Colorado Police Tase Unarmed 75 y.o. Man in his Own Home

[ItsjustMe]

In the middle of the night on May 30, 2021, two Idaho Springs Police officers (Officer Nicholas Hanning and Officer Ellie Summers) banged on 75-year-old Michael Clark’s apartment door, stormed inside, attacked him, returned to the hallway, and then – while he stood unarmed and in his boxer shorts 8 feet away from them inside his apartment posing no cognizable threat whatsoever – they tased him. Mr. Clark lost consciousness and flew backwards from the tasing, striking his head on a dining room chair on the way down.

[dalton99a]

1. Kick

https://www.9news.com/article/news/investigations/idaho-springs-officer-tasing-man-body-camera-video/73-f95a0023-0b36-4c0d-8fd4-540dbe820f4a
'They need to be seen to be believed': Body camera footage shows tasing of elderly Idaho Springs man

[Ocelot II]

2. That's horrendous! I was surprised to discover that the man was white,

but I guess even that won't stop some cops from abusing people - equal opportunity authoritarian thugs, I guess. Apparently he's suing them, and I hope he's successful. They've ruined his life.

[raccoon]

23. I was too. Nt

[rickyhall]

3. It's getting harder and harder tell the cops from the criminals.

Actually, I don't think criminals would be so mean without reason.

[marble falls]

8. We've got great police in Marble Falls. My precinct constable, however, is a piece of work ...

Last edited Sat Jul 24, 2021, 10:31 PM - Edit history (1)

... said I had no recourse, that they answered to no one. It is an elected office. I'll repeat my story to everyone, I will campaign for who ever runs against them.

[summer_in_TX]

13. You're in Texas, right?

Hope someone DOES run against him.

[marble falls]

16. There's usually someone either in the primary or the general. I've spoken with them before ...

... they seemed alright to me, I've voted for them before. Now, not so much inclined.

[Bear Creek]

10. They are

I believe that using informants creates crooks that know they are never going to be punished. But I have seen cops collect money from drug dealers and prostitutes. They need to be vetted for a job that should be accountable to the highest standards and they are not.

[Withywindle]

19. I had a friend, long ago, who wanted to be a cop

He was naive, OK? He wanted to help his community. He was a Puerto Rican New Yorker who saw a lot of crime growing up.

He had a college degree, he was vetted, he took the profile test, went through some early training. And got rejected. Because his answers on the profile test indicated that he had too much compassion and empathy and had too high a standard for use of violence.

He became an EMT instead. He and NYC are both better off for that.

[Bear Creek]

26. Exactly

My brother in law was a MP then when he got out he became a EMT and firefighter.
There needs to be a different criteria than what is being used now.

[uppityperson]

4. Wtf

[WhiskeyGrinder]

5. FTP.

[exboyfil]

6. And planting evidence too

Both cops should be fired and charged not just the one.

[Calculating]

7. More psychos with badges

I'm sure they feared for their lives.

[Dakota Flint]

9. Agreed

[Mysterian]

11. Depraved criminal cops probably had a good chuckle about it back at the station n/t

[SergeStorms]

15. I'm positive Brittany did.

I'm sure she and her companion had a good old laugh at that poor old man's expense.

Somehow I believe Brittany will get her comeuppance though. She's living on a knife's edge.

[MustLoveBeagles]

12. The police didn't even announce themselves as police officers!

There was no reason to taze him. So much wrong with this.

[Stuart G]

14. You got to read the entire story to see how awful this was...

..The cop who tased him has been fired and charged. The other cop is still working for the Idaho
Springs Police Department.

Here is a link to the complete story from the Denver Post:

https://www.denverpost.com/2021/07/13/idaho-springs-taser-nicholas-hanning/

[SamKnause]

17. Sad, the article doesn't mention the cop planting the weapon in the hall.

[MustLoveBeagles]

25. +1

This poor man struck his head twice after he lost consciousness. Once by the dining room chair and then by a cabinet when he was being dragged out of the apartment. The cop also kneeled on Mr. Clark's neck for 8 seconds to cuff him while the old man was still unconscious. He's suffered from heart issues, a stroke, a burst appendix, hearing impairment, required surgery on his neck and has suffered a general decline in his health. He's lost his independence and dignity and may very well spend his final year(s) in a nursing home. I hope he files a lawsuit like he says he will and gets a huge settlement.

[Withywindle]

18. Can we PLEASE stop treating this shit like "isolated incidents"

I don't think you're doing that, OP, it's more like a general trend that pisses me off.

People saying "a few bad apples."

Well, the actual saying is, "a few bad apples spoils the barrel." Which is true - fruit rot is contagious, and if you have a few rotting applies in a barrel, the whole thing is ruined really fast, and there's nothing to do but throw the whole thing away.

If you have one bad cop, and nine other cops who quietly hate what he does but don't say anything and hold the "thin blue line" and code of silence - you have 10 bad cops.

[Demovictory9]

20. hanning was fired. faces charges

Clark opens the door, holding a collectible shark-tooth sword (as described by his attorney). Hanning then enters the apartment slightly and a brief physical encounter ensues, but it is not fully visible in the footage.


Hanning then backs off and pulls out his taser. Both officers command Clark to put down the sword. Clark complies and sets it down on a shelf inside the apartment. He then walks toward officers, but stops and does not step out of his doorway.

The two officers shout at Clark to exit the apartment and to get down on the ground, which Clark refuses. Hanning then fires the taser at Clark without warning.

After Clark was tased, Hanning drags him into the hallway, kneels on his neck and handcuffs him. Hanning then grabs the sword-like object that Clark had brought to the door but placed on a shelf inside the apartment when asked to by police. Hanning then places the object in the hallway.

Hanning was fired from the Idaho Springs Police Department on July 16. Hanning is facing one charge of third-degree assault on an at-risk adult, a class 6 felony, for his role in the arrest. If convicted, Hanning could face one year to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

https://www.cpr.org/2021/07/23/body-camera-footage-released-forceful-arrest-idaho-springs/

[Withywindle]

21. I get "defund the police" is a losing political slogan

But I do wholeheartedly believe that needs to be done. With my whole heart.

Starve them out. They're a fucking gang. They've never protected anybody except wealthy white people. (I'm white but not wealthy and I would NEVER call them unless I truly thought my life or someone else's was in immanent danger. And they'd arrive too late to do any good.)

At this point, I consider dumping huge amounts of money on urban police on the same level as dumping huge amounts of money on the military-industrial complex. They're related (about control) and completely indefensible. With what is spent on police in Chicago alone could buy every homeless person there an SRO room for a year, and I think we should do that instead.

[tishaLA]

22. CO and Louisiana seem to have a disproportionate

number of really fucking horrible police encounters. The DOJ needs to step in and get some consent decrees going because this is untenable.

[hydrolastic]

24. Is the fourth amendment even an amendment?

If the courts allow the police to come in and attack people in their homes.