Posted on 10/31/2006 6:44:53 AM PST by Types_with_Fist
JERSEYVILLE, Ill. - A teenager carrying a Bible and shouting “I want Jesus” was shot twice with a police stun gun and later died at a St. Louis hospital, authorities said.
In a statement obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, police in Jerseyville, about 40 miles north of St. Louis, said 17-year-old Roger Holyfield would not acknowledge officers who approached him and he continued yelling, “I want Jesus.”
Police tried to calm the teen, but Holyfield became combative, according to the statement. Officers fired the stun gun at him after he ignored their warnings, then fired again when he continued struggling, police said.
Holyfield was flown to St. Louis’ Cardinal Glennon Hospital after the confrontation Saturday; he died there Sunday, police said.
An autopsy was planned for Tuesday.
The statement expressed sympathy to Holyfield’s family but said city and police officials would not discuss the matter further.
Calls Tuesday to Jerseyville Police Chief Brad Blackorby were not immediately returned. The department has been using stun guns for about five months, according to the statement.
In a report released in March, international human rights group Amnesty International said it had logged at least 156 deaths across the country in the previous five years related to police stun guns.
The rise in deaths accompanies a marked increase in the number of U.S. law enforcement agencies employing devices made by Taser International Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz. About 1,000 of the nation’s 18,000 police agencies used Tasers in 2001; more than 7,000 departments had them last year, according to a government study.
Police had used Tasers more than 70,000 times as of last year, Congress’ Government Accountability Office said.
Amnesty International has urged police departments to suspend the use of Tasers pending more study. Taser International said the group’s count was flawed and falsely linked deaths to Taser use when there has been no such official conclusion.
The city of St. Louis also drew unwanted attention for crime this week when it was named the most dangerous U.S. city by Morgan Quitno Press. The ranking looked only at crime within St. Louis city limits, not its metro area.
Well it is sharper than a two edged sword.
He should have yelled "No habla Engles!!!"
Then they woulda just let him go.
And sadly, no, I'm not being sarcastic.
Police Stun Gun Kills Teen with Bible
You should read the article title again.
It was a stun gun that killed the teen. And it used a bible to do it.
I support the police usually, but just too many times they attack the ill or slow or the very young because they think they can get away with it....
Thank you for the ping.
Will wait for autopsy...
"You should read the article title again.
It was a stun gun that killed the teen. And it used a bible to do it."
Oh, so the "stun gun used the Bible to do it"?
LOL!
Bibles don't "kill". A stun gun can easily kill if used improperly.
Ah, the good old days when cops just kicked your ass if need be are gone. /s
Duh Sarg....I think he would still be moving as we shock the hell out of him.
Yeah, cops are uneducated and dumb... How very Kerry of you...
Hey Larry (with the GED education), stun him. Well Sgt. Bob (with a high school education), he is still struggling. Stun him again until he stops moving.
Duh Sarg....I think he would still be moving as we shock the hell out of him.
Yeah, cops are uneducated and dumb... How very Kerry of you...
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Oh that is a fallacy of logic. THESE 2 obviously are not the sharpest knives in the drawer. I know the area very well. I own property in the next county. An actual HS diploma means Chief!
Sounds like a weird Flannery O'Connor story.
Stun guns don't kill people - oafs with stun guns do.
Police officers are also pre-screened for health issues that would make the taser lethal. "Properly informed" would not mean assuming that every person is as healthy as a horse.
to B, CT Go watch the news video from the local St. Louis Channels- eye witnesses said the boy was beaten- his head smashed into the side of a squad car, he was handcuffed, on his knees- then tasered. They did not call in any type of help from a local counseling center that has psychologists on staff. You are obviously not from here or have lived away long enough to put this PD to the back of your mind- because you are ignorant to the workings of this corrupt PD. As for making assumptions about being on drugs- at least wait until the toxicology reports come in. His death may or may not be directly related to being tasered twice- but it sure didn't help him any after being beaten.
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Sure is a good thing that Jeb Bush's son didn't confront cops with tasers when he was intoxicated and resisting arrest. Jeb Bush's son resisted arrest when intoxicated on a street corner in TX.
Good thing for Jeb's son that he didn't get drunk in Jerseyville. Then again, he wasn't crying for Jesus. If Roger Holyfield had been crying out to allah and carrying a koran, they probably would have called the muslim chaplain and treated him with some respect.
Mt 25:44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mt 25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mt 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
What sort of weak scared punk cops are these pychos that they couldn't restrain a kid (130 lbs) without using deadly force? Oh yea, a taser is undeniably proven deadly inspite of what TSI (init for the the dollar) claims.
Whoever these punk cops are, they should be removed immediately from service and promptly charged with manslaughter.
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