Instead of the police responding to this supposed medical emergency without force, they answered the call and broke Chamberlain's door down. Chamberlain, 68, told police there was not a problem, but they tasered and shot him anyway with non-lethal projectiles and then live ammunition.
A recording released by authorities related the following being said by one of the police officers when arriving on the scene. Chamberlain said he was alright, and the officer responded: “I don't give a fuck, nigger — open the door.”
Chamberlain died from his injuries. No one was arrested. A grand jury has been convened.
This incident reminds me of a similar case in metro Atlanta when a woman called paramedics to her home to assist her husband, Frederick Jerome Williams, 32, who was having an epileptic seizure. Instead of medical personnel arriving, a police officer arrived, and an altercation took place. Back up was called, and Williams was tasered several times and then taken into custody. He died in jail, and nothing has every been done about it. (http://www.wingcomltd.com/Articles/taser.htm)
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| Williams' wife at march in 2004 for her dead husband. (Photo by Tomi Johnson) |
According to a media report, the last taser death occurred on April 11, 2012, when police killed another black man, Bobby Louis Merrill, 38, of Saginaw. Mich. after it was reported that he was jumping on cars and was combative. The police claimed that Merrill may have been on drugs. Investigators will be reviewing police car cameras and taser cam footage as the investigation continues.
In another incident on Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012, Marland A. Anderson, better known as the Sledge Hammer, a 39 year old adult film actor, was tasered several times by LAPD. Anderson's girlfriend had called for help when he appeared to need medical attention. Anderson got into an altercation with police and paramedics before being tasered. He died from his injuries in the hospital on Friday, April 13.
According to the Electronic Village blog, there have been 522 documented taser-related deaths in the U.S. since 2001. It reports that although Blacks make up 13.6% of the total U.S. population, 41% of the 2009-2012 taser-related deaths were African American.
©2012 Tomi Johnson. All rights reserved.
This type of information is more than noteworthy! Its reminded of far we have to go in America to be respected, and protected from those who are to protect and serve, with out tax money. As public official, I am thankful you've shared this with the public at large, and won't fall into the desk draw of some dark room.
ReplyDeleteBro Malcolm said: We're not even 14% of the populace in this part of the globe and 41% of these deaths are our people ??!! There's something happening and we're not responding to it appropriately because if we were it wouldn't be happening! Are our "tax dollars" being considered here? Apparently not! Is this scheme of multiculturalism a plus for our existence in this part of the globe or a hindrance? The latter appears to be a certain reality!
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that the Obama adm. "quickly" allocated 100's of thousands of "tax dollars" to an independent team of attorneys for the purpose of examining if "don't ask don't tell" was within the framework of the US (bloody) constitution but they refuse to hire a team of attorney's to examine if Black people have suffered more systemic warlike atrocities than any other group in the US & that the foregoing should be used as the basis for their/our reparations? Obviously the Obama admin.'s position towards Black people is "The Doctrine of Exclusion," while our "tax dollars" are strategically used to destroy us! There's something terribly wrong with that picture & it's time for immediate change!