word meaning not have performed the actions constituting a crime.
Essentially the job of the police is to apply violence to control citizens and it is not possible to control this violence with sufficient precision to avoid all deaths. If society actually punished a policemen for their actions however egregious then their colleagues would sulk and refuse to keep them dangerous niggers and poor people under control.
There are two things that Andre Thomas did wrong: he wasn’t rich; and he was Black.
A Proud American?
It could just as easily have been signed, ‘Just Supporting the Police’.
Wow! Lots of negativity towards the police here? I think we should abolish the police department system and let the criminals run rampant,pillage and plunder like mid-evil times
I swear its always that they beat him for being black or something ridiculous like that!! How about that the cops were going to an address of some crazy guy jumping around screaming and yelling about a shooting so knowing there could be a gun involved this crazy ranting lunatic runs up to the po-po with his hands in his pockets and when the cops get there and ask him to remove his hands from his pants he refuses and starts screaming at him?????? Did it the call person tell the cop ” talk to mr. anderson out front” or was it” an anonymous citizen claims theres some guy outside talking about someone with a gun shooting at him”?????? Did anyone think of that or is it automatically the police were bad???WHAT WOULD YOU DO IN THAT SITUATION IF YOU SHOWED UP???? GEE YOU DON’T KNOW BECAUSE YOU WEREN’T THERE AND DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING THAT WAS SAID AND WHAT REALLY HAPPENED!!!!!!!!
I think ALL citizens should be able to go through “police for a day” scenario’s so they know what the real police have to deal with everyday!!!! I was lucky to go through something similar where i was in front of a screen with a video playing and had to pretend to be a cop responding to a call. Guess what? I was naive like the rest of this liberal minded world and was shot by the “nice looking kid” on the screen!!!!…….just my .10 cents(.02 +.08 for the increase in gas,world events,etc….)