Death by Taser or Marijuana?

[nattyreb]

A ridiculous question, no?!
=============

From:
http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs..../-1/newsfront2

Was Taser needed?
Man stunned in handcuffs, witness says; autopsy pending

By TYRONE TONY REED JR.
ttreed@jacksonsun.com
April 30, 2008


Jermaine Ward was handcuffed and offering no resistance to Milan police when he was stunned with a Taser, according to a friend who was arrested with Ward after a traffic stop on Sunday. Ward later died in a Milan hospital.
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Milan police officials on Tuesday said an internal investigation shows officers followed proper procedures during the traffic stop and Ward's subsequent arrest on drug charges.

But Angalena Choat, 29, of Paducah, Ky., said Tuesday that Ward, 28, of Jackson, was not resisting officers.

"How could he resist?" said Choat, who has been a friend of Ward's and his family for three years. "He was already handcuffed."

Choat and Ward's mother, Carolyn Nesbitt, said that they believe that Ward being tasered contributed to his death.

"The officers tasering him continually contributed to his death," Nesbitt said Tuesday.

Nesbitt has said she moved from Jackson to Paducah, Ky., last week. She said Ward had been traveling back and forth between Jackson and Paducah since her move.

Ward and Choat were headed to Paducah on Sunday when Milan police stopped them in a car driven by Choat. Ward was charged with simple possession of marijuana, resisting arrest and tampering with evidence.

A police report on the incident said Ward was chewing a substance that looked like marijuana and that he refused to spit the substance out when police ordered him to. The report said Ward also resisted when police tried to arrest him.

Choat was also arrested on a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. She was issued a traffic citation for having a broken tail light on her car.

Choat on Tuesday said police spent a couple of minutes using the Taser on Ward after he was handcuffed.

But the police report on the incident said police used the Taser before placing Ward in handcuffs.

Officials on Tuesday said the TASER 26X used by Milan police has an automatic sequence that lasts about five seconds.

Milan Assistant Police Chief Tim Wright said he doesn't know if Ward was handcuffed or not when he was tasered. Wright said as a general rule, suspects who are in handcuffs are not tasered unless the situation calls for it.

"People could use their feet to be combative if their hands are cuffed," Wright said.

Wright said that the cartridge of the TASER 26X that an officer used on Ward was removed and the officer used the device as a stun gun.

"It was used more as a distraction than to immobilize (Ward)," Wright said.

Wright said that there is video of the traffic stop and booking of Ward, and that while he hasn't seen it, the viewer can "definitely see what's going on."

The video is not being released because it is evidence in the investigation of Ward's death, Wright said.

Choat said that Ward, the fifth of Nesbitt's six sons, made some mistakes in life, but overall, he was a good man.

"Jermaine was so happy and outgoing," Choat said. "He liked to have fun, and there was never a boring moment with him."

Choat added, "His death could have been avoided. That officer (who tasered him) gets to go home and be with his family, while Jermaine's family has to bury him."

Wright said that the investigation into whether procedures were followed correctly was conducted by the Milan Police Department.

"It appears everyone involved, from the traffic stop to the booking, followed procedures," Wright said.

Wright said that the officers, who were suspended for one day with pay to recuperate from the incident, are back on duty.

"They are on the up and up," Wright said. "They have never done anything for us to keep an eye on them. They're pretty straightforward."

Wright said that the Milan Police Department has certified Taser instructors who work in the department. Officers who are issued Tasers also have to be tasered as part of their training.

"I think it's just so we can see what it does to the person who it is being used on so officers won't abuse the use of it," Wright said.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating Ward's death and awaiting the results of Ward's autopsy, according to TBI special agent-in-charge John Mehr.

Police stopped a Mustang that was being driven by Choat on U.S. 45 in Milan at 2:30 a.m. Sunday after noticing a broken tail light, authorities have said.

Officers noticed Ward trying to hide something in the back seat when they approached the car and noticed Ward chewing a substance that looked like marijuana.

The report said that Ward ignored officers' orders that he spit out the substance, which they believed to be marijuana.

The report said an officer then used the Taser on Ward and handcuffed him. Police also recovered a small amount of marijuana from the car Ward and Choat were riding in.

Officers said that during the booking, Ward was fine and alert and gave the jailer all the information they needed.

A dispatcher later noticed that something "just wasn't right" with Ward as he awaited processing in the Milan police station, authorities said.

Police transported Ward to the Milan General Hospital by ambulance. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The report said that the doctor who worked on Ward told an officer that Ward showed all the signs of swallowing "a decent amount of narcotics."

Ward has been convicted in Jackson of possessing drugs, according to the Jackson Police Department. He was convicted of simple possession of marijuana in January 1999 and in April 2006, police records show.

Choat declined to comment Tuesday on whether she or Ward had drugs when the traffic stop was conducted.

Choat, who is white, and Nesbitt have both said that they feel the incident was racially motivated, but police have said that is not true.

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-Tyrone Tony Reed Jr.,
425-9758

[jamal-s]

Myth: Marijuana Related Hospital Emergencies Are Increasing, Particularly Among Youth. This is evidence that marijuana is much more harmful than most people previously believed.

Fact: Marijuana does not cause overdose deaths. The number of people in hospital emergency rooms who say they have used marijuana has increased. On this basis, the visit may be recorded as marijuana-related even if marijuana had nothing to do with the medical condition preceding the hospital visit. Many more teenagers use marijuana than use drugs such as heroin and cocaine. As a result, when teenagers visit hospital emergency rooms, they report marijuana much more frequently than they report heroin and cocaine. In the large majority of cases when marijuana is mentioned, other drugs are mentioned as well. In 1994, fewer than 2% of drug related emergency room visits involved the use of marijuana.

http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/

He obvoiusy didnt die from a drug overdose because it's not possible to overdose on herb. He would've had to have swallowed an extremely large amount (lbs of it, which he wouldnt have had time to do given the situation) in order to have a fatal overdose. Now wether he already had something else in his system or not, that's a different story, but... the pigs had something to do with his death... the taser (and any health conditions he may have had) had something to do with it.