Better sensitivity urged after Ashville, N.C., police Taser 70-year-old man with MR diagnosis

From The Citizen-Times:

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Police force used in arresting a 70-year-old mentally handicapped man shows a need for greater sensitivity by law enforcement, an advocate for the disabled said July 21.

Officers might have been too quick to handcuff Frank Richmond and shock him with a Taser after he appeared to throw a rock at their police cruiser, said Linda McDaniel, of The Arc of Buncombe County.

Authorities dropped charges of assault on a government official, resisting arrest and attempted injury to personal property against Richmond on Tuesday night after getting questions from McDaniel and the media.

“I think they should have spent more time before they immediately jumped on the case, speaking to him slowly and gently,” McDaniel said. “You handcuff someone with a disability, that's like handcuffing a child. They're going to immediately try to get away.

“It just makes me very nervous to think someone is Tase(re)d and they're unaware of even what's happening.”

Police Capt. Tim Splain on Wednesday defended the decision to arrest Richmond, including shooting him with a Taser when he began struggling as officers were trying to handcuff him.

Officers responding to a call about 7 p.m. July 12 at Ascot Point Apartments off Hendersonville Road said Richmond apparently threw the rock as they drove by the complex administration building.

Richmond wasn't articulate and starting walking away when the officers approached him outside his apartment, Splain said.

It was only after he was subdued that officers realized he was mentally challenged, and they had only seconds to respond, he said.

The officers could have been injured as he swung at them with one handcuff attached to his wrist, Splain said.

Richmond, who is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs about 210 pounds, was strong enough to resist arrest, police said.

“I wish it would have been easier to recognize the circumstance involving Mr. Richmond, but I don't believe in the few seconds we interacted with him they were able to do that,” Splain said.

James Richardson, Richmond's nephew, said he has never known his uncle to act violent or display aggressive behavior. Richmond has been living with Richardson and his fiancée since March.

“I can't understand why they couldn't recognize that he had a disability,” Richardson said. “They've got Tasers, they've got guns, they've got handcuffs, two against one, and I don't understand how they could feel threatened at all.

Officers followed department policy on the use of force, Splain said. The policy calls for using a Taser anytime a suspect is resisting and the officer determines the action needs to stop.

“It stops an altercation or any act of violence very quickly without any kind of long-lasting harm to the subject or arresting officers,” he said. “It's shown to be very effective, especially with emotionally disturbed persons.”

McDaniel said that if the officers had taken more time, they might have learned Richmond is “a gentle person.”

She said her organization would like to work more with the community to help the public deal more effectively with the needs of the mentally disabled.

“We certainly would like to work with the police department first,” she said. “I think they need to be more cognizant of people with disabilities. Officers may sometimes forget there is a different approach you have with people with disabilities. There needs to be more training and more sensitivity.”

McDaniel said she met July 20 with Richmond and his family, including nephew James Richardson, after hearing a news report about the arrest. Then she contacted Splain and District Attorney Ron Moore, who were sympathetic.

“Everybody was very cooperative,” she said.

Splain said the arresting officers had planned to work through the chain of command to communicate with the District Attorney's Office about how best to resolve the charges against Richmond.

Splain said that after he returned from vacation Monday and had a chance to talk with McDaniel and Moore, a consensus was reached that the charges should be dropped.

“There is no justice to be served by criminally prosecuting someone with a severe disability,” he said. “There probably was not any malice or intent on his part to injure the officers.”

Moore said he agreed with Splain's recommendation.

“As we looked into in more, it was obvious this gentlemen had handicap issues,” he said, and “probably was not criminally culpable.”

The department has a procedure in place to review all incidents involving the use of force by officers to determine if they were appropriate and if additional training is needed, Splain said.

A Taser gun fires a blast of up to 50,000 volts of electricity, temporarily paralyzing its target.

Critics nationwide have questioned Taser safety and if they are used too often.
About 355 people have died after being Tasered by law enforcement in the United States, according to an audit by Amnesty International USA.

The organization had trouble getting a specific number because there is no database listing deaths after a Taser has been used, nor is there a list of Tasers being used on suspects, said Jared Feur, Amnesty International's southern regional director.

The organization is calling for a study to find out exactly why some people die after being Tasered and for law enforcement agencies to use the findings of that study to direct policy, Feur said.

The group also believes a Taser should only be used in situations where an officer might also use a firearm.

“Because they are seen as safe, they're being used as a weapon of first resort and not a weapon of last resort,” Feur said. “They've become an alternative to negotiation and that concerns us.”