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Cop ordered rookie to taze woman on bodycam

Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2017 9:54 pm
by M-Quigley
The subject of body cams and privacy came up in another thread recently, so this posting is possibly relevant to that subject.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ayer_click" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A veteran police officer has been fired for ordering a rookie to tase a female subject in a shocking encounter caught on video.

Sergeant Kenneth Pierce, a 22-year police veteran in Fort Worth, Texas, was fired after a routine use-of-force review found the August incident was 'unacceptable', police said late Monday.

The incident began when Pierce and the rookie responded to a woman who had called 911 regarding a domestic disturbance.

After asking the woman to produce identification, Pierce became 'impatient, initiated an unnecessary physical confrontation, and then ordered a rookie police officer to "Tase" the woman,' Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald said in a statement.

Video of the incident, shot from the rookie's bodycam, shows the woman turning away from the cops and refusing to show ID.

'I don't have to hand her anything,' says the female subject.

'Turn around and hand her your ID or you're going in handcuffs and going to jail,' Pierce can be heard responding.

The female rookie officer pulls out handcuffs and grabs the woman's wrists.

'Don't touch me! Let your hands off me!' the female subject shrieks as she tries to pull away from the rookie's grasp.

Pierce and the rookie struggle to handcuff the woman as she repeatedly screams 'Let my hair go' and resists them.

After about 30 seconds of struggling, the rookie breaks free and pulls out her taser.

'Tase her, tase her,' shouts Pierce, and the rookie deploys her taser, dropping the female subject to the ground where Pierce handcuffs her.

'I'm confident that everyone who sees this video, including members of this department, will agree this supervisor's response and subsequent behaviors are absolutely unacceptable,' said Chief Fitzgerald.

'We are built on a foundation of being problem-solvers. Pierce responded in an opposite manner, and he escalated the situation endangering everyone involved including his fellow officers,' Fitzgerald said.

The police chief said that charges against the woman had been dropped after review of the video.

'Thankfully, in this situation, our internal systems worked, both in the use of force review and the criminal investigative process,' said Fitzgerald.

'Even in tough and challenging times, our officers demonstrate leadership, patience and de-escalation tactics in their daily work,' said Fitzgerald. 'In my mind, all people should be treated with dignity and respect. That's non-negotiable.'

Re: Cop ordered rookie to taze woman on bodycam

Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2017 7:28 am
by AlanM
I find the words "taze" and "shocking encounter" in the same sentence to be hilarious.