FL- Naked sex offender, Tasered by deputies, dies

Sex offenders killed by Public Servants:
FL: 5 NC: 1 DE: 1 PA: 1 GA: 2 IL: 1 WA: 1 NY: 1 WI: 1 MI: 1 CA: 1 OR: 1 OK: 1 TX: 1
There seems to be a problem in Florida! eAdvocate

The Florida Senate had this to say when crafting the statute on the use of stun guns:

As previously noted, law enforcement officers are now governed by s. 943.1717, F.S., in their deployment of stun guns. The statute requires that the subject offer “active physical resistance.” According to the Response to Resistance Matrix officer training, this means that a subject makes physically evasive movements to prevent the officer from taking control. He or she may brace or tense themselves, try to push or pull away, take a fighting stance, not allow the officer to approach, or run away. At this level of resistance, the officer is generally justified in using a baton, stun gun, or chemical agent to gain control. In addition, however, the statute requires that the subject has the apparent physical ability to threaten the officer or others or is preparing or attempting to flee or escape. The statute spells out the parameters under which a law
enforcement officer is justified in using his or her stun gun.

Reviewing the statute, relevant portions, it appears the officers have violated the law:

943.1717 Use of dart-firing stun guns.--

(1) A decision by a law enforcement officer, correctional officer, or correctional probation officer to use a dart-firing stun gun must involve an arrest or a custodial situation during which the person who is the subject of the arrest or custody escalates resistance to the officer from passive physical resistance to active physical resistance and the person:
(a) Has the apparent ability to physically threaten the officer or others; or
(b) Is preparing or attempting to flee or escape.

Reviewing the subject's actions BEFORE he was tasered, assuming it is reported correctly, does not show what is required by the legislature! eAdvocate

3-21-2008 Florida:

A naked and belligerent Deerfield Beach man, who Broward sheriff's deputies Tasered when he resisted arrest, died in BSO custody early Friday.

James Garland, 41, was unconscious when he arrived at Imperial Point Hospital in a BSO cruiser some time after 4 a.m., BSO said. He was later pronounced dead.

The Broward County Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy Friday to determine Garland's cause of death. BSO has directed the office not to release its findings at this time, said Wendy Crane, a medical investigator.

According to a BSO release, here's what happened:

At about 4:15 Friday, deputies responded to a 911 call at the Hillsboro Boulevard bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway of a man walking in traffic, waving his shirt.

When they arrived, they found Garland strolling naked past the Ocean Boulevard Condominium at 191 SE 20 Ave.

Deputies tried to detain him, but he became angry, and refused to comply. Deputies hit him with a stun gun, and were able to take Garland, who became violent, into custody.

Garland continued to rage. Paramedics, fearful of his behavior, refused to transport him to the hospital, and so he was taken by a marked patrol car.

At some point, Garland lost consciousness, and later died.

He has had 10 arrests in Broward County in the last six years, mostly for drug-related offenses. Garland spent six months in prison from late 2002 through early 2003 following a possession of cocaine conviction.

It is not known if cocaine was in his system at the time of his death, said Jim Leljedal, a BSO spokesman.

The police use of Tasers has drawn national scrutiny, as the practice has led to dozens of deaths in recent years. In many instances, those killed were high on cocaine, a stimulant, at the time that 50,000 volts are sent through their body.

In January, a Coral Gables man died after he was Tasered. Police say Xavier Jones, 29, was causing a commotion and resisting arrest at a Coral Gables hotel when he was Tasered.

Garland, of 167 NW 2nd St., is a registered sex offender. In 1991, a Grady, Ga., jury convicted him of molesting a child, according to Florida's sexual offenders database. ..more.. by AP