hunibuni
July 8th, 2008, 03:08 PM
No charges in teen's Taser death
Prosecutor says police officer used force properly. Lawyer for teen's family says civil suit considered.
By Gary L Wright
gwright@charlotteobserver.com
Staff Photographer3/21/2008 -- Photo of Darryl Turner, who was shocked by police taser during a confrontation at a Food Lion on Thursday. JEFF WILLHELM - jwillhelm@charlotteobserver.comA Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer will not be prosecuted in the case of a 17-year-old grocery store worker who died in March after being shocked with a Taser.
Mecklenburg Assistant District Attorney Marsha Goodenow said Monday Officer Jerry Dawson Jr. was justified in using the Taser on Darryl Wayne Turner during a confrontation at a Food Lion in north Charlotte. The prosecutor said a video camera at the grocery captured the confrontation between Turner and the police officer. The video shows the teen throwing items at the store manager, then moving toward the officer, she said.
“It's clear he's advancing on the officer,” Goodenow told the Observer. “The officer was justified in using the Taser – which he had been trained was non-deadly force – to control the situation. Unfortunately, it had very tragic results.”
It's unclear how many times Turner was shocked with the Taser. Although details were not available late Monday, Goodenow said he was shocked more than once. But after a review of the evidence, she said she did not find the officer's use of force excessive.
“The officer used the appropriate force,” the prosecutor said.
The Turner family's attorney Ken Harris said Monday he's considering a lawsuit.
“Whether or not criminal charges are filed has no bearing on a civil suit,” Harris said.
It's unclear whether the Turner family can request an outside investigation into the death under a law passed last year that requires prosecutors to ask the State Bureau of Investigation to review deadly shootings if relatives of the deceased make the request within 180 days of the death.
The law specifically mentions firearms. An SBI spokeswoman Monday night said she doesn't believe deaths following Taser shocks qualify for an outside probe, but said the agency hasn't yet faced the issue.
A Taser is a weapon that uses compressed nitrogen to shoot two tethered needle-like probes that deliver an electronic shock. It's designed to temporarily subdue a person, although one study found that the improper use of Tasers has contributed to the death of at least 11 people in North Carolina over the past four years.
Harris said Turner's mother is still in distress. “I think what she wanted was a thorough investigation of this incident and we're making sure that happens,” he said.
Turner died from cardiac arrest, according to an autopsy. The teen's heart was pumping so fast and chaotically from the Taser shot and stress of the confrontation that it stopped pumping blood properly, according to the autopsy report.
Turner was the first Taser-related fatality in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's history.
The teenager's death came during a three-month period earlier this year when police also shot five suspects with firearms. One was killed. The other four were wounded. Not since the fall of 1998 had police used deadly force as frequently. That year, police also shot five suspects in a three-month period, killing three.
Harris said he's still reviewing evidence collected from Food Lion and police. A key element is the autopsy, Harris said. It shows that Turner had no intoxicants in his body and that the Taser specifically played a role in his death – a fact rarely mentioned in Taser-related deaths across the country, Harris said.
Harris has filed several civil cases against police departments for improper use of force – and none of the officers involved were prosecuted criminally, he said.
Co-workers, including a supervisor, said Turner was a reliable employee who had never been reprimanded at work. They said he had some disagreements with the customer service manager, who had asked him to tuck in his shirt and complained about Turner wearing gold teeth and big earrings.
Turner's mother, Tammy Fontenot, said her son had come home for lunch on March 20 and told her he'd stolen a couple of Hot Pockets from the store. He was afraid of getting into trouble, but she told him to go back and admit what he had done.
Goodenow said Monday that when Turner returned to the grocery after lunch, a supervisor told him to remove the sucker from his mouth and tuck in his shirt. The teenager began cursing, the prosecutor said.
The supervisor called the store manager to report what was happening. She said Turner was cursing and angry, and told the manager she felt threatened and was going to call police.
After the manager arrived, Turner began taunting him to get him to fight, Goodenow said. He threw a plastic counter-top display at the manager, she said, then picked up an umbrella and threw that at the manager. Then he advanced on the manager who was behind the customer service desk.
Goodenow said a witness recalled the police officer, who had witnessed at least part of the confrontation with the manager, yelling: “Freeze. Don't move. Stay where you are.”
Turner then began walking toward the officer, who had already pulled his Taser. When Turner was a few feet from Dawson, the officer fired the Taser.
Goodenow said Turner's body stiffened after being shocked, but the teen kept walking. When Turner got to the front of the store he tossed a metal grocery bag holder, she said.
It's unclear when the officer fired again or how long the shock lasted.
The video doesn't show where Turner fell to the ground, Goodenow said. A witness said the teenager, while on the floor, still wasn't complying with the officer's commands to put his hands behind his back and roll over, the prosecutor said.
“He gave the officer a look like he was going to break him in half…,” the manager told police. “I don't know what was bothering him, but he was not himself.
“The officer told him he needed to stop. And that's the last warning you're going to get. And he just kept on going.”
http://www.charlotte.com/breaking_news/story/703733.html
Prosecutor says police officer used force properly. Lawyer for teen's family says civil suit considered.
By Gary L Wright
gwright@charlotteobserver.com
Staff Photographer3/21/2008 -- Photo of Darryl Turner, who was shocked by police taser during a confrontation at a Food Lion on Thursday. JEFF WILLHELM - jwillhelm@charlotteobserver.comA Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer will not be prosecuted in the case of a 17-year-old grocery store worker who died in March after being shocked with a Taser.
Mecklenburg Assistant District Attorney Marsha Goodenow said Monday Officer Jerry Dawson Jr. was justified in using the Taser on Darryl Wayne Turner during a confrontation at a Food Lion in north Charlotte. The prosecutor said a video camera at the grocery captured the confrontation between Turner and the police officer. The video shows the teen throwing items at the store manager, then moving toward the officer, she said.
“It's clear he's advancing on the officer,” Goodenow told the Observer. “The officer was justified in using the Taser – which he had been trained was non-deadly force – to control the situation. Unfortunately, it had very tragic results.”
It's unclear how many times Turner was shocked with the Taser. Although details were not available late Monday, Goodenow said he was shocked more than once. But after a review of the evidence, she said she did not find the officer's use of force excessive.
“The officer used the appropriate force,” the prosecutor said.
The Turner family's attorney Ken Harris said Monday he's considering a lawsuit.
“Whether or not criminal charges are filed has no bearing on a civil suit,” Harris said.
It's unclear whether the Turner family can request an outside investigation into the death under a law passed last year that requires prosecutors to ask the State Bureau of Investigation to review deadly shootings if relatives of the deceased make the request within 180 days of the death.
The law specifically mentions firearms. An SBI spokeswoman Monday night said she doesn't believe deaths following Taser shocks qualify for an outside probe, but said the agency hasn't yet faced the issue.
A Taser is a weapon that uses compressed nitrogen to shoot two tethered needle-like probes that deliver an electronic shock. It's designed to temporarily subdue a person, although one study found that the improper use of Tasers has contributed to the death of at least 11 people in North Carolina over the past four years.
Harris said Turner's mother is still in distress. “I think what she wanted was a thorough investigation of this incident and we're making sure that happens,” he said.
Turner died from cardiac arrest, according to an autopsy. The teen's heart was pumping so fast and chaotically from the Taser shot and stress of the confrontation that it stopped pumping blood properly, according to the autopsy report.
Turner was the first Taser-related fatality in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's history.
The teenager's death came during a three-month period earlier this year when police also shot five suspects with firearms. One was killed. The other four were wounded. Not since the fall of 1998 had police used deadly force as frequently. That year, police also shot five suspects in a three-month period, killing three.
Harris said he's still reviewing evidence collected from Food Lion and police. A key element is the autopsy, Harris said. It shows that Turner had no intoxicants in his body and that the Taser specifically played a role in his death – a fact rarely mentioned in Taser-related deaths across the country, Harris said.
Harris has filed several civil cases against police departments for improper use of force – and none of the officers involved were prosecuted criminally, he said.
Co-workers, including a supervisor, said Turner was a reliable employee who had never been reprimanded at work. They said he had some disagreements with the customer service manager, who had asked him to tuck in his shirt and complained about Turner wearing gold teeth and big earrings.
Turner's mother, Tammy Fontenot, said her son had come home for lunch on March 20 and told her he'd stolen a couple of Hot Pockets from the store. He was afraid of getting into trouble, but she told him to go back and admit what he had done.
Goodenow said Monday that when Turner returned to the grocery after lunch, a supervisor told him to remove the sucker from his mouth and tuck in his shirt. The teenager began cursing, the prosecutor said.
The supervisor called the store manager to report what was happening. She said Turner was cursing and angry, and told the manager she felt threatened and was going to call police.
After the manager arrived, Turner began taunting him to get him to fight, Goodenow said. He threw a plastic counter-top display at the manager, she said, then picked up an umbrella and threw that at the manager. Then he advanced on the manager who was behind the customer service desk.
Goodenow said a witness recalled the police officer, who had witnessed at least part of the confrontation with the manager, yelling: “Freeze. Don't move. Stay where you are.”
Turner then began walking toward the officer, who had already pulled his Taser. When Turner was a few feet from Dawson, the officer fired the Taser.
Goodenow said Turner's body stiffened after being shocked, but the teen kept walking. When Turner got to the front of the store he tossed a metal grocery bag holder, she said.
It's unclear when the officer fired again or how long the shock lasted.
The video doesn't show where Turner fell to the ground, Goodenow said. A witness said the teenager, while on the floor, still wasn't complying with the officer's commands to put his hands behind his back and roll over, the prosecutor said.
“He gave the officer a look like he was going to break him in half…,” the manager told police. “I don't know what was bothering him, but he was not himself.
“The officer told him he needed to stop. And that's the last warning you're going to get. And he just kept on going.”
http://www.charlotte.com/breaking_news/story/703733.html