There is an investigation in Fredericksburg, Virginia after the posting of a YouTube clip show police tasering, Lantz Day, 36, for what appears to be 42 consecutive seconds. On the video below, you can hear what sounds like the taser and Day screaming for them to stop. There is no reason that I can see why the tasering continued after Day was down and surrounding by officers, which leads to the concern that officers were punishing him for attempting to run. He was unarmed and under suspicion of property damage.
The incident began when a car damaged five parked vehicles as it sped through the downtown area. The driver fled and Day was a passenger in the car. According to police, when people tried to hold Day, he threatened anyone who called for help.
When Day tried to flee officers, he was tasered. He was later arrested not for the property damage but obstruction of justice.
Police are still looking for his accomplice.
I can certainly understand the desire to charge Day if he was in the car and made threats against citizens about calling police. I am surprised the charge is not criminal property damage, which is a felony over $1000. Obstruction however includes threats to witnesses:
§ 18.2-460. Obstructing justice; penalty.
A. If any person without just cause knowingly obstructs a judge, magistrate, justice, juror, attorney for the Commonwealth, witness, any law-enforcement officer, or animal control officer employed pursuant to § 3.2-6555 in the performance of his duties as such or fails or refuses without just cause to cease such obstruction when requested to do so by such judge, magistrate, justice, juror, attorney for the Commonwealth, witness, law-enforcement officer, or animal control officer employed pursuant to § 3.2-6555, he shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
B. Except as provided in subsection C, any person who, by threats or force, knowingly attempts to intimidate or impede a judge, magistrate, justice, juror, attorney for the Commonwealth, witness, any law-enforcement officer, or an animal control officer employed pursuant to § 3.2-6555 lawfully engaged in his duties as such, or to obstruct or impede the administration of justice in any court, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
C. If any person by threats of bodily harm or force knowingly attempts to intimidate or impede a judge, magistrate, justice, juror, attorney for the Commonwealth, witness, any law-enforcement officer, lawfully engaged in the discharge of his duty, or to obstruct or impede the administration of justice in any court relating to a violation of or conspiracy to violate § 18.2-248 or subdivision (a) (3), (b) or (c) of § 18.2-248.1, or § 18.2-46.2 or § 18.2-46.3, or relating to the violation of or conspiracy to violate any violent felony offense listed in subsection C of § 17.1-805, he shall be guilty of a Class 5 felony.
It is notable that the reports do not say that the car was stolen, which would mean that police could trace its owner. Yet, there is now a viable civil liability option for Day to sue for excessive force. I do not seen a threat to the officers to justify such a prolonged tasering. Notably, police departments have moved to tasers that limit discharges to five seconds to prevent excessive force. Manufacturers also refer to a five second limit on police tasers. The United Nations considers the use of tasers to be a method of torture. We are seeing more and more of lawsuits over the unwarranted or excessive use of tasers like the recent case in Glendale. This seems destined for such a lawsuit.
i think most of you missed the point. a deaf victim tased a woman buying cell phones tased unarmed people tased how many deaths a year? here in nh they dont even investigate the use of a taser. i was tasered for well over a MINUTE and drive stunned repeatedly. because officer KNEW i had a warrant (did not) police state? torture ? yes arrested and charged. try to comply while being electrocuted! so drive stun him. where is the common sense in this? police state bought and payed for by you. A1 law abiding person? mabye but you may be the next taser victim
Yo all,
(1) Lantz Day had been a passenger in a car that hit five parked vehicles in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
I bet you this man has a long list of crimes in his CV.
About half of the states have now OUTLAWED the use of the electric chair to take the life of a convict for a capital murder sentence. And instead, now, our country’s governments issue those same deadly, electric shock devices, but in neat, compact pistol shapes, to the police, who are more than happy to use them on people PRE-CONVICTION, absent due process, absent trial, and the accused are executed cold dead, and almost nothing gets done about it, if ever.
One main death result is too much electricity breaking down muscle tissue into liquid, that then hits the blood stream, killing the kidneys. It’s called Rhabdomyolysis, and when the electrocuted-accused gets subdued and then dragged to the jail for processing and later dies, they go, “Oh, So sorry. He must have had an undiagnosed, underlying medical condition and now he is dead.” When in fact, it should be AUTOMATIC and MANDATORY that anyone who has been tazered must be given a large glass of water with a teaspoon of baking soda in it to block the potential kidney damage and renal failure that many times leads to death.
It wil continue until this is implimented.
I can remember when tasers were first introduced. They were sold to the public as a non-lethal alternative to shooting someone with a gun. In other words the idea was that they were a tool to save lives, that instead of putting a 9 mm hollow point through someone’s chest who presented an actual treat to one’s life, one could use the taser to disable someone without killing them. The use of them has evolved to the place where they are used capriciously, almost like a cop practical joke. Used to punish people for ‘contempt of cop’. Enough is enough.
The Real Walking Dead
Crime Awareness, Current Events, Tradecraft, Training. Tagged: Failure to Stop Drill, John Van Allen, Matt Zistel, Mozambique Drill, Oregon Shooting, Oregon State Trooper Shooting, Timetable of Death, W.E. Fairbairn, Wound Ballistics.
The following video USED TO show the REALITY of a human being’s ability to function after being fatally shot. The perp, John Van Allen, was shot once in the chest with a .40 Caliber pistol from a distance of no more than 15 feet. He manages to continue fighting after being hit, getting off several shots at Oregon State Trooper, Matt Zistel, wounding the trooper once in the side. The perp then runs to his car, opens the door and drives 1/2 mile, pulls over to the shoulder and dies.
Trooper Zistel was transported to a local hospital for his single gunshot wound, where he made a full recovery.
At the time of the shooting, Allen had his 3 children in the car, none of them were hurt thankfully. Relatives have no ideal what would possess Allen to act this way. Allen worked as a Construction Engineer in the US Army Reserves from 2009 to 2012.
So, what can the CO learn from this clip?
Study the Human Anatomy and Wound Ballistics. Understand that the human body can function with coordination and skill even after a fatal gunshot wound to the chest. Of course the PLACEMENT of the shot determines the “Timetable of Death”. The fact that the perp acted as he did and lived as long as he did after being shot, suggest a lung shot. If it has been a heart shot, he would have collapsed and died much sooner, most likely before ever getting back to the car. If you are a hunter, you can compare this to how a deer responds when shot. I have seen deer run over 200 yards with a lung shot, but only half that or less with a heart shot. Of course all of it depends on if the perp (or animal) keeps running; if they keep the heart pumping and they continue to lose blood (bleed out) they die faster than if they stay still or lay down, in which they will die slower.
Having understood this fact, the CO needs to realize the importance of the old school “Failure to Stop” or “Mozambique” drill. This drill states that if after placing several shot to center of mass the target keeps advancing, you now have to transition to a head shot (or ocular cavity shot) to drop the target where it stands. Understand that the ONLY shot that can stop ALL Motor and Neuron function is a shot to the brain, period.
Notice the perp did not stand still after being shot for you to continue shooting at him or to MAKE that Head Shot! This is the epitome of REAL WORLD engagements guys…Life is not a Square Range, where targets are static; they move, they are fluid, People naturally want to avoid being shot!
Always watch the Hands. If he is going to hurt you, it is going to come from the hands. Did you see the perps hands as he deployed his weapon? This guy had practiced that presentation before, it was too smooth.
Note how after the first shots were fired, the perp instinctively moved to the only cover available, the front of the police cruiser. Of course we cannot see the Trooper’s actions, but I will bet he was moving too.
Some good reference material for studying the human anatomy and “Wound Ballistics” is Bullet Penetration by Duncan Macpherson. For Timetables of Death, check out Contemporary Knife Targeting by Mike Janich and Chris Grosz, although it is a book about knife wounds, Fairbairns’ Timetables (though dated) apply across the board to combat wounds.
Stay Alert, Stay Armed and Stay Dangerous!
Day was probably afraid of what would happen to him at the station. They didn’t wait and did him in public.
I thought tasers were to be used when officers were in danger. The man was down. Why not cuffed? Even when he ran, I see no danger to any officers. There were officers between the him and “freedom”. These officers are sadistic. But, then again, it’s just one more n….. who deserves whatever he gets. [sarcasm]
This cruel & unusual punishment essentially puts the punishment ahead of the trial and verdict – the reverse of the American justice system.
It should be outlawed completely or heavily policed by judges and prosecutors.
There are many good people here;
and (unfortunately) – many frustrating censor bots!
There are plenty of jerks, bad guys and sophisticated criminals (as I’m blessed with more than my share – having to deal with). Unfortunately, there appears to always be a lack of sufficient “officers of the law”.
But a greater concern is that of manifest injustice. As there’s no greater evil among U.S.; than those who are paid by U.S. – to protect & serve – and swear an oath to do so.
Who appear to have, more recently,
created a greater “license” for themselves
to becoming a jerk/bad guy.
Crooks, ilk and kind are a part of society’s risk; and that is why our tax dollars pay for “good faith”, highly ferreted out, specifically trained – Police.
There’s no greater evil than those who swear an oath to do good;
using such as a license – to be bad!
Robin,
U basstard, it’s Friday & you are here with!
I’m so glad the surgery seems to have went well.
I’m supposed to be resting, but the Wallst against the “We the People” keeps me up late.
Robin, this is a good place, I can tell, there are people here with open arms & love people & our planet as I do.
Welcome to Friday!!! 🙂
Buckeroo 1, November 14, 2013 at 11:11 am
Every day that my wife leaves our home I worry regarding her safety. Why do I worry ? It is because of jerks like this young man who many of you feel sorry for … he got caught & obviously did not accept that fact. Now everyone seems more concern with his comfort & ways for him to obtain damages for being a jerk. Now why is that ? Meanwhile my stress continues without anyone concern to control the jerks,
as opposed to your next door neighbor who will probably turn out to be a serial killer, rapist, bank robber, wall street swindler..
you’re worried about her being killed or harmed by a black person. when you both are slaves to the corporation and will soon be riding a fema train to a re-education camp… keep on worrying about the wrong people and things.. thats exactly why this world is in the state,condition, patheticness it is in…
The comments on the YouTube video are apart of the reasons why this country is police state. The badge licker still outweighs the liberty lover
Forgot to subscribe.
There are two very good websites that those concerned by deaths by taser may find interesting. They are rarely updated these days but their archives are well worth browsing. They are:-
Exited-Delirium.com; and
TNT – TRUTH … not TASERS.
Truth not Tasers has excellent coverage of the death in Canada of Robert Dziekanski and the subsequent inquiry.
It is obvious to rational people that the taser is not nonlethal, rather it is less lethal. The question is by how much is it less lethal? Let us suppose that a taser is 1% as lethal as a 9mm pistol. If the taser is only used when the only alternative is a hail of 9mm slugs then it is a net benefit, but if because of its convenience and the belief that it is non lethal it is used 200 times as often as the pistol, it will increase the death toll.
There are two mechanisms postulated by which tasers can cause death:-
1/ A taser hit to the chest area can cause the heart to go into fibrillation;
2/ Prolonged use of the taser causes muscles to contract until available oxygen is exhausted. After that muscles continue contracting burning glucose by the anaerobic pathway which causes a build up of lactic acid in the blood, lowering blood PH to a lkethal level.
Here is another perspective. One that is more self interest. Suppose that you live in a municipality that has a police force. The Chief has a policy that says that tasers may be used to subdue people who do not pose a threat of death to the cops or other citizens. The Police Board, appointed by the municipality, approves this policy. The case in this article happens. Your city gets sued for damages. Yes, your city, your tax dime is on the hook. The victim of the taser who died has family who sues the cop, the Superior, the Chief and the City. Actual damages, punitive damages and attorney fees. Now when your little burg gets hit with a million dollar judgment YOU are on the hook. Think of that. Do you really want Wally out there with a taser shooting ninety year old men because they wont go to their doctor?
Take the tasers away from your Chief, his cops and pehaps your retirement will be more secure. And your uncle Louey might live to see 93.
Lantz Day certainly doesn’t appear to be the sharpest stick in the pile but running from the highly trained/professional
police officerssadists of Fredricksburg, Virginia hardly warrants being tortured with a Taser.Will these sadists be held to a lower standard than the “drag racing” motor bike cop in Alabama or will they be fired too?
Police torture, plain and simple. These cops need to charged and terminated.
A taser is more likely to kill an eighty year old grandma than an eighteen year old male boy in perfect shape. Same with a .22 caliber rifle when you shoot either grandma or kid guy in the foot. Both are deadly weapons. Lethal weapons–same thing. Weapons are devices designed to hurt and kill. Lethal weapons are designed to kill. A shotgun shell containing bean bags is kind of a half ass version of a lethal weapon. The story of the old guy shot first with the taser and then with the shotgun firing bean bags is a good example of deadly weapons being used and the user making some excuse that they were not deadly weapons. Well old guy died. We don’t know if he died from being electrocuted or bleeding to death or both.