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 an article posted December 28, 2009, The Daily News, a Galveston County newspaper, reports that an attorney has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Galveston County on behalf of relatives of a clerk killed in a robbery at a Galveston convenience store.  According to the article, the clerk was fatally wounded during a January 31, 2008 robbery and the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office reached a plea bargain with the perpetrator, sparing him from a capital murder trial and possible death sentence in return for life in prison without possibility of parole.  For its own part, the wrongful death lawsuit accuses ABHI Enterprises of negligence, among other things, and seeks recovery of damages, including compensation for mental anguish, pain and suffering, medical expenses and funeral and burial expenses. 

See http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?wcd=149428 for additional information concerning the Galveston wrongful death lawsuit filed by the victims’ attorney.

In a January 26, 2010 News Release by the U. S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the federal agency announced that it has issued three Mueller Industries Inc. subsidiaries in Fulton, Mississippi 128 citations for allegedly exposing workers to safety and health hazards.  See, http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/osha/osha20100075.htm .  According to the OSHA News Release, OSHA began its investigation in July 2009 after a maintenance worker employed by a company subsidiary was killed and two other workers were injured when naptha, a flammable liquid of hydrocarbon mixtures, leaked from an electric pump and ignited. 

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA’s role is to promote safe and healthful working conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, outreach and education.  More information about OSHA is available on the internet at http://www.osha.gov .

A Houston newspaper reported on January 17, 2010 that shootings by police officers in agencies across Harris County reached the highest level in nearly two decades in 2009, with 60 civilians being shot - 27 of whom were killed.  See, Olsen, Lise and James Pinkerton, “The Rise of Deadly Force,” Houston Chronicle, 1/17/10, p. 1.  As reported in the article, that amount is nearly twice as many shootings as the area’s annual average, based on the last five years of reports.  While most of the people shot were armed, the article states that, in December, a man was shot and wounded by a rookie Houston Police Department officer who believed the man was wielding a gun.  However, the man held a hairbrush.  In addition, the article states that in several other shootings, people initiated confrontations with police and drew weapons after being surrounded by officers or SWAT teams in what family members described as attempts to “commit suicide by cop.” 

As further reported in the article, Houston Police Department Interim Police Chief Charles McClelland stated that the Houston Police Department (HPD) responds to over a million calls a year and has 3,600 men and women in uniform on patrol.  He added that officers do not want to have to shoot.

According to the news report, HPD officers participated in 29 shootings in 2009, involving 15 deaths and 13 injuries.  In this regard, the article stated that the total for HPD is about the same as reported by the far larger Los Angeles Police Department, which had 27 shootings, resulting in 12 deaths. 

Questions over 2009’s record shootings mirror issues raised in the past by lawyers and civil rights activists.  According to one Houston lawyer, Houston leaders have failed to keep promises to prevent deaths of unarmed citizens.  The founder of Civilians Down, a citizens rights group focused on shootings of the mentally ill, added that shootings of the mentally ill are troubling and if there is no change then unnecessary and unjustified shootings will continue to occur.

Whether excessive use of force and use of unjustified deadly force by police officers occurs in Houston or Harris County, Texas, victims of police mistreatment may contact local law enforcement or the United States Department of Justice to determine if further action is warranted.  In addition, excessive and deadly force victims may contact a lawyer to determine if a civil rights lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the potential civil rights violation claim.

In a Houston News Release at http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/osha/osha20091557.htm , the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (”OSHA”) announced on January 4, 2010 that it issued an environmental services company willful and serious citations after an investigation into a fatal explosion at the company’s Griggs Road facility in Houston.  The proposed penalties announced by OSHA total $1,477,500.  According to the OSHA News Release, in July 2009, an employee cleaning a tank was killed in an explosion when an altered piece of equipment ignited flammable vapors inside the tank.  OSHA further stated that the fatality was the third death in less than a year at this employer’s facilities.  In this regard, OSHA issued 15 willful citations, alleging that 15 pieces of electrical equipment were unsafe to use in the tank wash area due to the presence of flammable and combustible vapors.  In addition, OSHA issued two other willful citations along with 54 serious violations. 

OSHA’s mission is, according to its News Release, to promote safe and healthful working conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, outreach and education.  More information about OSHA is available at http://www.osha.gov .

When employment related personal injury or death occurs in Houston, victims may contact OSHA’s Houston South Area Office at 281-286-0583, OSHA’s North Area Office at 281-591-2438 or the OSHA hotline at 1(800)321-6742.  In addition, victims of job site personal injury or death may contact a lawyer.

The United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (”DOJ”) enforces federal criminal civil rights statutes, including those laws that prohibit the willful use of excessive force or other acts of misconduct by law enforcement or other government officials.  In an October 26, 2009 DOJ Press Release found at http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/October/09-crt-1153.html , the Civil Rights Division announced that a former corrections officer with the Federal Bureau of Prisons has been sentenced on federal civil rights charges related to the fatal assault of an inmate.  According to the DOJ Press Release, the former corrections officer was sentenced to serve a term of life in prison, three years post-release supervision and 75 hours of community service.  A United States Attorney was quoted in the Press Release as saying that “When correction officers make the corrupt choice to act as judge, jury and executioner, the United States will prosecute such actions aggressively, just as it did here.”  As stated in the Press Release, a federal jury in Orlando found the former correction officer guilty of two felony federal civil rights charges related to the fatal assault of a federal inmate.