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.

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.   

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.

According to a recent edition of the Houston Press, illegal immigrants are subject to pain and death at the hands of their “rescuers” if they do not pay up in full.  See, Vogel Chris,”Torture Squad,” Houston Press, Vol. 20, No. 32, August 7 - 13, 2008, p. 13.  While life is perceived as better in the United States, migrants must risk being tortured or killed by the people who get them to this country.  Id @ p. 14.  So-called people smugglers carry guns, change prices on a whim, extort money and have little or no sympathy for their human cargo.  Id.  Since there currently is no system whereby migrants can safely and flexibly enter the United States, human smugglers become increasingly important regardless of their behavior.  Id. As reported in the article, smugglers stash people throughout Houston in hotels, motels, trailer parks and private homes.  Id. 

In February, 2008, for example, the article states that five Mexican nationals and one Honduran pled guilty in federal court after ICE agents found them holding 44 illegal immigrants at a house in Houston and another 13 at a Houston business.  Id. @ 16. One human smuggler was sentenced in April after crashing his SUV and killing five of his illegal immigrant passengers.  Id.  In another case, guilty pleas were entered by two Mexican Nationals and one Brazilian for conspiracy to harbor and transport illegal immigrants, one of whom claimed he had been hit with a baseball bat.  Id. Some cases can even involve federal agents.  Id. @ 16.

Human smuggling and the torture of illegal immigrants has, in the past, gone unreported but that might be changing since the people entering illegal are human beings.  The fact that they are here illegally does not justify torture and people, including migrants, are aware of consequences for smugglers and can be more willing to report human smugglers, who they may not know, when humans are being brutally abused.

A spokesman for the FBI’s Pittsburgh office stated that the agency is opening an investigation into the death of 37 year old Andre Thomas who was shot with a taser by a Swissvale police officer after he was allegedly found acting irrationally on a city avenue.  See, http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/17096325/detail.html , “FBI Looking Into Monroeville Man’s Police Tasering, Death,” 8/6/08.  Thomas’ father retained an attorney to learn more about his son’s death, and two witnesses allegedly told a news station that they think excessive force was used after the deceased was hit with the taser.  Id.  Further, a news station obtained information that the officer who used the taser had been the subject of citizen complaints in the past, and, according to an investigator hired by the family, a half dozen witnesses are telling nearly the same story of police mistreatment.  Id.

In another case, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported August 5th that jury selection by attorneys has begun in the excessive force lawsuit of a man suing five police officers after being shot with a taser.  See, Gutieerez, Scott, “Jury Selection Set In Taser Arrest Case,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, http://seattlepi.nwsource.com , 8/5/08.  In that taser related lawsuit, the plaintiff claims that an officer tackled him from behind and, according to his attorney, medical records allegedly show that the plaintiff had 12 burn marks likely from Taser jolts, a herniated disc, bruised ribs and a shoulder injury.  Id.  On the other hand, the police contend that the plaintiff was drunk and tried to grab an officer after being warned repeatedly to repay a vendor from whom he allegedly took a $5 set of beads.  Id. The plaintiff’s attorney stated that “[o]ur contention is that this was an overreaction and completely over the top … They didn’t need to be tasing him like this.”  Id.

Whether police misconduct or police brutality occurs in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio or elsewhere, victims of excessive force or police mistreatment may file complaints with the departments for whom the police officers work in order to provide the employer with written notice of what happened and to request an investigation.  In addition, victims of police mistreatment can contact an attorney to determine whether a police misconduct lawsuit may be appropriate in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio or elswhere.

The United States Constitution provides protections to citizens against police misconduct, police brutality and the use of excessive force by police.  Whether police misconduct occurs in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio or elsewhere, victims of police brutality may consult an attorney to determine whether an excessive force lawsuit in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio or elsewhere is appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the potential case. 

According to a posting at HighBoldtage, Birmingham, Alabama police are investigating the in custody death of a Birmingham man who died after being shot with a Taser when he drove from a checkpoint stop following his failure to produce proof of insurance and his driver’s license.  See, “Birmingham Man Dies In Police Custody,” June 6, 2008, http://www.highboldtage.com/2008/06/07/man-dies-after-taser-attack-by-police-alaba .  Also, CNEWS reported recently that a mixed martial arts fighter claims he is on the mend after a Taser attack in a hotel in Quebec.  See, Friday, Terrine, “MMA Fighter Claims Taser Attack,” The Canadian Press, http://www.cnews,canoe.ca , 7/29/08.  Further, the Tampa Tribune reported on July 8, 2008 that a sheriff’s deputy used a Taser on his wife and held his service pistol to her head before he was arrested and held for mental evaluation.  See, Poltilove, Josh, “Deputy Accused of Taser Attack On Wife,” Tampa (Fl) Tribune, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2042471/posts , 7/8/08.  The officer has allegedly been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and misdemeanor battery-domestic violence.  Id.  According to the article, the officer used the Taser three to four times on his wife’s abdomen, and, as a result of the Taser attack, his wife received burns.  Id.

Regardless of whether excessive force victims decide to pursue a claim for civil damages in a civil lawsuit, they can report police misconduct, including unreasonable Taser attacks, to law enforcement in order to trigger an internal affairs investigation and document the attack, placing the department on notice of the taser attack and potentially preventing future misconduct.

On June 24, 2008, The New York Times posted an editorial discussing police use of tasers and, more specifically, New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly’s desire to make the taser a weapon of last resort for his officers.  See, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/opinion/24tue3.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin , “The Police And Tasers,” 6/24/08.  Based on a recommendation from the RAND Corporation, Commissioner Kelly and his top lieutenants are considering whether to arm more police officers with the less lethal but controversial weapon.  Id.  According to the article, Commioner Kelly has concerns about the taser, a device that fires an electrified dart from as far away as 35 feet to immobilize the target, because, as the editorial reports, tasers can seriously injure, and even kill, their targets, and, in this regard, Amnesty International contends that Tasers have caused 300 fatalities around the world.  Id.  The New York Times editorial urges that strict conditions be imposed on those who would use tasers, prohibiting officers from deploying the taser in routine situations like crowd control or political demonstrations.  Id.

Prior to this editorial, a federal lawsuit was filed against a city and the maker of the taser in which it is alleged that San Jose police officers excessively beat and tased to death a truck driver even though he was allegedly unarmed and not resisting.  See, Webby, Sean, “San Jose Family Files $20 Million Lawsuit In Taser-Related Death,” The Mercury News, http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9395121 , 5/27/08.  That lawsuit also alleges that police were inspired and protected by city police training and policies that encouraged racial profiling and unjustified violence.  Id.  According to The Mercury News, “five people have died after being shocked with Tasers by San Jose police” since 2004.  Id.

Excessive force and racial profiling can constitute improper police conduct and, depending on the facts and circumstances of the case, excessive force and racial profiling may give rise to damages and a civil lawsuit.  Whether the application of excessive force or the use of racial profiling occurs in Houston or elsewhere, victims of excessive force and racial profiling may contact an attorney to determine, in consultation with the attorney, whether a civil lawsuit is appropriate in order to recover damages and deter the use of excessive force and racial profiling.