Hundreds mourn Tasered Miami graffiti artist

[If_I_Loved_you]

Hundreds mourn Tasered Miami graffiti artist

By Zachary Fagenson

MIAMI BEACH, Florida | Sat Aug 10, 2013 8:09pm EDT

(Reuters) - Hundreds of friends and supporters of an 18-year-old graffiti artist who died after being shocked by a stun gun during a police chase in Miami Beach gathered on Saturday in a tearful rally at the site where he had been spray-painting.

Colombian-born Israel Hernandez-Llach died on Tuesday after police shocked him with a Taser as he ran away from officers who caught him spray-painting the wall of a shuttered McDonald's.

"He was a genius," said Lucy Rynka, 18, who graduated from Miami Beach Senior High School with Hernandez-Llach last spring. "He showed me how powerful art can be, how you can use color and design to relay a powerful message."

Miami Beach Police Chief Raymond Martinez has said that Hernandez-Llach was confronted by officers after vandalizing private property and ignored their commands to stop running.

Once in custody, Hernandez showed signs of medical distress and was pronounced dead soon after, Martinez said. A formal cause of death has not been established in the case pending toxicology results.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said on Friday it would conduct an independent review of the Miami Beach Police Department's investigation into the death of Hernandez-Llach, who was known as "Reefa" and whose work had appeared in some Miami art galleries.

Florida's state attorney and the medical examiner for Miami-Dade County are also reviewing the case, officials said.

Miami Beach police has come under scrutiny in recent years for a series of shootings and improper conduct, including the death of a 22-year-old man who was shot 16 times by police two years ago during a Memorial Day weekend hip-hop festival.

During the peaceful rally attended by around 400 people, some in the crowd booed and whistled at police officers standing nearby and shouted, "Whose streets? Our streets!"

The teen's father, Israel Hernandez-Bandera has called his son's death "an act of barbarism" and an "assassination of a young artist and photographer."

Jason W. Kreiss, an attorney representing the family, said Hernandez-Llach would likely not have been prosecuted over the spray-painting and would have probably faced a punishment of community service.

At the Saturday rally, the wall where Hernandez-Llach spray-painted was covered with his nickname and messages.

"The only thing I want everyone to remember is his goal was to have his art around the world," said Vivian Azalia, 18, told the crowd while fighting back tears. "I know he'd be happy with the support that's come from around the world and from the graffiti community."

(Editing by Kevin Gray and David Brunnstrom)  http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/11/us-usa-florida-taser-idUSBRE97900A20130811

[If_I_Loved_you]

Use to exonerate police restraint and TASER use

Some civil-rights groups argue that excited delirium diagnoses are being used to absolve law enforcement of guilt in cases where alleged excessive force may have contributed to patient deaths.[19][20][21] In 2003, the NAACP argued that excited delirium is used to explain the deaths of minorities more often than whites.[21]

In Canada, the 2007 case of Robert Dziekanski received national attention and placed a spotlight on the use of tasers in police actions and the diagnosis of excited delirium. Police psychologist Mike Webster testified at a British Columbia inquiry into taser deaths that police have been "brainwashed" by Taser International to justify "ridiculously inappropriate" use of the electronic weapon. He called "excited delirium" a "dubious disorder" used by Taser International in its training of police.[22] In a 2008 report entitled An Independent Review of the Adoption and Use of Conducted Energy Weapons by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the authors argued that excited delirium should not be included in the operational manual for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police without formal approval after consultation with a mental-health-policy advisory body.[23]

A 2010 systematic review published in the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine argued that the symptoms associated with excited delirium likely posed a far greater medical risk than the use of tasers, and that it seems unlikely that taser use significantly exacerbates the symptoms of excited delirium.[24]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excited_delirium

[mbwright]

Graffiti artist, or trespassing vandalist?  drug dealer vs unlicensed pharmacist?  Sad to see someone die, but where is the common sense?

[MEGATRON]

Should have tried obeying the police officers.

[carpnter]

Should have tried obeying the police officers.

Yes he should have. 
Had he not been out vandalizing another person's property, even though it was vacant, he'd still be alive.  Had he not run from the police and instead complied and taken the slap on the wrist his attorney alleges he would have received, he'd still be alive. 

[If_I_Loved_you]

Should have tried obeying the police officers.

Should have? Would have? Could have? This young man is still dead not because he robbed someone or was drunk behind the wheel? "Colombian-born Israel Hernandez-Llach died on Tuesday after police shocked him with a Taser as he ran away from officers who caught him spray-painting the wall of a shuttered McDonald's." Look I'm not a fan of spray painting just about anything. And yes Israel shouldn't have run from the police.  Now Israel is dead and I bet unless something illegal was in this young man's body? The Police will come out and say it was "excited delirium" and everything will go back to normal. 

[Dog Walker]

We had an incident of "excited delirium" near us a couple of months ago that fortunately turned out very differently.

We heard shouting and a crashing noise outside and looked out from our upstairs windows to see a young man wearing only underwear rolling around on the ground, waving his arms and shouting.  He was sweating profusely and was very flushed.  He had actually pulled a door in a nearby vacant house off it's hinges and broke the lock just by pulling the door knob.

JSO arrived very quickly as well as an ambulance.  When he started to struggle with them, they backed away and just blocked his path by surrounding him from a few feet away.  The officers talked with him very calmly for a while and when he got calmer, persuaded him to get on a gurney so that he could be taken to the hospital.  As they rolled him away he was waving his arms and shouting that he loved the world.

I was very impressed with how the JSO officers handled the situation.  They did not get violent with him or use their tasers.  They seemed to understand his condition and how to deal with it.

Turned out later that he lived not far away and had taken some drug.

I had never heard of excited delirium before and had I not seen this incident it would have sounded fishy to me.

[If_I_Loved_you]

We had an incident of "excited delirium" near us a couple of months ago that fortunately turned out very differently.

We heard shouting and a crashing noise outside and looked out from our upstairs windows to see a young man wearing only underwear rolling around on the ground, waving his arms and shouting.  He was sweating profusely and was very flushed.  He had actually pulled a door in a nearby vacant house off it's hinges and broke the lock just by pulling the door knob.

JSO arrived very quickly as well as an ambulance.  When he started to struggle with them, they backed away and just blocked his path by surrounding him from a few feet away.  The officers talked with him very calmly for a while and when he got calmer, persuaded him to get on a gurney so that he could be taken to the hospital.  As they rolled him away he was waving his arms and shouting that he loved the world.

I was very impressed with how the JSO officers handled the situation.  They did not get violent with him or use their tasers.  They seemed to understand his condition and how to deal with it.

Turned out later that he lived not far away and had taken some drug.

I had never heard of excited delirium before and had I not seen this incident it would have sounded fishy to me.

http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=42827

05/11/2005

J. Brooks Terry

by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer

Tasers will likely resurface in the Jacksonville's Sheriff's Office though exactly when remains unknown.

Sheriff John Rutherford said that before the end of June his office would be one step closer to developing "the model policy for Taser deployment across the country."

Tasers are gun-like devices which fire wires that penetrate a person and temporarily immobilize them with a 50,000-volt punch — in effect, the officer hooks the suspect up to a battery.

JSO officers have been without Tasers since late February when, amid concerns from community activists about the weapon's power, Rutherford suspended their use. He said his office would take some time to study Tasers to better understand any possible medical emergencies that may arise as a result of making them part of the JSO arsenal.

JSO personnel director Rick Lewis and medical advisor Barry Steinberg are leading those efforts. Rutherford said a Shands medical team has also provided useful information.

Of the reported approximately 100 Taser-related casualties since 1999, Rutherford said other medical conditions were likely the primary cause of death.

"Amnesty International has said that 90-100 people have died, but that is false information," he said, speaking at a meeting of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce's Government Affairs Committee Tuesday. "Our research proves that's not happening."

Rather, he said, those fatalities could be attributed to a disorder known as Excited Delirium.

Rutherford said a person with ED suffers from a chemical imbalance, whether naturally or through drug use, and typically exhibits elevated body temperature and a high level of carbon dioxide in his system. A low blood PH level has also been noted, which indicates blood with a high level of acidity.

By better understanding that disorder, when a person with ED is taken into police custody, the chance of death can be greatly reduced.

"Proper protocol can be put in place that will insure that Tasers are the safest option out there and that we can minimize the chance of anyone dying in our custody," he said. "We can save lives with them and there have already been situations in the past where we have been able to do that."

Rutherford said that if Tasers, which cost the JSO nearly $2 million, were to return, they would primarily be used on adults. As a last resort, and only in lieu of "lethal force," would a student have to be subdued with the weapon.

However, a time table to "get them off the shelves" has not been identified. Ongoing town hall meetings will aide in making that decision, he said.

"We've reversed our stance on Tasers for now," Rutherford said. "But when I was elected I made the promise that I would make sure our officers are well equipped. Tasers are a part of that promise and I can assure you they are safe."

[MEGATRON]

Should have tried obeying the police officers.

because thats a capital offense now?

Arent you the same person who thinks that health care from the government is tyrannical and oppressive?

So, you believe the officers set out to kill him?  I assume that is what you meant by stating "capital offense."  He broke the law then ran from the police.  It angers me when folks like yourself attempt to paint the police officers in a bad light in these situations. 

Have no idea what you are talking about in that second sentence.

[MEGATRON]

Should have tried obeying the police officers.

Yes he should have. 
Had he not been out vandalizing another person's property, even though it was vacant, he'd still be alive.  Had he not run from the police and instead complied and taken the slap on the wrist his attorney alleges he would have received, he'd still be alive.

This is among the seven dumbest posts that ive ever read on here.  And thats saying a lot.

How so?

[acme54321]

Should have tried obeying the police officers.

Yes he should have. 
Had he not been out vandalizing another person's property, even though it was vacant, he'd still be alive.  Had he not run from the police and instead complied and taken the slap on the wrist his attorney alleges he would have received, he'd still be alive.

This is among the seven dumbest posts that ive ever read on here.  And thats saying a lot.

Why is that?  Are those statements not true?

[acme54321]

I'm not saying the whole thing is right or wrong, but if the guy wasn't spray painting someone else's property and didn't run from police he wouldn't be dead.  You can't argue that, but I'm sure you will try.

[acme54321]

I'm not saying the whole thing is right or wrong, but if the guy wasn't spray painting someone else's property and didn't run from police he wouldn't be dead.  You can't argue that, but I'm sure you will try.

so spraypainting and running are a capital offense?

This would apparently be your argument.

And its a pretty cut and dried issue with an actual answer.

There you go again.  When did I ever say anything about a capital offense?  How is that "apparently" my argument?

[acme54321]

I'm not saying the whole thing is right or wrong, but if the guy wasn't spray painting someone else's property and didn't run from police he wouldn't be dead.  You can't argue that, but I'm sure you will try.

so spraypainting and running are a capital offense?

This would apparently be your argument.

And its a pretty cut and dried issue with an actual answer.

There you go again.  When did I ever say anything about a capital offense?  How is that "apparently" my argument?

really Clinton?  Does every word of my sentence need to be sounded out and defined for you?

Dude, you crack me up.

[acme54321]

Haha pot calling the kettle black.