Quit coming over to Detroit and killing our children

[thecarl]

“I pray you find another means,� the teen’s aunt, Dedra McGlory of Detroit, said about using the pistol-shaped device that is meant to stun — but not injure — a suspect with high-voltage bursts of electricity. “Or give these officers some training, so they know how to treat a child, and maybe a child with a disability, and maybe a child who’s black.�

http://www.freep.com/article/2009041...+plans+lawsuit

[lilpup]

Anybody want to guess who taught the kid to not cooperate with police?

[crawford]

Hey, auntie, maybe your family should have learned how to raise a child right, no? Too bad the kid's dead, but it wouldn't have happened if you didn't raise a thug.

And I wouldn't be surprised if the family is happy about the whole situation. They obviously didn't care for the child, seeing how they neglected him. And now they can profit off his death to the tune of millions! What a country!

[gnome]

The boy was a little over 5 ft and 125 pounds. In the old days you'd just get a nice clubbing for making a cop run after you but I guess tazers are more humane.

hmm

[funjon1]

Running from the police does not give them the right to murder anyone, much less a 15 year old.

[Detromb21]

If you run from the police, all bets are off

[Danny]

Racism and racist cops are still the norm in Warren.

[Johnnny5]

“Or give these officers some training, so they know how to treat a child, and maybe a child with a disability, and maybe a child who’s black.”

My guess is that the cops learned their lesson on how to treat 16 year old Detroiter's when they attended Oak Park Officer Samborskis funeral. Another unarmed 16 year old Detroiter resisting arrest, but apparently that did not stop him from murdering the 28 year old officer.

http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?id...ion=news/state

I applaud the efforts of these officers for doing their jobs in attempting to apprehend this young man and for attempting CPR after he fell unconscious.

[gazhekwe]

Lots of stereotypes up there. What indicates the family raised him to resist police, or neglected him? Why should police assume every black teenager is like the one who killed Officer Stamborske?

The real issue here is why is Tazer not being recognized as a deadly force? This is not the only person who has died from it.

[emuaaron]

wow, some of the comments here are as pathetic as the one's on freep.com, which has long been a bastion for the ignorant to spout off.

[Single Malt]

The intent of the taser is to subdue the assailant, not to kill. It is meant as a non-lethal way to apprehend. It is not meant to kill. Sad, in two cases in Michigan it is the end result of teens being tasered and ultimately killed. But I do not believe the officers involved wanted this boy dead. If they didn't have the taser and they used fist strikes and headlocks to subdue him, after he broke the law, fled, and physically resisted arrest the outcome of a racists would be the same. They used a taser, which subdues the assailant just enough to restrain him. It's maybe the taser company that should be looked at, not the cops. The cops were just doing their job. It is not easy being a cop these days I'm sure.

[rjk]

It's maybe the taser company that should be looked at, not the cops. The cops were just doing their job.

Even the mayor of Warren is calling for an independent investigation so it's not known whether the police acted appropriately at this point.

[TKshreve]

wow, some of the comments here are as pathetic as the one's on freep.com, which has long been a bastion for the ignorant to spout off.

So what is it that irks you so much posted above? Please enlighten us where the ignorant are spouting off. Or do you prefer to look and judge with no direct account.

Do we not have a smiley that has the guy shooting himself in the head?

The intent of the taser is to subdue the assailant, not to kill.

Why on earth did they need to subdue the 16 year old? Why?

Oh, that's right, he ran from the cops.If people would stop supporting the "Burgular tripped on my son's rollerskate" mentality, maybe we could get something going right in this country. But instead I'll sue you and you sue me, and let's tape it red and never hear the end of it.

[Johnnny5]

Why should police assume every black teenager is like the one who killed Officer Stamborske?

Black or white it does not make a difference. Samborski's tragic death just reiterated the fact that officers have to assume that every teen willing to break the law is also capable of committing murder. If the young age of these criminals causes them to let their guard down they risk the same fate.

[Lowell]

I always like to put the shoe on the other foot in these controversies.

What is every one's opinion on what kind of uproar would have ensued if a five foot kid from Warren was pursued from Detroit to his home in Warren and tasered to death there? Somehow I think it would be an even bigger story.

I also think there is too little known, until a full investigation is finished, to pass judgment on anyone, police, parents or civilians, at this time.

[gazhekwe]

Any person may be capable of committing murder. All they need is a gun or knife that can be concealed on their person. Officers should never let down their guard. The Tazer needs scrutiny. Should it be the first thing the officer reaches for when confronting a fleeing or resistant person? Should the officers have to consider the relative size of the person? Small, no Tazer? Grown men have died after being physically restrained, no Tazer. I have seen two healthy young men who died after being restrained according to professionally trained methods. No one intended them any harm, but they needed to be restrained to protect themselves and others. There are risks with any method, we just need to make sure they are being responsibly addressed. The tragedy of anyone's death is a wake-up call. How can we prevent this from happening again?

[Wintersmommy]

i havent looked up the stats in a while but something like 340 people have died from being tasered by police since the forces started using them..running from the police should not be a death sentance..its like all the deaths that happen from high speed police chases. My belief is let them go because most will reoffend another day and there will be another chance to catch them without loss of life

[Bigb23]

My belief is let them go because most will re offend another day and there will be another chance to catch them without loss of life.

???
Or another car chase, after another offense against people or property. Finish what's started, until other non-lethal ways are found to stop and subdue offenders.

[Wintersmommy]

???
Or another car chase, after another offense against people or property. Finish what's started, until other non-lethal ways are found to stop and subdue offenders.

car chases put innocent bystanders at great risk..its stupid for the police to give chase and put citizens lives at risk for failure to stop at a stop sign or something like it, and many times these criminals don’t even have anything in the car other than a dime bag of some weed. Its the criminals fault for running and not following police orders but in cases of petty crimes loss of life is not justifiable. Now of course there are exceptions to be made for hard core offenses but most of the time it appears to be petty crime resulting in deadly force..I am just saying that these criminals will reoffend and eventually be caught i wouldn’t want anyone to die for a petty offense even if that offense was committed against me or mine

[Blueidone]

I stand by the police. What is it about "STOP - POLICE" that some people don't understand? Black, white, arab, native american, pink, orange or polka-dotted...when the police say stop...STOP! I do not believe in the "let them go for another day" theory. Next time it might be a worse crime where the person is running after committing a murder or assault.

I'm sorry this young person died...but he should have STOPPED. He should not have run from the police. He may have been charged with a minor crime, but he would still be alive. I would rather have the police using a tazer than a gun. If the tazer misses its target no one gets injured. If a gun missed its target some innocent person could die. In most cases the tazer is not lethal. Yes, there are exceptions...but again...if you STOP when you are told to, there is NO RISK.

[Bobl]

A sad, tragic story. A young man is dead. The tazer [[sp?), which is intended to reduce deadly force, is not always safe.....but far more humane and less likely to harm bystanders than a gun.
Investigations will be done, and we can then reach judgments on what went wrong, but two things are evident:
The victim should not have run, or resisted.
The police officers appear to have done nothing against policy.
I support the police, and ask that parents begin teaching their children respect for the police and themselves. When a cop says "stop", you stop!

[iheartbooks]

In all the articles about this case it clearly states that the boy had some type of learning disability. It never says he was a criminal or a thug or raised improperly or neglected. I do not doubt that the police did not intend to end this boy's life. I do believe they were trying to do their jobs effectively. They probably had no way to know that he had a learning disability. It is not fair to make assumptions about the police or the boy since all we know is that he ran away from the cops when no one, even his his family, knows why he ran away from the cops.

[firstandten]

Tasers are more humane than a bullet, but whenever you shoot an electrical volt at somebody you never know how the heart is going to handle it. Some people even teenagers have enlarged hearts or otherwise questionable systems that may not be able to handle to taser shock. More study may need to be done on this "non-lethal" weapon

[Buy American]

A quote from the Macomb Daily article:

"Ron Scott of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality believes the officers too quickly escalated the use of force against the teen by using the Taser, which he called a “hand-held electric chair.”

“These Tasers are only as good as the people’s hands they are in,” Scott said.

Others, such as Sandra Hines, also criticized Warren officers for crossing the municipal boundary to pursue the fleeing teen. Most cities have mutual aid agreements that allow officers in neighboring communities to cross borders when pursuing criminals or for emergency action.

“Quit coming over in Detroit and killing our kids,” said coalition member Sandra Hines, who suggested sensitivity training for the mostly white police department."

Ms. Hines, I am sorry that a young man who chose to run from the Warren Police Department after being stopped for a minor traffic offense died. He ran from the police, which in of itself is a crime. When the police order you to "STOP" and you decide to run, you do so at your own risk. The Police don't have time to evaluate his mental status, that is for the courts to do. The police have to act with split second decisions and they decided to taser him instead of shooting him. They don't have the luxury to question him at length in a pursuit. Thank God we have police and the Warren Police Department are to be commended for their pledge to protect and serve, as does the Detroit Police Department.
In regards to your statement "“Quit coming over in Detroit and killing our kids,” the only thing I can say in response to that is, Detroit thugs do a pretty damn good job of killing your own kids on a daily basis. Maybe the opposite should apply, keep your Detroit kids out of Warren or any other suburb where police enforce the law, especially if these Detroit kids are going to break laws and then face consequences that that you feel are unjust. I am sure that something will come out regarding this young man's health or that he was high on drugs that would exacerbate his untimely death.
The Warren Police did not want this young man to die, otherwise they would have used lethal force. Start taking responsibility for the children you raise and stop blaming others for what they decide to do.

[crawford]

In all the articles about this case it clearly states that the boy had some type of learning disability.

A learning disability just means Special Ed. Probably half of African American boys in DPS are categorized as learning disabled. It doesn't mean he's severly mentally handicapped or anything.

I also wonder if people have been to South Warren lately. There seems to an underlying sentiment of "racist, white" Warren, but the city south of the freeway is very mixed racially these days. I wouldn't be surprised if there were Warren Census Tracts south of 9 Mile that were majority black nowadays.

I don't see much difference between the Warren side and the Detroit side of 8 Mile. They're pretty similar nowadays.