Suspect surrenders, puts hands on squad car — then gets Tased in neck

[FL Patriot]

Suspect surrenders, puts hands on squad car — then gets Tased in neck



By David Edwards and Daniel Tencer

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 -- 10:02 am







Police quietly removed safeguards against Taser-related brutality

A Minneapolis man who was Tased by police after surrendering and putting both hands on the hood of a squad car says he wants restitution from the police.

On Monday, Rolando Ruiz's lawyer released dashcam video of an April 30 incident in which Ruiz can be seen with his hands on the hood of a car when a police officer approaches him and Tases him in the neck. Ruiz then falls to the ground, and can be heard screaming in agony as the officer kneels over him.

As WCCO-TV in Minneapolis notes, the video begins moments before the Tasing, so it's unclear whether there was a physical confrontation beforehand. But it is clear that Ruiz was not being aggressive at the moment he was hit with a conducted energy weapon.

Ruiz' attorney, Albert Goins, says his client's civil rights were violated, and he wants the police department to settle out of court for $75,000 or he says he will bring a federal lawsuit against the officers and Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan.

This is at least the second high-profile incident of police brutality in Minneapolis to make the news this year. As the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports, Chief Dolan earlier this year forced his officers to watch dashcam footage of officers beating Minneapolis resident Darryl Jenkins in a snowbank to the point he needed seven stitches. The FBI is now investigating that incident.

The fact the officer Tased Ruiz in the neck will likely cause concerns among police watchdogs. Last month, Taser International issued a memo to police forces telling them not to Tase suspects in the head, neck and chest, because doing so poses a risk of injury.

Observers of Minneapolis police note that the force had accepted recommendations not to allow officers to use Tasers on suspects' necks -- before quietly removing that guideline from its training manual.

"They removed restrictions on more than one officer Tasering a person at a time, or intentionally using the Taser on the head, neck, face, or genitalia," wrote civil liberties advocate Dave Bicking. "They did this without consulting, or even notifying, the City Council or the [civilian review authority]. They said that they had just moved the policy to their training manuals. When we finally were able to look at a training manual, it was clear that almost all of the important provisions were gone, and officers were given much greater discretion."

The Star-Tribune reported that Ruiz was arrested "after an incident involving damage to property at the Second Precinct headquarters." Ruiz is charged with felony damage to property. He also pleaded guilty earlier this year to second-degree assault and misdemeanor failure to stop at the scene of an accident, both evidently unrelated to the property damage charge.

"For an individual facing a property crime case and in custody, that's an outrageous amount of force," the Star-Tribune quoted Goins.
Goins has not divulged how he obtained the police camera footage. He says his client doesn't want more than the available 75 seconds of the video shown to the public.
This video is from WCCO-TV in Minneapolis, broadcast Nov. 2, 2009.



Download video via RawReplay.com

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[FL Patriot]

Libertarian 9/11 truth leader Jim Duensing shot in the back by cops...

...then stabbed in the back by local Libertarians! (scroll down for updates)


Jim Duensing, 2008 Congressional candidate and founder of the Libertarian 9/11 truth caucus Libertarians for Justice, is in critical condition after being repeatedly shot in the back and arm by a Las Vegas cop. Our prayers go out to Jim, who is recovering with his wife in the hospital and thankfully is expected to survive.

The standard police line about how the suspect was supposedly reaching for a gun, blah blah blah, was contradicted by an eyewitness: "They shot him in the back," she said. "He was just running."

If you don't like this post-9/11 post-Constitution USA where uniformed thugs feel free to shoot people in the back, please support Jim's two big causes, libertarianism and 9/11 truth.

Here's wishing Jim a speedy recovery. I'm looking forward to having him back on my radio shows ASAP God willing.

AFTERNOON UPDATE: Jim explains what happened here. According to Jim, the cop electrocuted him with a taser while his arms were raised in the air, and he fled in a panic reaction:

With my hands raised above my head, the cop shot me with a taser in the chest. As I have had heart problems since my premature birth, I believe a Taser to be a lethal weapon. Several people without heart conditions have been killed by this weapon.
When the taser began electrocuting me, instinct took over….
I immediately turned to my left and began moving away from the source of the electrocution. By the time I got to the back of the vehicle, I had reached up with both hands, grabbed the electrodes, and pulled them away from my chest. The juice then flowed through my arms – not my heart. As I lay here in my hospital bed, I firmly believe this instinct saved my life.
I continued running away from the taser. I heard the cop fire it again, but did not feel an additional shock. I was running down the sidewalk with empty hands. I heard three pops from behind me.

Meanwhile the local Libertarian Party, adding insult to injury, has stabbed Jim in the back with this statement, reported on LewRockwell.com: "The Libertarian Party of Clark County does not advocate fleeing the police as a means of peaceful conflict resolution. Raymond 'Jim' Duensing, although a past officer of the party, holds no official standing within our party as an elected officer. Our thoughts go out to Jim Duensing, his family, and the officer involved in this incident (emphasis added)."

My thoughts too go out to this officer, and they are most unpleasant.

If Jim and the witness are telling the truth -- and I know Jim to be an honest, idealistic, upright, sensible individual -- it sounds like he was either the victim of a lunatic taser-crazy rogue officer who should be fired, tried, and jailed for at least a few decades...or, conceivably, he could even have been set up for torture- and attempted murder-by-cop, a la Roland Carnaby.

Tasers are lethal weapons, and should only be used in lieu of even more lethal weapons. Since so many cops are apparently too dumb or evil to figure that out, we obviously need to get tasers the hell out of the hands of these bullies-in-blue. And since rogue cops operate with complete impunity in almost all US jurisdictions, we need to start posting their home addresses and phone numbers on the internet as a deterrent to this kind of behavior. If anyone can obtain this officer's address and phone number, feel free to either post it as a comment, or give it to me and I'll post it.

Duensing asks that, instead of flowers, please send contributions to his campaign at HellForHarry.com. Give 'em hell in the next election, Jim! I hope you'll win a multi-million dollar lawsuit and send a message that the cops had better watch out -- the next person they decide to torture and/or murder might be a lawyer.

Meanwhile, more information is emerging on the apparent premeditated, Fred Hampton-style police assassination of Muslim leader Luqman Ameen Abdullah. I thought this stuff went out with the 1960s.

Tuesday, Nov. 3rd update: "The officer, David Gilbert, has been with the department since 1993. He has been placed on routine paid administrative leave." (Source: Las Vegas Journal-Review story.) Someone please find his address and phone number so we can post it all over the internet and conduct peaceful protests of this criminal action. The Constitution guarantees us the right to assemble and petition for redress of grievances, and that is exactly what we should be doing in front of this guy's house.

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