Man calls for EMS, gets police Tasers

Source: Waxahachie Daily News

Waxahachie resident Allen Nelms says a call to 911 to get medical attention for his diabetic seizure got him Tasered by police instead.

He said he still has no answer as to why police broke down his door with their guns drawn before shooting him multiple times with a Taser as he lay in bed.

“One of the officers said I ‘lunged’ at him. I asked him, ‘How can I lunge at you from my back and on my bed?’ ” Nelms said in an interview with the Daily Light.
All he’s received, he said, is a one-paragraph statement from police that indicates the department concluded an investigation into his allegation of excessive force in less than five days, with Assistant Chief Brett Colston saying the officers operated within policy guidelines.

The 52-year-old partially disabled man - who also suffers from rheumatoid arthritis - was having a diabetic seizure during the early morning hours of April 28 when his girlfriend, Josie Edwards, called 911 to request paramedics.

Read more: http://www.waxahachiedailylight.com/articles/2007/05/20/dailylight/news/01-05-20-taser.txt

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Police gone wild. Tasers should only be appropriate if they are being used instead of deadly force.

.......Nelms told the Daily Light that he was in his bed in the couple’s bedroom when officers burst in with their guns drawn and yelling at him to get on the floor.

He said he told them he needed medical help, not the police, but officers continued yelling at him to get on the floor. He said he went to roll over to his right, with photographs indicating he was struck by Taser barbs on his left side, his back and his shoulder. He said he was handcuffed, with paramedics intervening when the officers began trying to yank the Taser barbs from his skin.

Paramedics removed the Taser barbs and then checked his blood sugar, with officers then releasing him from the handcuffs.

In her statement, Edwards, who has Lou Gehrig’s disease and is on oxygen, said an officer came to the door and asked her what was the matter before calling for backup and the paramedics.

They send a cop to ask what the crisis is who assesses who to call. ...And this guy called police backup who came in with guns drawn.

Edit: My point being, I don't understand that - the victim claims he requested paramedics, implying he talked to a real human being, so what gives? But with the city withholding information because of the pending lawsuit, who's to say.

I hope it is not the law to withhold evidence just to protect guilty cops.

After his complaint was closed, Nelms said he was referred by a city council member to Waxahachie attorney Rodney Ramsey, who told the Daily Light he has filed notice with the city on Nelms’ behalf to preserve all documentation and evidence relating to the incident.
“This police department has a bad history of disparate treatment on the east side,” Ramsey said. “They’re not treated fairly. They’re not treated justly.

“I bet the police wouldn’t kick in a white man’s door on Spring Creek at 4:30 a.m. and Taser him three or four times,” said Ramsey, saying he will seek justice on Nelms’ behalf.

“I don’t care if I make a dime on this case. I don’t care if this costs me money,” he said. “I want to know what policy says you can kick somebody’s door down and Taser them for asking for medical help. This is not going to happen in this town anymore.”
Ramsey said he wants the names of the officers involved in the incident and that he will renew his efforts to see a citizens review board of police established in the city of Waxahachie, saying that while the majority of the department’s officers are good officers, there are some whose actions are questionable.

When I read this to my husband, he said "They sound like Dallas police wannabes." My husband lived in DFW for several years in the '80s and '90s.

:yourock:

“ 'I bet the police wouldn’t kick in a white man’s door on Spring Creek at 4:30 a.m. and Taser him three or four times,' said Ramsey..."

Very sad to say, I'm not surprised. (I grew up in Texas, too.)

And then get the news to play it on all the stations.

Total bull!!! Someone needs to get a copy of the 911 call and make it available to the public.

so what's with Texas so often leading the charge toward reverse evolution?

Forever. Even Jim Hightower couldn't get me to visit there again. From crap like this to their propensity for attempting to execute the developmentally disabled and the innocent, I figure I can spend my money on products from non-TX companies (sorry, Dell) and vacation in states that don't do those kinds of things any more.

I've had to deal with various levels of TX law enforcement in the past, and from conversations with Texans I know things haven't changed much since when I passed through as a hippy back in the 70s. That's the kind of "justice" you get in a state where judges and prosecutors are both directly elected, and are allowed to accept huge "campaign contributions" from attorneys who will appear before the judges and oppose the DAs at trial!

Big Awl money corrupts the whole process. Everything Molly Ivins wrote about the corruption and idiocy of Texas politicians was true. Unfortunately too many TX awlmen moved to Alaska & now have corrupted Alaskan politics too.

I don't know who they think they're going to get...from Oregon...to head to their dreary little hellholes, but it smack of desparation to me. I think FL especially is feeling the pain of the neo-con's stain on their proverbial carpet.

WTF is wrong with this fucking shithole country? Hmmm? Anyone?

Of course, you could just be sitting in bed holding a pop can and be killed in Denver, CO. The police went to the wrong house and broke down the door and then shot and killed a man while he lay in bed drinking a pop.

and the police laughed while they were abusing him.

My daughter made the sage observation that the miltary and the police attract two types; decent , thoughtful people trying to serve and total bullies and jerks wanting to lord over others.

barbarians, who are sadistic, and enjoy brutalizing others. That's what this sounds like. The poor victim already suffered from health problems, and his girlfriend does, as well. I believe that the fact that they weren't white probably was one of the major reasons for treating this poor guy in such a terrible way.

I hope the cops who were not only brutal, but insulting, and laughed about the whole thing are removed from the police force. People like that certainly shouldn't be in a position of authority, since they obviously have no qualms about abusing that authority. I hope the victim is well compensated for the hellish treatment he endured.

I do know, however, that some law enforcement officers view blacks and Latinos as "fair game." Some minority members have been known to abuse their positions, as well, hoping for acceptance from the white establishment. Clarence Thomas is a case in point. He's opposed to civil rights, now that he's got it made.

they hope to be accepted by the white establishment.

Happens all the time
Even at the Secretary of State level!

Thugs is thugs, regardless of skin color.

that those most desirous of the possession of power over other human beings are the least qualified to hold said power.

Actually, it's more a hypothesis than a theory, in the strictest technical sense, but I do believe it may have some merit.

In any case, I'm distrustful of anyone actively desiring power. The people most qualified to enforce law are those with the strongest disiniterest in same, IMHO.

Todd in Cheesecurdistan

tend to step away from positions of power. They realize power means imposing their will or beliefs on others - and they recognize that they don't know eveything. Unfortunately, these people are the best leaders possible. Those that seek power and think that they alone know what is best (*) are the worst leaders possible. I think this applies to all positions, political, law enforcement, religion, neighborhood associations, etc.

If it were possible, the number one requirement for public service should be not wanting to do it.

:puke:

That GD taser is just another weapon to be abused. Ban it already. The cops in this case should be jailed for a long time!

of being an uppity black man.

specifically on their genitals. And after finishing using the taser ripping it out forcefully from the point of entries.

but I'll wait to see all of the details before casting judgment.

The problem with "waiting to see all the details before casting judgment" is that no further details emerge unless people demand them.

Fascist pigs.

Fascist pigs.

Just thought that needed an echo...

Is THIS the country you want to live in?

Welcome To Hell.

HAD ENOUGH YET?

this makes me mad. was it a slow night or something. i hope these ppl get a good lawyer and sue!!!

Police have become far too happy to tase first. We need to take these away from them now.

This story sounds like it could have came from the Midland Police Department, except they usually kill the person they're chasing with the excuse they were going for a weapon when cornered.