Civil rights group calls on Florida to ban Tasers after teen slaying

November 6, 2009 by Infowars Ireland

Following the death of a Florida teen, a civil rights group founded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is calling on the state’s governor ban the so-called “non-lethal” Taser.

Calling application of the weapon “electrocution without prosecution,” the Southern Christian Leadership Conference wants a temporary stay on all Taser use by police until a more-strict policy on their use is put into place. The move is a response to the killing of Victor D. Steen, a 17-year-old black male who died after being dragged by a police vehicle in Pensacola, Florida on Oct. 3.

Steen died after officer Jerald Ard, 35, attempted to Taser him while driving his squad car. According to a release by the Pensacola Police Department, just after 1 a.m. Ard attempted to stop and question Steen near a construction site. Steen, who was on bicycle, did not stop, so the officer gave chase and turned on his lights.

The police department said Ard attempted to Taser Steen from behind the wheel of his car, but missed. The department adds that Steen then “crashed his bicycle and fell into the path of Ard’s vehicle. The cruiser came to rest on a curb in the parking lot.”

The police vehicle reportedly came to a stop some 15-25 feet from the point of initial contact with the boy. And while police maintain the Taser shot missed, “some witnesses say the Taser connected while Ard was behind the wheel,” a Florida CBS affiliate noted.

“Initial ‘exam findings do not mention any Taser probes on the body,’ said Jeff Martin, director of the medical examiners office,” on its Web site.

The incident caused Pensacola police to restrict the use of Tasers while operating a motor vehicle. It was widely reported that Pensacola police banned the use of Tasers while driving, but The Pensacola News Journal reported that a memo by the assistant chief did no such thing. Read more…