Welcome to The Stop Taser Torture Blog

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A Day before blogging for justice Ready, Start, blog!

The Stop Taser Torture blog is the official blog that coordinates the annual December 4th event called, Stop Taser Torture, blogging for Justice.

Many police departments are using tasers to torture even nonviolent people who are often those who are incoherent, hallucinating, wheelchair bound, suicidal, unarmed, deaf, handcuffed, blind, pregnant, students, or just didnt move fast enough for an officers liking. Taser torture in America is continuously growing not only in volume, but in the level of how liberally, unwarrantedly, and excessively tasering is being used across the U.S and many other countries. In America, some police departments are even now torturing 10 year old children.

Join Stop Taser Torture on 12.4.09
Join Stop Taser Torture on 12.4.09

Register your blog for this year’s 2nd annual “Stop Taser Torture – Blogging For Justice Day.”

Place a button on your blog or website.

Register your blog via email at: StopTaserTorture@gmail.com Leave your blog name, city, country and blog address.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

New 'Miranda Rights' against taser abuse,"

"These are new 'Miranda Rights' against taser abuse,"
says Atty. Francis L. Holland


There's been a ground-breaking decision by the 9th Circuit US Federal Court of Appeals against taser abuse, entitled Bryan v. McPherson.  This decision was announced on December 29th, between Christmas and New Years holidays but it deserves our immediate attention and dissemination via our EasyWidgets:

The decision writes into federal caselaw many of the arguments and advocacy that we afrosphere bloggers have been making at our Days (months and years) of Blogging for Justice Against Police Pre-Trial, Extra-Judicial "Taser" Shock, Electrocution and Execution devices.  The Easy-Widget HTML code below enables us to educate the public of their newly announced rights.

The 9th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals agreed with us that:
". . . we must “balance the amount of force applied against the need for that force.”  Bryan v. McPherson, 9th Cir. Fd. Ct. App., December 29, 2009.
This decision has direct legal effect throughout the 9th Circuit, consisting of populous California, Alaska, Washington, Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Hawaii and Guam, and influential in other parts of the country.  Nearly 20% of America's population is within the jurisdiction of the 9th Circuit.  The Court announced what we have long insisted:
"A reasonable police officer . . . would have foreseen these physical injuries when confronting a shirtless individual standing on asphalt. We have held that force can be unreasonable even without physical blows or injuries." Bryan v. McPherson

We've got widgets up at 123 afrosphere blogs telling the public that, in many cases, when "Tasers" are used, "The price is too high". Now, lets post Easy-Widgets to inform the public that one of the most influential federal circuit courts of appeal in the country agrees with us that:

"The presence of non-minor physical injuries like those suffered by Bryan, however, is certainly relevant in evaluating the degree of the Fourth Amendment intrusion.Bryan v. McPherson

Let's celebrate! Here's a new EasyWidget that takes readers to our anti-electrocution blogs. This Easy-Widget HTML (immediately below) links to Electrocuted While Black, but there are visibly identical widgets below that lead to Tasered While Black and the Police Brutality Blog.

The result is better than that for which many of us had hoped. Instead of arguing locally for changes to voluntarily enforced police taser policy, Bryan's lawyers in this case, and bloggers making similar arguments, convinced the 9th Circuit Federal Appeals Court to write these requirements and limitations into Federal caselaw, which is probably faster, better and politically safer than having the restrictions enacted into law by the US Congress. 

Afrosphere bloggers and the Ninth Circuit encourage other circuits to follow this example by observing that:
"We, along with our sister circuits, have held that tasers and stun guns fall into the category of non-lethal force.   Non-lethal, however, is not synonymous with non-excessive; all force—lethal and non-lethal—must be justified by the need for the specific level of force employed."   Bryan v. McPherson
Not everyone -- blogger or reader -- has had a chance to read the whole Bryan v. McPherson case. So, the Easy-Widget quotes the most powerful language of the decision and links to our afrosphere blogs for more information.

In Bryan v. McPherson, the 9th Circuit Federal Appeals Court basically wrote into federal caselaw many of the arguments that we taser opponents have been arguing. But this is better than what many of us had sought, because instead of it being a change in local optionally enforced "guidelines," it's a change in obligatorily obeyed federal case law for the states in the 9th Circuit, and also, as the decision alludes, the 9th Circuit has enormous influence on other "sister" circuits courts.

Please join Electrocuted While Black in celebrating this decision by posting a widget that tells readers their rights and takes them to a blog where they can learn more, be it Electrocuted While Black or the Police Brutality Blog. Installation of the Easy-Widget below is a quick and easy way to quote some of the best parts of the case for your readers.

References:

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/81381.html

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2009/12/28/08-55622.pdf

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/content/view.php?pk_id=0000000135

http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/stop-the-electrocutions-and-executions-175px

http://police-brutality-blog.blogspot.com/2009/12/important-taser-case-is-must-read-for.html

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/14353/stop-taser-torture-blogging-for-justice-day

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/13151/taser-abuse-how-many-have-to-die-before-something-is-done-about-it

http://francislholland.blogspot.com/2009/12/important-taser-case-is-must-read-for.html

http://stoptasertorture.wordpress.com/about/

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=taser+abuse&btnG=Google+Search

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Day+of+Blogging+for+Justice%22+taser&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Tasered+While+Black%22&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

New 'Miranda Rights' against taser abuse,"

"These are new 'Miranda Rights' against taser abuse,"
says Atty. Francis L. Holland


There's been a ground-breaking decision by the 9th Circuit US Federal Court of Appeals against taser abuse, entitled Bryan v. McPherson.  This decision was announced on December 29th, between Christmas and New Years holidays but it deserves our immediate attention and dissemination via our EasyWidgets:

The decision writes into federal caselaw many of the arguments and advocacy that we afrosphere bloggers have been making at our Days (months and years) of Blogging for Justice Against Police Pre-Trial, Extra-Judicial "Taser" Shock, Electrocution and Execution devices.  The Easy-Widget HTML code below enables us to educate the public of their newly announced rights.

The 9th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals agreed with us that:
". . . we must “balance the amount of force applied against the need for that force.”  Bryan v. McPherson, 9th Cir. Fd. Ct. App., December 29, 2009.
This decision has direct legal effect throughout the 9th Circuit, consisting of populous California, Alaska, Washington, Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Hawaii and Guam, and influential in other parts of the country.  Nearly 20% of America's population is within the jurisdiction of the 9th Circuit.  The Court announced what we have long insisted:
"A reasonable police officer . . . would have foreseen these physical injuries when confronting a shirtless individual standing on asphalt. We have held that force can be unreasonable even without physical blows or injuries." Bryan v. McPherson

We've got widgets up at 123 afrosphere blogs telling the public that, in many cases, when "Tasers" are used, "The price is too high". Now, lets post Easy-Widgets to inform the public that one of the most influential federal circuit courts of appeal in the country agrees with us that:

"The presence of non-minor physical injuries like those suffered by Bryan, however, is certainly relevant in evaluating the degree of the Fourth Amendment intrusion.Bryan v. McPherson

Let's celebrate! Here's a new EasyWidget that takes readers to our anti-electrocution blogs. This Easy-Widget HTML (immediately below) links to Electrocuted While Black, but there are visibly identical widgets below that lead to Tasered While Black and the Police Brutality Blog.

The result is better than that for which many of us had hoped. Instead of arguing locally for changes to voluntarily enforced police taser policy, Bryan's lawyers in this case, and bloggers making similar arguments, convinced the 9th Circuit Federal Appeals Court to write these requirements and limitations into Federal caselaw, which is probably faster, better and politically safer than having the restrictions enacted into law by the US Congress. 

Afrosphere bloggers and the Ninth Circuit encourage other circuits to follow this example by observing that:
"We, along with our sister circuits, have held that tasers and stun guns fall into the category of non-lethal force.   Non-lethal, however, is not synonymous with non-excessive; all force—lethal and non-lethal—must be justified by the need for the specific level of force employed."   Bryan v. McPherson
Not everyone -- blogger or reader -- has had a chance to read the whole Bryan v. McPherson case. So, the Easy-Widget quotes the most powerful language of the decision and links to our afrosphere blogs for more information.

In Bryan v. McPherson, the 9th Circuit Federal Appeals Court basically wrote into federal caselaw many of the arguments that we taser opponents have been arguing. But this is better than what many of us had sought, because instead of it being a change in local optionally enforced "guidelines," it's a change in obligatorily obeyed federal case law for the states in the 9th Circuit, and also, as the decision alludes, the 9th Circuit has enormous influence on other "sister" circuits courts.

Please join Electrocuted While Black in celebrating this decision by posting a widget that tells readers their rights and takes them to a blog where they can learn more, be it Electrocuted While Black or the Police Brutality Blog. Installation of the Easy-Widget below is a quick and easy way to quote some of the best parts of the case for your readers.

References:

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/81381.html

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2009/12/28/08-55622.pdf

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/content/view.php?pk_id=0000000135

http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/stop-the-electrocutions-and-executions-175px

http://police-brutality-blog.blogspot.com/2009/12/important-taser-case-is-must-read-for.html

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/14353/stop-taser-torture-blogging-for-justice-day

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/13151/taser-abuse-how-many-have-to-die-before-something-is-done-about-it

http://francislholland.blogspot.com/2009/12/important-taser-case-is-must-read-for.html

http://stoptasertorture.wordpress.com/about/

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=taser+abuse&btnG=Google+Search

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Day+of+Blogging+for+Justice%22+taser&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Tasered+While+Black%22&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Landmark Taser Torture Court Ruling In America - Special Post

I have come out of Semi-Blogger Retirement to write this special post on Taser Torture in America. I want to thank Rikyrah for the link, and Hudson Sangree and Kim Minugh at SACBEE.com for their excellent reporting of this landmark decision.  As reported by SACBEE.com, A federal appeals court on Monday issued one of the most comprehensive rulings yet limiting police use of Tasers against low-level offenders who seem to pose little threat and may be mentally ill.

In a case out of San Diego County, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals criticized an officer who, without warning, shot an emotionally troubled man with a Taser when he was unarmed, yards away, and neither fleeing nor advancing on the officer.

Sold as a nonlethal alternative to guns, Tasers deliver an electrical jolt meant to subdue a subject. The stun guns have become a common and increasingly controversial tool used by law enforcement.
There have been at least nine Taser-related fatalities in the Sacramento region, including the death earlier this month of Paul Martinez Jr., an inmate shot with a stun gun while allegedly resisting officers at the Roseville jail.

As lawsuits have proliferated against police and Taser International, which manufactures the weapons, the nation's appellate courts have been trying to define what constitutes appropriate Taser use.
The San Diego County case is the latest ruling to address the issue.
The court recounted the facts of the case:

In the summer of 2005, Carl Bryan, 21, was pulled over for a seat-belt violation and did not follow an officer's order to stay in the car.

Earlier, he had received a speeding ticket and had taken off his T-shirt to wipe away tears. He was wearing only the underwear he'd slept in because a woman had taken his keys, the court said without further explanation.

During his second traffic stop in Coronado, he got out of the car. He was "agitated … yelling gibberish and hitting his thighs, clad only in his boxer shorts and tennis shoes" but did not threaten the officer verbally or physically, the judges wrote.

That's when Coronado Police Officer Brian McPherson, who was standing about 20 feet away watching Bryan's "bizarre tantrum," fired his Taser, the court said.
Without a word of warning, he hit Bryan in the arm with two metal darts, delivering a 1,200-volt jolt.

Temporarily paralyzed and in intense pain, Bryan fell face-first on the pavement. The fall shattered four of his front teeth and left him with facial abrasions and swelling. Later, a doctor had to use a scalpel to remove one of the darts.

Bryan sued McPherson, the Coronado Police Department and the city of Coronado, alleging excessive force in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights.

The officer moved to have the claim dismissed, but a federal trial judge ruled in Bryan's favor.
A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit affirmed the trial judge's ruling on Monday, concluding that the level of force used by the officer was excessive.

McPherson could have waited for backup or tried to talk the man down, the judges said. If Bryan was mentally ill, as the officer contended, then there was even more reason to use "less intrusive means," the judges said.

"Officer McPherson's desire to quickly and decisively end an unusual and tense situation is understandable," Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw wrote for the court. "His chosen method for doing so violated Bryan's constitutional right to be free from excessive force." . Read More HERE




AAPP, publisher of the blog, Tasered While Black and Stop Taser Torture said: "This is a great landmark ruling. I'm glad to hear that this Federal Judge had the guts to stand up for what is right, rather than to follow the script layed out by Taser International and Police Departments for so many years. We still need to work hard to get these weapons of American Torture outlawed in the United States.  Limiting the use of tasers by police is one gigantic step forward in that regard."


We will be talking about the taser torture decision tonight on my blogtalk radio program. Join us, to find out what average black Americans think about the taser torture issue and other issues impacting America.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Walmart Justice! Attack on a 80 + year old Elderly Woman


This is one of the reasons why bloggers from across America continue to participate in our stop taser torture campaigns. Watch the video of the elderly women.  Should police use this extreme brutal power force on a women who is over 80 years old? She she have been tasered?


 

·         Tracking Taser Torture Blogging - http://www.newstin.com/rel/us/en-010-020616723
·         Independent Political reporter - Green Party of Suffolk calls for moratorium on Tasers ...
Related Taser Torture post
·         Chicago Sun Times, AAPP - www.suntimes.com
·         Popular Mechanics - Popular Science Blog - Are Taser Guns Torture?
·         Taser International Responds - Taser Responds to United Nations Anti-Torture Committee - News ...
·         Rev com.US - Torture by Police Taser in the USA
·         What Really Happened - Taser Torture in the Great White North | WHAT REALLY HAPPENED
·         Sign the Congressional Petition against Taser Torture Petition Calls for Congressional Hearings on Taser Torture ...
·         CNETTV - Is Taser Torture? video - CNET TV
·         Social Worker.org - Police using Tasers as tool of torture
Keep The Truth Alive - The TASER: A Police Device for Torture and Death

Stop Taser Torture, Blogging for Justice - A Success!

THANK YOU Bloggers! 


Stop Taser Torture, Blogging for Justice - Was a Success!



Here are a list of bloggers who participated in this year's Stop Taser Torture, Blogging for Justice - Part II.


This will be an ongoing building experience so that we get more and more bloggers to join our efforts.


Thank You!


Stop Taser Torture, Blogging for Justice - Part II participants 12.4.09
























 Stop Taser Torture, Blogging for Justice - Part I participants:



·       African American Opinion - A Day of Blogging for Justice
·       African American Political Opinion – A Day of Blogging for Justice
·       All About Race – A Day of Blogging for Justice
·       AncestralenergiesDay-of-Blogging-For-Justice
·       Christina Springer Blog- Wish-I-Had-More-Time
·       Electrocuted While black – Electrocuted While Black: “A Day of Blogging for Justice
·       Jack and Jill Politics - Extra-Judicial Electrocution – Jack & Jill Politics
·       Jena 6 Blog - Barron-pikes-tasered-while-handcuffed.html
·       Police Brutality Blog - A Day of Blogging for Justice
·       Regina’s Family Seasons -A Day Of Blogging For Justice” – Tasers.\
·       Republic of THeld Suspect
·       A Slant TruthBlogging For Justice – Police Abuse (Tasers)
·       Tasered While Black - Tasered While Black: A Day of Blogging For Justice
·       Ultra Violet Underground - Day Of Blogging Opposing Pre-Trial Electrocution aka Tasering
·       What Tami SaidA day of blogging for justice
·       Wonderland or Not - Taser-lets-get-a-clue
·       The Black SnobA Fight Against Taser Abuse and Other News


Related Taser Torture Posts
























·         Social Worker.org - Police using Tasers as tool of torture