lino
09-21-2009, 06:08 PM
Two uniformed officers were responding to a reported domestic disturbance at the residence of Gregory Williams, a double amputee who lost his legs to a condition that led to gangrene.
He and his wife had apparently been arguing, and when officers arrived they were both out in front of their apartment. Williams, who had his two-year-old daughter on his lap, was told to go back inside, and reportedly complied with their request. After speaking to his wife, an officer and a Child Protective Services worker approached him, and demanded that he surrender the child.
That’s when things began to get a bit of control. Williams claims that the worker took his daughter from his lap, to which he replied: “’What are you doing? I haven’t done anything!” He also says that the only resisting he might have done was to hold onto his wheelchair so that he wouldn’t fall to the ground.
After that the man claims he was tased twice at close range, causing him to fall from his wheelchair just outside of his home. In the process, he says his pants fell down, exposing his genitals. Williams says he heard his collarbone cracking as they wrestled him out of his chair. He was handcuffed and left lying on the ground for several minutes in front of a crowd of angry witnesses, who the officers described as “hostile.”
The man then spent almost a week behind bars, but no charges have been filed. The police department’s internal affairs investigators are now looking into the incident.
After leaving jail, the man asked reporters: “How much resisting am I gonna do with no legs, no feet? How much resisting am I gonna do?”
His brother-in-law said “The hardest part was just watching it, and waiting for a badge number when the whole thing was done.”
It’s hard to believe that police would need to taser a legless, wheelchair-bound man. Especially considering there were two officers present. What could he have done to cause them to feel so threatened that they needed to tase him? I guess we’ll have to wait for the results of the internal investigation to see whether or not the officers are cleared on this one.
YouTube - California Police Use a Taser on an Unarmed, Legless Man in a Wheelchair- September 21, 2009 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATi0BYlFY9k&feature=player_embedded)
He and his wife had apparently been arguing, and when officers arrived they were both out in front of their apartment. Williams, who had his two-year-old daughter on his lap, was told to go back inside, and reportedly complied with their request. After speaking to his wife, an officer and a Child Protective Services worker approached him, and demanded that he surrender the child.
That’s when things began to get a bit of control. Williams claims that the worker took his daughter from his lap, to which he replied: “’What are you doing? I haven’t done anything!” He also says that the only resisting he might have done was to hold onto his wheelchair so that he wouldn’t fall to the ground.
After that the man claims he was tased twice at close range, causing him to fall from his wheelchair just outside of his home. In the process, he says his pants fell down, exposing his genitals. Williams says he heard his collarbone cracking as they wrestled him out of his chair. He was handcuffed and left lying on the ground for several minutes in front of a crowd of angry witnesses, who the officers described as “hostile.”
The man then spent almost a week behind bars, but no charges have been filed. The police department’s internal affairs investigators are now looking into the incident.
After leaving jail, the man asked reporters: “How much resisting am I gonna do with no legs, no feet? How much resisting am I gonna do?”
His brother-in-law said “The hardest part was just watching it, and waiting for a badge number when the whole thing was done.”
It’s hard to believe that police would need to taser a legless, wheelchair-bound man. Especially considering there were two officers present. What could he have done to cause them to feel so threatened that they needed to tase him? I guess we’ll have to wait for the results of the internal investigation to see whether or not the officers are cleared on this one.
YouTube - California Police Use a Taser on an Unarmed, Legless Man in a Wheelchair- September 21, 2009 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATi0BYlFY9k&feature=player_embedded)