Attorneys with the United States Department of Justice announced in a May 13, 2010 news release posted at http://www.justice.gov that a federal jury in Lexington, Kentucky returned seven guilty verdicts against two former corrections officers with the Lexington-Fayette County Urban Detention Center (”FCUDC”).  According to the Department of Justice (”DOJ”) news release, the defendants were convicted for conspiring to abuse arrestees at the FCUDC, as well as for actually abusing arrestees and for obstructing justice by lying about the abuse.  As further stated in the news release, evidence at trial established that the defendants conspired with each other and with other officers who worked on their shift at the jail to physically assault inmates and to write false reports to cover it up.  Before trial began, three co-defendants, all former employees of the jail, pleaded guilty to federal charges connected to this case.

In a press release at http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/April/10-crt-380.html , lawyers for the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a federal district judge in Texas has sentenced a Rio Honda, Texas man to three years in prison and five years of supervised release for violating the civil rights and the sexual abuse of females in his custody at a Port Isabel Detention Center in Los Fresnos, Texas.  According to the April 7, 2010 press release, the former detention center guard pleaded guilty in September 2009 to a six-count criminal information charging him with three counts of abusive sexual contact and three counts deprivation of rights under color of law.  As stated in the DOJ press release, the former guard admitted that on several occasions in March and April of 2008, he snuck into medical isolation rooms at the detention center infirmary to grope female patients and that his actions caused the female victims psychological pain and embarrassment.

The man reportedly worked at the detention center for six-and-a-half years as a guard and was employed by a private company that contracted with the United States government.  In this regard, the DOJ said that when confronted by agents from the U. S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement’s Office of Professional Responsibility, the man admitted to sexually touching five different women.

Trial attorneys with the DOJ Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the civil rights case in the U. S. Southern District of Texas.  For more information about the U. S. Department of Justice and its Civil Rights Division, see www.justice.gov .

Amnesty International USA, a human rights organization, offers information to the public in its website at http://www.amnestyusa.org about taser abuse, explaining that since June of 2001 more than 351 individuals in the United States have died after being shocked by police Tasers.  In this regard, the organization states that most of those individuals were not carrying a weapon and Amnesty International is concerned that the devices are being used as tools of routine force - rather than as an alternative to firearms.  According to postings by Amnesty International USA, medical studies so far on the effects of Tasers have either been limited in scope or unduly influenced by the weapons’ primary manufacturer, so no study has adequately addressed the impact of these devices on potentially at-risk individuals, including, for example, people with medical conditions and the mentally ill.  Consequently, Amnesty International recommends that police departments either suspend the use of Tasers and stun guns pending further safety research or limit their use to situations where officers would otherwise be justified in resorting to firearms.  In its website, Amnesty International offers stun gun information to the public, including Taser Reports and Briefings by Amnesty International and Taser Policy Recommendations and Campaigning Tools, as well as United Nations Documents on Use-of-Force Guidelines for Law Enforcement Agencies.

The March issue of Trial reports that a jury has awarded three men $175,000 in a lawsuit against the City of Portland where the plaintiffs alleged that police officers used excessive force.  See, Trial, 3/10, p. 14.  More specifically, the plaintiffs, each of whom is African American, contended that they were subjected to assault, battery, false arrest and excessive force motivated by racial stereotypes.  In this regard, the lawsuit charged that the plaintiffs were returning to their vehicle after a St. Patrick’s Day celebration when they were stopped by police officers as they got into their car in a parking garage.  One plaintiff, who had his seat belt on, immediately informed the officers that he was carrying a gun but had a concealed weapon permit. 

The police officers then allegedly started yelling at the men and drew their weapons, pointing them at the men’s heads as one officer sliced through the seat belt with a knife and the three men were pulled from the car and handcuffed.  The man with the concealed weapon permit was allegedly punched in the groin.  All three men feared they would be shot at any moment.  While the police officers argued in the case that they were just doing their jobs after receiving reports of a fight, the men were not arrested or given any explanation for why they had been stopped.

The jury award occurred in the case Hammick v. City of Portland, No. 0807-09735 (Or., Multnomah Co.Cir. Sept. 28, 2009).

Whether excessive force, assault, battery and false arrest by police occurs in Beaumont, Conroe, Houston or elsewhere, victims of police misconduct may make written complaints to the responsible law enforcement employer and contact an attorney to determine if a police excessive force lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential excessive force claim.

African-American News & Issues reporter Tuala Williams wrote recently that Pastor Kyev Tatum, president of the Fort Worth SCLC, is leading the charge amid cries of wrongful death in the matter of Michael Patrick Jacobs, Jr., 24.  See, Tuala, Williams, “Getting Away With Murder!” African-American News & Issues, Vol. 15, Issue 4, 2/24 - 3/2/10, p. 1.  According to the article, Jacobs, who suffered from bi-polar disorder, had stopped taking his medication because it was making him feel sick and began having difficulties inside his parents’ home, so his parents called 911 to request an ambulance.  Police, fire department officers and paramedics arrived, but the police decided to send the fire department and paramedics away, deciding to handle the call as a criminal issue.  As stated in the article, Jacobs continued to behave aggressively and was shot with a taser.  In all, he was reportedly tasered a total of 54 seconds in the presence of witnesses.  It was ruled a homicide by Dr. Nizam Peerwani of the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s office, who, according to the article, wrote in his report that Jacobs’ died of “sudden death during neuromuscular incapacitation due to the application of a conducted energy device.”  Additionally, an electrical engineer with TASER International testified before a grand jury that the two jolts of 50,000 volts exceeded the limits of use set by the manufacturer since TASER International contends that the weapons are not to be discharged for more than 5 seconds.  While Dr. Peerwani called it a homicide, the grand jury and the internal affairs department of the Fort Worth Police Department did not see it that way.  For his own part, Pastor Tatum was quoted as saying that “In Fort Worth, you can kill a Black man and nobody’ll say anything about it.”  Tatum has asked the U.S. Attorney’s office to pursue a federal civil rights investigation against the police department and Jacobs’ family has filed a federal court excessive force lawsuit.

Chron.com reported in a January 4, 2010 article by Matthew Tresaugue that a Houston company with a history of neighborhood and official complaints has been fined nearly $1.5 million for alleged safety violations after an investigation into a death at an industrial waste facility.  In the article posted at http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6798145.html , Tresaugue writes that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) imposed the penalty against CES Environmental Services six months after an employee died when an explosion and flash fire at the Griggs Road plant knocked him from the top of a tanker truck that he was cleaning.  According to the article, the death was the third at CES facilities in less than a year.  As reported in the article, the company’s lawyer said it will fight the fines by the federal agency, which cited CES for 71 alleged violations in the fatality.  Labor Secretary Hilda Solis was quoted in the article as saying that “Employers should take steps to eliminate hazards and provide a safe working environment for their workers.”  The company’s president contends that the worker disregarded safety rules, but the deceased’s brother has complained that his brother was inadequately trained.  The work related death prompted a criminal probe by federal prosecutors and a lawsuit by the Texas attorney general that alleges 20 violations of state environmental laws.

A Yahoo News posting at http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100210/health/health_rollator_recall states that Dana Douglas Inc. has renewed its recall of selected models of certain rollator models to address potential safety issues.  Depending on the model and date of manufacture, the lower rear frame, front forks, front fork bearings or lower brake rod of the rollators may be subject to failure, according to the Yahoo posting.  As further stated, rollator users could fall and suffer serious injury.  In this regard, the article describes rollators as essentially being walkers with wheels used to help people with mobility issues.  The company recalled certain rollator models in order to fix problems after at least six rollator users reportedly suffered falls.  More information about the company’s rollator recall may be found online at www.danadouglas.com .

In a June 30, 2009 article by Senior Journal , the online Senior Citizen serving publication reported that injuries related to walking canes and walkers are sending 47,000 Senior Citizens a year to emergency rooms because of falls.  More specifically, from 2001 to 2006, an average of 129 American seniors, those 65 and older, were treated in emergency departments each day for fall injuries associated with walkers and canes, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study published in the June 2009 Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.  The study examined six years of emergency department medical records, finding reportedly that for older adults experiencing falls related to walkers or canes, most of the injuries involved walkers (87%).  The study’s lead author, Judy Stevens, was quoted in the article as saying that “Walkers are often used by frail and vulnerable older adults; people for whom falls, if they occur, can have very serious health consequences.”  Consequently, it’s important to make sure people use mobility devices safely.  See, http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Aging/2009/20090630-InjuriesRelatedToWalking.htm

Falls are the leading cause of nonfatal injury in the United States, and falls among the elderly can have especially serious consequences, so the study points out the importance of fall prevention and offers some fall prevention strategies, including, for example, educating mobility device users on how to use their walkers and canes safely, as well as conducting more studies to better understand fall risk factors for older adults who use walkers and canes and identifying potential design problems to improve the design of walkers.

In a February 12, 2010 posting at http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/18657 , newsinferno.com reports that Health Canada has announced that NeXus I, II and III rollators are the subject of a voluntary recall initiated by Dana Douglas, Inc., a company located in Ontario.  According to the posting, the rollators are being recalled due to a variety of potential health and safety risks.  In this regard, newsinferno.com states that the company initiated the voluntary recall of certain rollators, which may break during use and could result in the user falling and suffering serious injury, including bruising, broken bones, or death.

In the Health Canada February 2, 2010 public communication concerning the rollator recall, Health Canada advises individuals to stop using affected rollators immediately and to return their rollator to an authorized dealer for necessary modifications.  In addition, Health Canada provides email contact information for the company as info@danadouglas.com for any questions about the recall.  For more info from Health Canada see http://hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/medeff/advisories-avis/public/_2010/nexus_pc-cp-eng.php

In its posting on the recall, newsinferno.com reports that there have been nine reported incidents in which the front wheel has fallen off the frame and twenty one reported incidents of the front wheel fork cracking or breaking, as well as five reported incidents of the brake jamming in the locked position during use.  It appears that no injuries have resulted from these incidents, to date.

Whether serious injury or death results from use of defective rollators or mobility aid devices such as a rollator, injured victims and their families may contact the appropriate consumer protection or health and safety agencies to report a rollator complaint.

In a press release at http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/February/10-civ-136.html , attorneys with the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a Canadian weaver of ballistic fabrics and its American subsidiary have agreed to pay the United States $4 million to settle the United States’ lawsuit against the company for violations of the False Claims Act in connection with their role in the weaving of Zylon fabric used in the manufacture and sale of defective Zylon bullet proof vests.  According to the DOJ’s February 12, 2010 press release, the United States alleged in the lawsuit that the Zylon used in the ballistic fabric woven by the company for the body armor industry lost its ballistic capability quickly, especially when exposed to heat and humidity.  The United States further alleged that the company was aware of the defective nature of the Zylon by at least December 2001, but continued to sell Zylon for use in ballistic armor until August 2005, when the National Institute of Justice issued a report that Zylon degraded quickly in ballistic applications.  At that time, the DOJ reports that all American body armor manufacturers stopped using Zylon in body armor. 

An Assistant Attorney General quoted in the DOJ press release was quoted as saying ”Companies that knowingly sell the government defective bulletproof vests not only commit fraud, they put the lives of our law enforcement women and men at risk.”  As part of the lawsuit settlement, the company has pledged its cooperation in the Government’s on-going investigation of the body armor industry’s use of Zylon in body armor.  The United States previously has settled with six other alleged participants in the Zylon body armor industry for over $54 million, according to the press release.

In a June 30, 2009 article at http://seniorjournal.com , SeniorJournal.com reports that from 2001 to 2006, an average of 129 American seniors, those ages 65 and older, were treated in emergency departments each day - a total of more than 47,000 each year - for injuries from falls that involved walkers and canes, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study published in the June Jorunal of the American Geriatrics Society.  Fractures were reportedly the most common injuries for these falls among senior citizens, with one in three injuries requiring hospitalization.  According to the article, the study examined six years of emergency department medical records and found that, for older adults who had falls related to walkers or canes, most of the injuries involved walkers (87 percent).  People were seven times more likely to be injured with a walker as with a cane.  More than half of fall injuries with walkers and canes occurred at home, and, for men and women who used walkers or canes, the chances of sustaining a fall increased with age, with the highest injury rates among those ages 85 and older. 

The CDC study’s lead author commented in the article that walking aids are very important in helping older adults maintain mobility, but it’s important to make sure older adults use the mobility devices safely since falls can have very serious health consequences.  As stated in the article, the CDC study points out the importance of preventing falls related to walking aids.  Some prevention suggestions include encouraging professionals to spend more time with clients or patients fitting walking aids and educating people on how to use walkers and canes safely.  In addition, the article reports that more studies are needed to identify potential design problems and improve the design of walkers.

See, http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Aging/2009/20090630-InjuriesRelatedToWalking.htm