This Week in the Mercury

Film Shorts

Film

Film Shorts

In Which We Hit It and Quit It


The Blueprint

Film

The Blueprint

So Some Stuff Happens in Safe House I Guess



  |  

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

News / Cops Report Pushes Cops For Taser Restrictions

Posted by Matt Davis on Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 11:10 AM

A new report by Los Angeles consultants is pushing the Portland Police Bureau to place restrictions on officers' use of Tasers and other less lethal weapons.

The report says cops should use "only the minimum number of cycles necessary to place the subject in custody," and that the bureau should "strongly advices officers against using more than three" cycles of the Taser.

The report, which reviewed 12 officer-involved shootings between 2002 and 2005, makes repeated mention of "case five," which can be identified from the details described in the report as the fatal shooting of William Grigsby in December 2004. Cops shot Grigsby 13 times, hit him 22 times with beanbag rounds, and Tasered him four or five times.

Grigsby ran from the cops after crashing a stolen pickup truck in Southeast Portland.

After the initial shooting, SERT officers fired beanbag rounds and Taser rounds at Grigsby, and even sent a police dog in to bite him and drag him as he lay bleeding and unresponsive on the ground for 87 minutes. Cops forbade an ambulance, on standby at the scene, from helping Grigsby, who was later pronounced dead by medics. The state medical examiner found that immediate medical care probably would have saved Grigsby's life.

After Grigsby's death, the bureau instituted a new medical care policy, saying officers should give medical care to a suspect "at the earliest time feasible." But the report, by the Police Assessment Resource Center in Los Angeles, says the bureau hasn't gone far enough, and that "it must yet compel officers to render aid as quickly as possible, unless the rendering of aid would present an unreasonable danger." The report also says the bureau needs to clarify its policy around beanbag shotguns, following the incident.

An advance copy of the report, which was released to the public through the auditor's website at midnight last night, appears to have been given to the Oregonian on an exclusive basis yesterday. Copwatch activist Dan Handelman expressed frustration at this morning's press conference that he was given just nine hours, without sleep, to digest the report's contents before being given the chance to ask questions about it.

b029/1235501588-saltzmansizer.jpg
SALTZMAN AND SIZER: "Pleased," and "proud" of the report this morning...

Apart from its recommendations related to the Grigsby death, the report is largely positive about the development of the police bureau in handling officer-involved shootings since 2002. "This report describes an increasingly excellent police department," it says.

Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman and Police Chief Rosie Sizer credited the PARC report this morning with a substantial reduction in in custody deaths since 2002, with only two shootings occurring in each of the last two years—as shown, for the benefit of the TV cameras, on a graph displayed behind them at the press conference.

"I want to say how proud I am," said Sizer. "I think what you've seen is a Herculean effort on the part of the Police Bureau to change how it investigates in custody deaths."

"I'm increasingly pleased," said Saltzman. "The police bureau is becoming a more responsive, transparent organization, committed to increasing accountability."

You can read more about cops' use of Tasers in this feature, from last November. And you can download the latest PARC report here.

 

Comments (5) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment
1
Matt,

Why not mention Grigsby shot 2 cops before they returned fire? The suggested policy would have changed nothing.
Posted by DeportMattDavis on February 24, 2009 at 11:46 AM · Report
2
Matt,
I can't be the first person to say this to you, but I roll my eyes every time you write "cops." From an everyday individual, it usually sounds bratty (also a bit anachronistic). From a journalist, it sounds both bratty and amateurish. When used repeatedly, it sounds awkward. I'm no lover of the police, but I think it hurts your quite obvious goal of exposing and ending all "cop" misconduct." That is to say, I take your implicit argument less seriously when I take YOU less seriously. Please consider letting the reported conduct of the police speak for itself, rather than relying in part on peevish, juvenile pejoratives.
Posted by Commenty Colin on February 24, 2009 at 12:36 PM · Report
3
"peevish, juvenile pejoratives"

Oh, the irony.

Or is that a single entendre?
Posted by Logan 5 on February 24, 2009 at 4:39 PM · Report
4
From the Oregonian, Feb 26:

>

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.s…
Posted by Matt Davis on February 26, 2009 at 6:52 AM · Report
5
Sorry, that meant to include the text of the Taser settlement:

Settled suit: A 22-year-old woman who was stunned with a Taser in the lower back and buttocks by Portland police has agreed to settle her suit with the city for $5,000.

Charity Johnson had originally sought $100,000, but her attorney, Brett Hall, said so much time had passed since the December 2005 incident that witnesses were difficult to find.

Johnson was at Hollywood Bowl in Northeast Portland waiting for a lane to free up when officers arrived to break up a large crowd. Johnson alleged an officer stunned her with a Taser, without warning, after she called the officer a name because he put a hand on her and told her to leave.

Police said Johnson, who is African American, had been fighting with another woman, was hostile, called the white officer a racially charged name and was unresponsive to police orders. Johnson was charged with disorderly conduct and criminal trespass, but a jury cleared her of the charges.

Her attorney had argued that police need to be better trained to endure insults.
Posted by Matt Davis on February 26, 2009 at 6:53 AM · Report

Add a comment

Our Friends

Our Enemies

/images/adoftheweek.gif

ad of the day

The Handyman Pro - Your Honey-Do Specialist
Don’t let our name fool you. The Handyman Pro, LLC is a repair and remodel service provider with over 25-years experience. We cover all aspects of construction and repairs for residential and commercial clients.go


post an ad

All contents © Index Newspapers, LLC

115 SW Ash St. Suite 600
Portland, OR 97204

Contact Info | Privacy Policy | Production Guidelines | Terms of Use