Florida cop attempts drive-by Tasering, runs over suspect

reply to post by Lillydale

Then what is your point? The thread title is not "all cops bad."

The point was "Yeah, that cop was a jack, not all of 'em are, but that one definitely was.

It was a ending to the rest of my post. I've had run ins with idiot cops. My point is, though, that I've had run ins with decent ones as well.

How could he have been decent?

A friend of mine went hunting with a bunch of guys one time. He was accidentally shot by one of the guys, it happens sometimes.
Decent fellow, stupid decision.

Regardless of what was the end result, it was not the intent to kill the fellow with the car.

He was attempting to bring him down with the taser, and was traveling to close.
Reeks of idiocy, but not purposeful murder.

The incident took place in the early-morning hours of Saturday, when Officer Ard spotted an individual walking around a construction site.

According to witnesses quoted by the News Journal, when the suspect got onto a bicycle and fled the construction site, Officer Ard pursued in his squad car, flashing his lights and even attempting to Tase the suspect from the moving vehicle.

The only thing the dead dude did was walk around a construction site. This could mean he was walking around the perimeter or it could mean he was trespassing. Either way the dead dude was not doing any obvious criminal activity, according to the report, except ignoring the cop. Heck if the guy was doing nothing wrong he may not even have been aware that the cops actions, flashing his lights, were directed at him since there were others in the area. (the witnesses)

Lets face it how may people on bikes have been pulled over by a cop flashing his lights?

I would love to see at least manslaughter charges ....





edit

The cop KNOWS the taser causes muscle spasms, therefore the cop KNOWS the guy would lose control and fall off the bike. Premeditated murder Anyone???

[edit on 4-10-2009 by crimvelvet]

Originally posted by RuneSpider
A friend of mine went hunting with a bunch of guys one time. He was accidentally shot by one of the guys, it happens sometimes.
Decent fellow, stupid decision.

Apples to Oranges. Decent guy, sure. Decent cop...no. I guess you do not understand the difference between someone who is issued deadly weapons and the authority to use them with chance of no consequence and anyone that buys a shotgun at Wal Mart. If you think they are the same, try taking a cop to court and try taking a hunter to court.

Regardless of what was the end result, it was not the intent to kill the fellow with the car.

That makes it ok? Regardless of the intent, stupidity, laziness, failure to follow proper procedure, wreckless endangerment, and disregard for human life resulted in a dead person.

He was attempting to bring him down with the taser, and was traveling to close.
Reeks of idiocy, but not purposeful murder.

I never said it was murder. I said cops need to be held to higher standards.

reply to post by Lillydale

For the last time, I am in no way condoning, or excusing what the fellow did.
Far from it, so stop putting words in my mouth.

What the fellow did was stupid, and his stupidity resulted in someone being killed.

I am not going to rave and call for his blood because of it, however.
At the very least, I am hoping for him to be completely discharged.

Yes, cops should be held to a higher standard. At the same time, they are as prone to stupidity as the rest of us are.

Again, this in no way excuses them when it happens.
I am not excusing any of his actions.

reply to post by RuneSpider


Relax. I never said you were condoning his actions. I just did not understand why you were defending him anyway? You added twice how good some cops are and add a hunting accident as an example of how things just happen? Why? This thread is about a bad cop doing a bad thing that resulted in a person being dead. This is going to be a shock to some people but you do not get another guy, there is not a bonus round, you cannot hit reset. Dead is dead. When someone has the power to kill you and walk away calling it a stupid mistake, there is a problem. He murdered someone. He ran him down with a car. If you run down a cop, what do you suppose you would get charged with? Just accept that this one was bad and many are bad. Are all bad, no. Did anyone say they are all bad? I did not see that. Stop coming in here to defend things if you are not trying to condone them. He was either very very very wrong or not. All the good cops you know do not mean a thing.

I have to wonder if police officers get taser training before they are given a taser ?

Hmm actually I should be wondering if they get an IQ test before they are given a taser .

reply to post by Lillydale


It is a stupid mistake. Stupid mistake can end with people being killed. I've works in fields were stupid mistakes can cause you to loose limbs or get yourself or others killed.

I brought up the hunting accident because you actually are supposed to have a hunting license, which means you have been through hunting safety classes and know how to properly handle firearms, and not accidentally shoot your friend in the shoulder.

Same standards? Not exactly, no.

I am not defending the guy. I think it's a waste that a easily preventable and stupid accident led to someone's death.

I don't think he should be able to walk away. I don't think what he did was in any way shape of or form, right.
I am not excusing his actions. I am not in any way forgiving him for his actions.

It has been said that the cops in Florida are all corrupt, I am saying that in opposition, that I know several good cops.

If you are a Doctor, nurse or have red cross training you are held to a higher standard if you help at an accident. That is why doctor's rather not stop to help.

If you hold a CDL and drive professionally you are held to a higher standard than someone with a regular drivers license. You are EXPECTED to see and out think the other drivers.

Here is a true life example. I saw a bike coming down a steep hill to a T intersection on the road I was traveling. I came to a dead halt. The biker wrecked and ended up partly under my halted vehicle, but was unhurt, just scared to death.

This police officer should also be held to a higher standard. Unfortunately it seems to be the opposite in many cases.

Florida cops are the worst, funny thing is, the state is wanting to hire more and more pigs for each city. So...if you're looking for a career in being a pig, head to Florida. More police brutality, more cops pulling people over for no reason because they have a quota every month to meet.

Doesn't that action constitute murder. I mean it is gross negligence and totally an act of shear laziness. I feel that they need to make an example out of this guy. That police need to be reliant on skill not tools to take people down. What if this guy was innocent of what he would have been charged for. This is totally a shame and needs to have a good hard look at the use of tazers.

This could be made into a very funny t-mobile commercial but everythings politically correct so it would never happen......

Hey.. it's just Pensacola.


Let's roll PPD's activities back a few months...

April 3, 2009

The Pensacola New Journal reported on a story yesterday that, based on what was reported, concerns me as a criminal defense attorney who practices criminal law primarily in Pensacola. My comment here has nothing to do with the sinister nature of taking wedding gifts from a wedding; I think someone stealing something from anyone else should suffer consequences for their criminal acts taking into consideration the motivation for their behavior. Furthermore, I don't have knowledge of all of the evidence that may exist in the case; however, from reading the arrest report and from what I read in the newspaper I see a dearth of evidence that resulted in another young couple being treated very callously not only by the Pensacola News Journal but also by the Pensacola Police.

...


Pensacola police used the fact that the employee had used the gift card as probable cause to obtain a search warrant from a judge and then proceeded to break down the front door of her home at around 6:30 a.m. the day after they received the warrant. The police had no other evidence before they took the barbarian measure of busting down this families front door other than she had been at the Yacht Club on her day off and had used a department store card which had apparently been intended to be given to the new couple.

...

First, what evidence was cited in the article other than the police had that this girl had possibly used a gift card that was given as a gift to the wedding couple? Could she have found it in the parking lot? Could it have been accidentally dropped by the real wedding “bandits.” But to add insult to the injury, the New Journal felt the article worthy to publish this article on the front page using the title of a recent popular movie to gain attention and sell papers. Did they even consider that this employee is considered innocent until proven guilty?

...

And does the seriousness of this offense really warrant the Pensacola Police Department using a battering ram to break down a door of a couple’s home, a couple with small children, involving a case where the estimated value the gifts taken to be approximately $1000? Was there no more gentile way to conduct this investigation? But then again, at least from what little I currently know about the case, officers found no evidence that the employee had any other article that was stolen other than the department store card which she had used.

www.floridacriminallawblog.com...

Like I mentioned in a previous post .. PPD gets off on this sort of thing.

Originally posted by RuneSpider
reply to post by Lillydale

 

It is a stupid mistake. Stupid mistake can end with people being killed.

Hulk Hogans son made a stupid mistake. He wasn't even a trained professional who was supposed to be held to a higher standard because of that training. He was just a kid who made a stupid mistake driving his car in Florida. His stupid mistake ended up putting his friend in the hospital. No he didn't die. But that stupid mistake landed Hogan's son in jail.
I'm also curious as to why they left the police car on the victim for 3 hours as opposed to maybe pulling the victim out and attempting live saving measures. And even if he was obviously dead (massive open head trauma) wouldn't they still treat the body with some level of respect? Especially in light of the fact that there was a very large crowd of bystanders. I dunno, just seems kind of strange, and at the very least, extremely disrespectful.
Also, it's been about 2 days now since this poor person was killed. But they have yet to release his name or any details about him. Wasn't there a question of him possibly being a teenager? It's as if they are trying to hide his identity for as long as possible. Why? Are they worried about public backlash and wanted to avoid some type of protest over the weekend when more people are off work and more likely to add their voice to a rally? Alot of peculiar things about this.

Originally posted by Chillidog1

...I'm also curious as to why they left the police car on the victim for 3 hours as opposed to maybe pulling the victim out and attempting live saving measures...

That's easy. 3 hours gives them time to figure out their story and where to attach the handcuffs.... just in case he wants to flee.

Originally posted by RoofMonkey

Originally posted by Chillidog1


That's easy. 3 hours gives them time to figure out their story and where to attach the handcuffs.... just in case he wants to flee.

Sounds very plausible

Disputing reports

Another witness, David Taylor, 25, said the bicyclist, who appeared to be a teenager, was dragged after being stuck beneath the police car. His account differed from the police news release, which stated that Ard fired the Taser but did not hit the man. He also said Ard had not activated his siren. Taylor also said he never heard Ard shouting at the man.

“The kid fell off the bike (after being shocked with a stun gun) and then was stumbling because of the momentum,” Taylor said. “It was probably about 10 to 15 feet that the man was drug.”

www.pnj.com...

In 2007, the Pensacola City Council paid a $25,000 settlement to a man who was shot with a stun gun by Pensacola police officers during a traffic stop. The man was pulled over because an officer couldn't see the decal on his license plate. After arguing with police, the man was pulled from his car, shocked with the stun gun and arrested on charges of resisting arrest.

The man later was found not guilty of resisting officers, and the traffic charges were dropped.

www.pnj.com...

Originally posted by RuneSpider
Regardless of what was the end result, it was not the intent to kill the fellow with the car.

He was attempting to bring him down with the taser, and was traveling to close.
Reeks of idiocy, but not purposeful murder.

No your absolutely right. That's not murder, it's manslaughter.

As a more general comment prompted by the OP, more and more I'm getting the feeling that I've somehow joined a military without realising it. Why am I constantly getting the feeling that in my life there are people beneath me and people above me in some strict, well defined hierarchy?
I don't want to look down on or look up at anybody, why am I being compelled to do so?
Let me put it this way, if an employee of the Police department were to tell me to stop, why am I not able to say "No sorry, I'm on a tight schedule right now." or words to that effect. If then that person really actually did need me to interact with them, for legal reasons, they could advise "I'm sorry sir but you must stop as you have broken 'such & such' law." For arguments sake, that could be, I kicked a dog or something.
However, the reality is if a person who is employed by the Police department tells you to stop (or whatever), you have to comply simply because of their job position. And their not even working for the same employer as you... Is it just me, or doesn't that sound like madness?!

Officer Jerald Ard of Pensacola, Florida is the biggest d-bag I've read about in quite some time...

I hope he is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for murder.

PIGS- I'm getting so damned sick and tired of watching them kill our friends, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, etc...

In the UK you can get done for eating whilst driving but this prat think's he's Beverley Hill Cop hanging out of car windows firing a taser.

And the poor lad who got run down.. for no reason, what's betting the police 'find' a gun or drugs on the guy now that they're cast in an extremely ill light.

What an absolute lemon, he doesn't deserve a driver's licence let alone a cop badge

[edit on 5-10-2009 by ItsallCrazy]

Originally posted by ItsallCrazy
In the UK you can get done for eating whilst driving but this prat think's he's Beverley Hill Cop hanging out of car windows firing a taser.

And the poor lad who got run down.. for no reason, what's betting the police 'find' a gun or drugs on the guy now that they're cast in an extremely ill light.

What an absolute lemon, he doesn't deserve a driver's licence let alone a cop badge

[edit on 5-10-2009 by ItsallCrazy]

Well.. considering it's in Brownsville that's pretty easy to do. The PD and Sheriff Dept have been known to attempt the arrest of each others operatives down there on prostitution sweeps.