Hungry cop tases motorist for going five miles over speed limit

[kurth]

From officer's order to Taser: 45 seconds
Officer's quick use of stun gun captured on tape; chief calls incident 'a black eye.'
By Tony Plohetski
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, September 30, 2007

An Austin police corporal who pulled over a man along a busy highway on Thanksgiving 2006 for driving five miles per hour over the limit ordered the driver out of the car and then shocked him with his Taser stun gun as the motorist appeared to question what was happening, according to a videotape from the officer's patrol car camera.

Cpl. Thomas O'Connor's immediate supervisor and internal affairs investigators exonerated him of wrongfully using the weapon, saying he was justified because he "perceived a threat," dozens of pages of internal memos and other records said. In May, Cathy Ellison, acting police chief at the time, suspended O'Connor for three days in May for using force against Eugene Snelling and for violating a department policy requiring officers to "respect the rights of individuals and perform their services with honestly, sincerity, courage and sound judgement."

The dramatic traffic stop has now become a "black eye on the organization," accordingto new Chief Art Acevedo, who this week will begin using the video as a training tool to prevent future incidents. Acevedo, who arrived in June amid a federal investigation into how Austin police use force against minorities, said he was troubled by the officer's quick use of his Taser on Snelling, who is black, and by internal affairs detectives' decision that O'Connor, who is white, had done nothing wrong by using the weapon...

The video shows O'Connor using a tone that he would later call "very direct" to ask for Snelling's license and proof of insurance and Snelling shouting "whoa! whoa! whoa!" at the officer's demeanor. O'Connor is heard shouting "No! Not 'whoa, whoa, whoa!,"' then drawing his Taser and ordering Snelling out of the car. He fired seconds later. Snelling's mother sat in the passenger seat — he said she was holding food for a family gathering — as he fell screaming to the ground along MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) near Barton Creek Square mall. O'Connor is then heard telling Snelling that he was going to jail for not obeying his order to show him his license and proof of insurance, a demand he initially made 45 seconds before firing his Taser.

In a statement to internal affairs detectives, O'Connor said, "I saw it as a very simple thing, a very simple traffic violation that could have been taken very, care of very quickly, had he presented his driver's license and insurance. We could have both been on our way." He said he pulled his Taser "because he was argumentative, and I thought I might have a problem" and that he fired the weapon, which delivers a shock of up to 50,000 volts, when Snelling appeared to "reach his hand up toward me." He said he was concerned that he could have been hurled into traffic. O'Connor said he also had not eaten and has a medical condition that "makes you kind of edgy" without food...

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/09/30/0930video.html

[Enrique]

1. good thing he wasn't going 10mph over

:scared:

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. Well the perp did say "Whoa" and....he is black.

Not to mention the debilitated state of the poor officer by missing his corndogs and chocolate cream pie snack.

[DS1]

3. I think I'm going to order, or make a "Don't Taze me, Bro!" bumper sticker

[originalpckelly]

7. More like "Don't Taze me, Big Bro!"

[Cha]

22. It's the shining light of

Big Brother's love..don't you just feel it?

I love it..PLEASE, DON'T TAZE ME, BIG BRO

That probably wouldn't go over so good. Times have changed.

[awoke_in_2003]

35. "Big Brother's love..don't you just feel it?"

I do, it leaves me tingly all over.

[Cha]

47. Leaves me wanting

to break down their wall and expose the little greedy zombies behind it.

[Exultant Democracy]

27. I was thinking about getting a "Don't taze me" T-shirt.

[MadHound]

4. "But it's just a few bad apples"

Yet this shit continues day in and day out all over our country. And people wonder why the cops are no longer liked, respected or trusted.

Sheeit, I don't think that the real reason this guy was pulled over for going five miles over, not on MoPac(where motorist regularly go twenty mph over day and night). No, I think that this was another case of driving while black.

[unblock]

29. 20 mph OVER the limit?? on slo-pac?? i remember being lucky to get up to 20 mph UNDER the limit

but then, i guess if it's not rush hour....

[KittyWampus]

30. Wonder why DU'ers never seem to post stories about cops saving lives. And if you think my post

is an attempt to excuse illegal, sadistic behavior on the part of cops, you're wrong.

[timtom]

31. You know, that's a damn good idea.

I would love to read stories about good cops who serve some meaningful function in our society.

And I'm sure there're lots of stories out there.

(This is not sarcasm).

[High Plains]

32. Because that's what cops are supposed to do?

Just doing their job, not news.

Cops abusing their positions, that's news.

Kind of like people complaining there's not enough stories about building schools in Iraq.

[KittyWampus]

33. there aren't that many schools being built in Iraq but many thousands of refuges and murdered

innocents. Genocide.

Now you really think that's a valid comparison?

You really think that the majority of cops in the USA spend their days tazering innocents?

Or do you think the majority of cops spend their days responding to calls to break up domestic violence, deal w/homicides and theft etc and OCCASSIONALLY one sadist makes the news for some reprehensible behavior?

[Beelzebud]

46. LOL You sound like the "why doesn't the media report the good stories in Iraq" people.

[originalpckelly]

5. Outlaw portable electrical torture devices!

[RC]

17. Then you get shot with the Glock.

Outlaw the trigger happy people on a power trip instead.

[chill_wind]

38. Thank you. Getting tazered first hand should be a required part of every cop's academy training.

Since it's so freaking non-lethal (right?) and they can so readily abuse it so freely these days.

[RamboLiberal]

43. Actually in most police academies that is part of their training

Also getting pepper sprayed.

I just watched the video of this one and this cop needs more training and if another incident like this pops up in his record fired!

On edit having just read the article and noting this cop has a history of suspensions and being rude to citizens - he should be fired!

O'Connor's suspension was his second in his 13 years with the department. He received a one-day suspension in 2005 for a minor patrol car accident, and has since received a third: A disciplinary memo in June giving him a day off without pay said he shouted at a motorist who accidentally entered a funeral procession on Interstate 35, then pulled the driver over and issued a proof of insurance citation.

O'Connor, 46, ranked second among all officers in the frequency with which he filed use-of-force reports, according to a 2004 American-Statesman series about use of force by police. O'Connor had worked in the pedestrian-heavy Sixth Street entertainment district, and the newspaper reported that O'Connor had recently been cited in a performance evaluation for rudeness to citizens.

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/09/30/0930video.html

[opihimoimoi]

6. Its the BROWN SHIRT PERSONALITY SYNDROME once again...

Uses his badge to cover his ASSHOLENESS.....

Where is the FILTER for these kinds of anal retentive Fools?

[ecstatic]

8. Police brutality and unequal justice will no longer be tolerated

Even in the smallest towns across America, the gig is up. And I'm so glad.

[Buns_of_Fire]

9. Memo to self: Add a couple of donuts to car emergency kit... (n/t)

[hootinholler]

16. Bad Cop! NO Donut for you! n/t

[madmom]

10. if he has this "medical condition" why is he allowed to be

in a situation that could exaggerate the problem?

[Kingshakabobo]

11. Direct link to video:

http://www.statesman.com/news/mplayer/news/32386


Watch if you want to raise your blood pressure. It's funny how the cop that was afraid of being "hurled into traffic" stands with his ass in traffic while he waits.

[Skidmore]

12. That "perceived threat" excuse for excessive force pops up so

many times. I'd like to see someone sue over it's bogus use sometime and win. Not everyone is a threat and raising your voice at the end of a sentence to make it a question does not mean you are being argumentative.

[JVS]

13. 70 in a 65? BFD?

[JVS]

14. Oh now I see. Driving while black.

[LeFleur1]

15. Get Rid of 'em

Police departments everywhere must cleanse themselves. This type of individual is too unstable to be working with the public and carrying around a lethal weapon.
Wild eyed mentally unstable control freaks carrying weapons are not capable of filling the responsbilibites of police officers. Throw them OUT.

[MNDemNY]

18. Well, he was hungry. Donut shop about to close.

[LostinVA]

19. A Taser MUST be considered the same as ANY firearm

Not a frigging BB gun that may only "put your eye out." Pulling and using should only be used if the officer would also pull and use his 9mm (or whatever).

[chill_wind]

39. Agree! n/t

[Mythsaje]

20. It's a good thing this sort of thing is so rare...

or else we might have a problem.

[BlooInBloo]

21. My god I fucking love cops!!!!

[knitter4democracy]

23. At least the police dept. is handling it well.

They disciplined him, they're using the video for training on what not to do, and they've apologized. Good chief there.

Still--if that cop knew he needed to eat, why didn't he keep a stash in his squad car? I always kept a stash in my desk drawer when I taught, and I usually keep something in the car for the kids.

[hedgehog]

24. Read the story , this was NOT a case of Driving while black, this was a

case of passing a cop in a new car while driving while black!

I like how the cop was afraid it was a stolen car. Yeah, everybody steal a car and takes along three passengers and a casserole to do it!

[Quixote1818]

37. You know there was drugs in the Thanks Giving casserole!

nt

[Liberal_in_LA]

25. I find it hard to watch these videos of power mad cops. Sickening.

[Exultant Democracy]

26. Every freaking day we hear about this shit.

[Jed Dilligan]

28. I'd like to see Mr. O'Connor dancing

at the end of a rope.

[TroubleMan]

34. After watching that video, I hope O'Connor never is allowed to work in law enforcement again.

Disgusting.

[Horse with no Name]

36. The guy needs to be fired. Plain and simple.

Not reassigned. Not put on probation. But fired.
>>>snip
O'Connor, 46, ranked second among all officers in the frequency with which he filed use-of-force reports, according to a 2004 American-Statesman series about use of force by police. O'Connor had worked in the pedestrian-heavy Sixth Street entertainment district, and the newspaper reported that O'Connor had recently been cited in a performance evaluation for rudeness to citizens.

[Solon]

40. Fired, hell, he should be arrested for assault with a deadly weapon...

in an ideal world, this is what should happen, and in addition, there would be an automatic sentence enhancement of at least 10 years due to the Police's unique position to abuse citizens.

[AspenRose]

41. Sounds like a perfect Blackwater candidate.

:scared:

[RamboLiberal]

44. Oh wait till there's no war and those Blackwater guys

become cops. Also we're going to get a lot and have gotten a lot of ex-military in the police forces. IMHO this problem is only going to get worse.

[whoneedstickets]

42. Poster child for police brutality...

If only they would TRY to actively screen the thugs and bullies instead of celebrating them.

[WritersBlock]

45. Very unsafe handling of the situation after the tasing.

Mr Snelling fell between the cars. That is the one place *never* to be during a traffic stop - EVER. There have been many instances of another car hitting the back of the patrol car at speed, ramming it into the back of the stopped vehicle. If someone's standing between the vehicles, they get crushed between them, pure & simple. One should *NEVER* stand between a patrol car and a stopped vehicle.

And Cpl Snelling knows that. I won't even go into standing with his back to traffic while he waited for backup, but you'll notice that Cpl Snelling didn't stand between the cars. He stood off to the left of the patrol car. Not a very safe position, but safer than between the cars. Yet he left his prisoner there.

He forced his prisoner (because at that time, Mr Snelling was very much detained) to remain in an extremely unsafe position. It's obvious from the audio that Mr Snelling was able to move, because O'Connor kept telling him to lie down and wait for another officer to get there.

Regardless of the rightness or wrongness of the tasering itself, Cpl O'Connor's actions in failing to direct his suspect to move - even to crawl - to the side of the road, out from between the cars, once there was no longer a "perceived threat" from him, put Mr Snelling's life in jeopardy.

[Javaman]

48. "has a medical condition that "makes you kind of edgy" without food"...

I live in Austin, I guess I have to start carrying donuts in the car to save my life.

what a fucking halfwit cop.