Citizens exposed to excessive Taser use or police misconduct can report excessive force use to the police officer’s employer and consult an attorney whether the abusive conduct occurs in Dallas, Houston, Galveston or elsewhere since excessive force by police could give rise to a claim for civil damages.

An Ohio woman repeatedly shocked with a Taser outside a bar by a police officer last September has, in this regard, recently filed a federal lawsuit, claiming violations of her constitutional rights, assault and battery, emotional distress and false arrest after an incident - caught on a police camera - in which the officer used his Taser numerous times, twice while the woman was in handcuffs, according to the Tribune Chronicle.  See, Kosinski, Marly, “Taser Victim Seeks Millions,” Tribune Chronicle, http://www.tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/508737.html , 8/2/08. The lawsuit alleges that the woman suffers from black outs, dizziness, seizures and pain.  Id.  As reported in the article, the video apparently shows the woman trying to kick out the rea window of the police cruiser.  Id.

Sexual misconduct by law enforcement officers, including jail, prison and corrections officers, violates civil rights and may give rise to a sexual misconduct lawsuit whether the sexual abuse occurs in Texas or elsewhere, and victims of law enforcement sexual misconduct may report the abusive conduct to the officer’s employer and contact an attorney to determine whether a civil rights lawsuit is appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the particular case.

In this regard, a law firm focusing on civil rights filed a lawsuit against a former Colorado prison guard and the Colorado Department of Corrections alleging that the former guard raped and sodomized an inmate - treating her as a “virtual sex slave” - at the women’s correctional facility in 2006 and that the department failed to act to stop the abuse which escalated to a point where the inmate was physically injured.  See, Rosa, Erin, The Colorado Indpendent, “Former Corrections Officer Accused Of Sexual Misconduct, Rape,” http://www.coloradoindependent.com/4263/former-corrections-officer-accused-of-sexual , 5/23/08.  The lawsuit also alleges that other inmates at the women’s facility saw the guard raping and engaging in sexual behavior with other inmates, and that the corrections department was negligent in letting such things occur in a state facility.  Id.  An arrest warrant was issued for the former prison guard who is facing both civil and criminal charges of sexual misconduct with inmates, including rape, according to The Colorado Independent article.  Id.

In a Madison, Wisconsin federal lawsuit filed in April, 2008, court filings allege that a jailer sexually abused a psychologically frail inmate by having the inmate repeatedly perform oral sex.  See, Murphy, Kevin, “Federal Lawsuit Alleges Sexual Misconduct In Monroe County Jail,” La Crosse Tribune, http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2008/04/09/news/z05jail09.txt , 4/9/08.  A jail nurse had recommended that the inmate be placed on suicide watch, and, according to the victim’s attorney, the woman’s mental health deteriorated while she was in jail.  Id.  A criminal charge was brought against the jailer.  Id.

By reporting sexual misconduct, jail, prison and correctional facility victims may be able to not only protect their own civil rights but also spark investigations which could prevent future sexual abuse. 

According to the Associated Press, the National Park Service is investigating whether a park ranger used excessive force in breaking up a party at Acadia National Park’s Day Mountain where the park ranger allegedly threw a man to the ground after the man had been handcuffed, knocking the man out and causing facial fractures.  See, “Ranger Accused of Excessive Force in Acadia Park,” Associated Press Wire Report, August 26, 2008, http://news.mainetoday.com/updates/032045.html .  As reported, the episode unfolded early on August 18th when a group of 40 people made a midnight hike up Day Mountain and the rangers responded to a complaint.  Id.  Rangers responding to the complaint issued citations for possession of marijuana and possession of alcohol by a minor.  Id.

There are on average between five and ten special investigations of alleged ranger misconduct a year in the National Park Service’s Northeast Region, which comprises Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, West Virginia and the six New England states, including Maine, and those investigations can be about anything from alleged fraud or credit card misuse to allegations of excessive force, according to the Chief Ranger for the Northeast Region.  See, Trotter, Bill, “Feds Start Probe Into Park Ranger Brutality Claim,” Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/49550.html , 8/26/08. 

Excessive use of force by law enforcement, including rangers, may be reported by victims to the officer’s employer, and whether excessive force occurs in Baytown, Beaumont, Dallas, Houston or elsewhere, victims of law enforcement misconduct may consult an attorney to determine whether an excessive force lawsuit may be appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the potential case.

The Houston Chronicle reported that the investigation of a Baytown jail inmate who died hours after he struggled with jail personnel will probably go to a grand jury, according to a Harris County prosecutor, and, in this regard, a preliminary autopsy finding indicates that the inmate, Richard Eugene Mathes, had “internal physical trauma” severe enough to cause the death of the 50-year-old Mathes who was found dead in his jail cell on August 5, 2008.  See, Noonoo, Jemimah, “Baytown Jail Death Case May Go To A Grand Jury,” Houston Chronicle, 8/24/08, p. B3.  Authorities are investigating whether those injuries occurred during an altercation Mathes had with Baytown jail personnel.  Id. 

According to people interviewed by the Chronicle who knew Mathes, the deceased was a mechanic who loved dogs, had an affinity for pigeons, and, as related by neighbors, was a relatively quiet man who never bothered anyone.  Id.  One person described him as a good guy.  Id.

However, Baytown police allege that Mathes was intoxicated when a city marshal took him into custody for outstanding municipal warrants August 1st and was treated at a hospital for an illness related to a longstanding alcohol addiction before being returned to jail the next day where he was moved into a padded cell a few days later when he became agitated and agressive, refusing to stop standing on a bench in the cell.  Id.  According to a Baytown police source cited in the article, Baytown jailers “had to use physical force to transfer Mathes to the less harsh cell environment.”  Id.   Mathes was later found unresponsive in the cell, where paramedics pronounced him dead.  Id.

Whether alleged excessive force or police misconduct and brutality occurs in Baytown or elsewhere, victims and their families may request investigations by the responsible employer and may consult an attorney to determine whether a police brutality lawsuit may be appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the incident.

Ray Pedraza with Channel KGBT4 “Action 4 Investigates” reported August 22, 2008 that a 68-year-old Alamo, Texas area grandmother claims a Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Deputy used excessive force when, as the complainant contends, he peppar sprayed  her after allegedly storming into her home in search of an armed suspect.  See, Pedraza, Ray, “Family Claims Alamo Grandmother Was Needlessly Peppar Sprayed,” http://www.team4news.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=178674 , 8/22/08.  According to the news report, the deputies were actually there to investigate an alleged theft by the grandmother, Maria Espino, of her granddaughter’s payroll check.  Id.  For her own part, Ms. Espino contends that she “wanted part of the check for rent [her] granddaughter allegedly owed her.”  Id.  While Ms. Espino contends that the officer was agressive, her daughter, the mother of the alleged theft victim, reportedly told “Action 4 News” that “her 68-year-old mother is naturally aggressive and that the whole neighborhood knows it.”  Id.  The Hidalgo County Sheriff said a public integrity unit is looking into the allegations.  Id.

Whether excessive force or police misconduct occurs in Hidalgo County, Houston or elsewhere, citizens may make excessive force complaints to an officer’s employer in order to trigger an internal investigation and citizens may also contact an attorney to discuss whether an excessive force or police misconduct lawsuit may be appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the potential case.

Victims of police brutality or excessive force by the police, including incidents resulting in wrongful death or serious personal injury, may not only make formal complaints to the responsible law enforcement agency but may also contact an attorney to determine whether a civil rights lawsuit for police misconduct in Galveston or elsewhere is appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the potential case. 

In this regard, The Galveston County Daily News reported on August 12, 2008 and August 14, 2008 about two lawsuits which allegedly involve law enforcement misconduct or police brutality.  See, Foley, Sarah, “Lawsuit Claims Police Brutality,” The Galveston County Daily News, http://www.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=cca35d174061beda8369cc30cb877ff , 8/12/08; See also, Collette, Mark, “Family Of Dead Inmate Sues,” The Galveston County Daily News, http://www.galvestondailynews.com , 8/14/08.

In one lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim excessive force was used when two police officers allegedly beat up a schizophrenic Houston man during an arrest.  See, Foley, Sarah, “Lawsuit Claims Police Brutality,” The Galveston County Daily News, 8/12/08.  This excessive force lawsuit was filed July 29th in Galveston’s U.S. District Court naming the City of Santa Fe, Texas and two police officers as defendants.  Id. 

In the other lawsuit, the family of a 17-year-old illegal immigrant who died in the Galveston County Jail filed a lawsuit claiming that law enforcement authorities did not do enough to protect him from suicide after the family allegedly warned jail officials that he might try to harm himself.  See, Collette, Mark, “Family Of Dead Inmate Sues,” The Galveston County Daily News, 8/14/08.  According to the family’s allegations, the deceased was hospitalized after he was arrested for driving without a license, and, later, when he tried to run from the jail, police beat him at least three times with a baton and used a Taser (at least twice)on the 5 feet 3-inches tall and 125 pound minor.  Id.  As reported in this article, family members want Galveston County to change the way it screens inmates for suicide tendencies, pointing to a Texas Commission on Jail Standards Report showing that Galveston County was among the counties with the most inmate suicides in a four-year period, even though it had a relatively low inmate population.  Id.   

Accoding to Libby Quaid of the Associated Press, a quarter of a million schoolchildren got paddled, swats or licks last year — and blacks, American Indians and kids with disabilities got a disproportionate share of the punishment, according to a study by a human rights group. Even little kids can be paddled. Heather Porter, who lives in Crockett, Texas, was startled to hear her little boy, then 3, say he’d been spanked at school. Porter was never told, despite a policy at the public preschool that parents be notified.  “We were pretty ticked off, to say the least. The reason he got paddled was because he was untying his shoes and playing with the air conditioner thermostat,” Porter said. “He was being a 3-year-old.”

For the study, which was being released today, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union used Education Department data to show that, while paddling has been declining, racial disparity persists. Researchers also interviewed students, parents and school personnel in Texas and Mississippi, states that account for 40 percent of the 223,190 kids who were paddled at least once in the 2006-2007 school year.

Porter could have filled out a form telling the school not to paddle her son, if only she had realized he might be paddled.  Yet many parents find that such forms are ignored, the study said.  Widespread paddling can make it unlikely that forms will be checked. A teacher interviewed by Human Rights Watch, Tiffany Bartlett, said that when she taught in the Mississippi Delta, the policy was to lock the classroom doors when the bell rang, leaving stragglers to be paddled by an administrator patrolling the hallways. Bartlett now is a school teacher in Austin, Texas.  And even if schools make a mistake, they are unlikely to face lawsuits. In places where corporal punishment is allowed, teachers and principals generally have legal immunity from assault laws, the study said.  “One of the things we’ve seen over and over again is that parents have difficulty getting redress, if a child is paddled and severely injured, or paddled in violation of parents’ wishes,” said Alice Farmer, the study’s author.

A majority of states have outlawed it, but corporal punishment remains widespread across the South. Behind Texas and Mississippi were Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Florida and Missouri.  African American students are more than twice as likely to be paddled. The disparity persists even in places with large black populations, the study found. Similarly, Native Americans were more than twice as likely to be paddled, the study found.

The study also found:

—In states where paddling is most common, black girls were paddled more than twice as often as white girls.

—Boys are three times as likely to be paddled as girls.

—Special education kids were more likely to be paddled.

More than 100 countries worldwide have banned paddling in schools, including all of Europe, Farmer said. “International human rights law puts a pretty strong prohibition on corporal punishment,” she said.  In rural Drew, Miss., Nickolaus Luckett still remembers the paddlings he got in fifth and seventh grades. One happened when he called a teacher by her first name, the other when a classmate said, wrongly, that he threw a spitball.

“I didn’t get any bruises, but they still hurt, and from that point on, I told myself and my parents I wasn’t going to take any more paddlings,” said Luckett, who is about to be a sophomore at the University of Mississippi. 

It’s not an easy choice. In many schools, kids can avoid a paddling if they accept suspension or detention, or for younger kids, if they skip recess. But often, a child opts for the short-term sting of the paddle. And sometimes teachers don’t have the option of after-school detention, because there are no buses to take kids home later. During the three years Evan Couzo taught in the Mississippi Delta, he refused to paddle kids, offering detention instead. But others — teachers, parents, even kids — were accustomed to paddling. “Just about everyone at the beginning of the year said, ‘If he or she gives you any trouble, you can paddle them. You can send them home, and I’ll paddle them. Or you can have me come out to the school, and we can both paddle them.’ “It’s really just a part of the culture of the school environment there,” Couzo said.

There is scant research on whether paddling is effective in the classroom. But many studies have shown it doesn’t work at home, said Elizabeth Gershoff, a University of Michigan assistant professor of social work.

“The use of corporal punishment is associated almost overwhelmingly with negative effects, and that it increases children’s problem behavior over time,” Gershoff said. Children may learn to solve problems using aggression, and a sense of resentment might make them act out more, Gershoff said.

The practice is banned in 29 states, most recently in Delaware and Pennsylvania. While some education groups haven’t taken a position on the issue, the national PTA believes paddling should be banned everywhere.

“We teach our children that violence is wrong, yet corporal punishment teaches children that violence is a way to solve problems,” said Jan Harp Domene, the group’s president. “It perpetuates a cycle of child abuse. It teaches children to hit someone smaller and weaker when angry.”

Houston Chronicle, August 20, 2008 (written by Libby Quaid of the Associated Press).

The Houston Police Department has found no wrongdoing in some 1,700 incidents in which its police officers intentionally fired a Taser, and during the last four years only five officers have been disciplined for misusing their Tasers, although not one of those incidents involved the actual shocking of a suspect, according to the Houston Chronicle.  See, Khanna, Roma, “Few In HPD Disciplined Over Tasers: Out of 69 Investigations Only 5 Allegations Sustained,” Houston Chronicle, 8/17/08, p. A1.  As reported by the Houston Chronicle, HPD reprimanded officers for threatening people with their stun guns, repeatedly discharging them while off duty and brandishing the weapon in a dispute in an elementary school carpool line.  Id.  In one complaint an officer shocked his own stepson.  Id.  In another incident, an officer shocked a 59-year-old woman in a dispute over laundry.  Id.  The article states that the use of Tasers, sold as an alternative to the deadly force of firearms, has been controversial in Houston since HPD first purchased hundreds of Tasers in 2004 after which time the weapons quickly triggered public criticism with findings that officers often used them on unarmed people who committed no crime and that the vast majority were black.  Id.

With respect to the incident involving a Houston police officer shocking his own stepson, the boy’s grandmother was quoted by the Houston Chronicle as follows: “If that is how they deal with family problems, how are they dealing with the public?”  Id.  In addition, “I can’t believe that this is how they want officers to use their Taser … At home, on their kids?”  Id.

In an unrelated domestic related incident, the Tampa Tribune reported on July 8, 2008 that a sheriff’s deputy used a Taser on his wife and held a service revolver to her head before being arrested and held for mental evaluation.  See, Poltilove, Josh, “Deputy Accused Of Taser Attack On Wife,” Tampa (Fl) Tribune, http://www.freerepublic.com , 7/8/08.

Reporting further findings, the Houston Chronicle “found that the majority of Taser incidents escalated from common police calls including traffic stops, nuisance calls and reports of suspicious people.”  Id.

Gratuitous violence, unnecessary deployments and misuse of electroshock weapons is a concern since the weapons are not toys and may cause serious personal injury or wrongful death.

Tasers emit charges causing electromuscular disruption, incapacitating a person temporarily.  See, George, Cindy, ” Family Sues Over Taser Use,” Houston Chronicle, 8/11/08, p. B2.  However, Amnesty International contends that more than 300 people subdued by police Tasers in the United States have died since 2001, and, as reported by the Houston Chronicle, a recent interim report from the Justice Department said many safety aspects of the stun guns remain unknown and that “secondary or indirect effects” may result in death.  Id.  In this regard, the Justice Department recommended that police officers avoid mulitple shocks.  Id.  Others are not as unclear about the health effects of Tasers, including two heart specialists with the University of British Columbia who told an inquiry into the use of Tasers in May, 2008 that a jolt from the weapons can “almost certainly” cause heart problems and possibly even sudden cardiac arrest.  See, The Canadian Press, “Tasers Can Cause Cardiac Arrest: Heart Specialists,” May 21, 2008, http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080521/taser_doctor_080521/20

According to Dr. Mehdi Razavi, a Texas Heart Institute Electrophysiologist, a Taser shock stimulates muscle fibers, creating “a near state of paralysis” and potentially creating cardiac rhythm disturbances that might be lethal in people with blocked arteries or stressed hearts.  See, George, Cindy, ” Family Sues Over Taser Use,” Houston Chronicle, 8/11/08, p. B2.  Moreover, HealthDay News recently posted an article at ModernMedicine.com in which it referenced a paper in the August Journal of Emergency Nursing urging emergency room preparedness to handle taser injuries in light of law enforcement officers’ growing use of Tasers and accumulating amounts of deaths from the electroshock devices.  See, “Taser Injuries Require Preparation In ERs,” HealthDay News, http://www.modernmedicine.com , 7/28/08.

Recently, two Houston area residents filed a federal lawsuit accusing Harris County, the Harris County Sheriff and nine Harris County Deputies of contributing to the wrongful death of a Houston man by shocking him with a stun gun and allegedly taking their time getting him to a hospital.  See, George, cindy, “Family Sues Over Taser Use,” Houston Chronicle, 8/11/08, p. B2.  Further, on August 13, 2008, the Chicago Tribune posted an article stating that a Louisiana grand jury indicted a white police officer on charges of manslaughter and official malfeasance for repeatedly Taser shocking a handcuffed black suspect, resulting in the man’s death due to cardiac arrest.  See, Witt, Howard, “Former Cop Indicted In Taser Death In Louisiana,”  http://www.chicagotribune.com , 8/13/08. On June 7, 2008, Bloomberg.com reported that Taser International, Inc., the nation’s largest stun gun manufacturer, lost a $6.2 million jury verdict over the death of a California man who died after police shot him multiple times with the weapon.  See, Fisk, Margaret, “Taser Loses 1st Product-Liability Suit: Jury Awards $6 Million,” http://www.bloomberg.com , 6/7/08.  A day before the Bloomberg.com article, a posting at HighBoldtage.com reported that Birmingham, Alabama police were investigating the in custody death of a Birmingham man who dies after being shot with a Taser.  See, “Birmingham Man Dies In Police Custody,” http://www.highboldtage.com , 6/6/08.

Tha lawsuit against Harris County joins other active civil cases against Houston area law enforcement agencies by people stunned with Tasers, “including Houston Texans lineman Fred Weary.”  See, George, Cindy, “Family Sues Over Taser Use,” Houston Chronicle, 8/11/08, p. B2.  In the racially explosive case of the Louisiana Taser related death, attorneys filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court, accusing city officials of civil rights violations.  See, Witt, Howard, “Former Cop Indicted In Taser Death In Louisiana,” http://www.chicagotribune.com , 8/13/08. 

Victims of Taser misuse, police brutality and excessive force by police in Houston or elsewhere may make complaints to the internal affairs division of the responsible employer in order to document a complaint and trigger an investigation.  In addition, vctims of police misconduct, including stun gun misuse, may consult an attorney to determine whether a civil rights, personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit may be appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the potential case.

On August 13, 2008, the Chicago Tribune posted an article stating that a Louisiana grand jury indicted a white police officer on charges of manslaughter and official malfeasance for repeatedly taser shocking a handcuffed black suspect, resulting in the man’s death due to cardiac arrest.  Witt, Howard, “Former Cop Indicted In Taser Death In Louisiana,” Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-taser_for_webaug14,0,1893768.story , 8/13/08.  While the police officer’s attorney reportedly said that his client was following police procedure during the arrest, the District Attorney was quoted as saying that “[i]t is our intention to show at trial that [the officer] caused the death of Baron Pikes by Tasing him multiple times, unnecessarily and in violation of Louisiana law, and by failing to get him medical attention when it was apparent he needed it.”  Id.  The article described this as a racially explosive case, reporting that witnesses said Baron Pikes pleaded with the police officer to stop tasering him, but within 39 minutes after he was first subdued, Baron Pikes was dead.  Id.

As reported in the article, Dr. Randolph Williams, a coroner, and Dr. Michael Baden, a nationally prominent forensic pathologist who reviewed the case, said that the incident “could be considered to be torture.”  Id.  While city police claimed that Baron Pikes told them during his arrest that he was high on PCP, as well as crack cocaine, and suffered from asthma, Dr. Williams found no evidence of the drugs or any sign of asthma and ruled the death a homicide, noting that Baron Pikes was unconscious when the last two Taser shocks were admininstered - after Baron Pikes had been loaded into a squad car and delivered to the police station.  Id.

Prior to the indictment, attorneys for the mother of Pikes’ 4-year-old son filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against the police officer, city officials and Taser International, Inc., accusing the city officials of civil rights violations in the death of Baron Pikes.  Id.

Whether police brutality and excessive force by the police occurs in Louisiana, Houston, Dallas or elsewhere, police mistreatment victims have civil rights and can consult an attorney to see how to protect and assert their rights.

Victims of law enforcement brutality, use of excessive force and unconstitutional arrests and detentions may be able to bring a claim for damages, depending upon the facts and circumstances of the potential lawsuit, so, in this regard, victims and their families may consider filing a complaint with the responsible law enforcement agency and may also consult an attorney to see whether a civil rights lawsuit is appropriate.

According to the Houston Chronicle, two Houston area residents filed a federal lawsuit accusing Harris County, the Harris County Sheriff and nine Harris County Deputies of contributing to the death of Kenneth Eagleton by shocking him with a stun gun and allegedly taking their time getting him to a hospital.  See, George, Cindy, “Family Sues Over Taser Use,” Houston Chronicle, 8/11/08, p. B2.  A Houston lawyer filed the lawsuit on behalf of the family, seeking unspecified damages and to get a full accounting of what exactly happened because, as reported in the article, they believe deputies too readily view tasers as nonlethal weapons.  Id. 

Tasers emit charges causing electromuscular disruption, incapacitating a person temporarily.  Id.  However, Amnesty International contends that more than 300 people subdued by police Tasers in this country have died since 2001, and a recent interim report from the Justice Department released in June said many safety aspects of the guns remain unknown and that “secondary or indirect effects” may result in death, recommending that police officers avoid multiple shocks because the role of of repeated exposure in causing death is allegedly unclear.  Id. 

In Mr. Eagleton’s case, he was allegedly shocked more than once, and an autopsy concluded that he died from complications of rapid breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue, with kidney failure resulting from cocaine intoxication.  Id.  According to medical records, he arrived at the hospital experiencing seizures and suffering from some narrowed arteries.  Id.  In this regard, the article cited Dr. Mehdi Razavi, a Texas Heart Institute Electrophysiologist, who said a Taser shock stimulates muscle fibers, creating “a near state of paralysis,” and potentially creating cardiac rhythm disturbances that might be lethal in people with blocked arteries or stressed hearts.  Id. 

According to the Chronicle, the Eagleton lawsuit joins other active civil cases against local law enforcement agencies by people stunned with Tasers, “including Houston Texans lineman Fred Weary.”  Id.  In addition, the article reported that a “Louisiana coroner recently ruled the death of a handcuffed man who was shocked nine times by police a homicide.”  Id.

Whether excessive force or civil rights violations by law enforcement occur in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio or elsewhere, victims may consult an attorney and also consider making a formal written complaint to the responsible employer of the officers involved in the incident.  In this way, victims may place law enforcement on notice of a potential failure in procedures and training and prompt an investigation or discovery process that may trigger changes in training, procedures and weapon use.