Hmmm.

This is definitely a case of premeditated murder. The deputies must be prosecuted along with the DA Porter. It's pretty obvious Porter didn't want to prosecute so he must have set things up so he wouldn't have to.

This is unacceptable.

Wow. I almost always give the cops the benefit of the doubt. In fact I barely believe 99 and 44/100ths of the brutality charges we hear about...but that wasn't necessary. Unless there is some extraordinary circumstances to which we aren't yet privy, that looks like brutality degenerated into murder.

Premeditated murder? Are you kidding me? You actually think the deputies planned on killing that man? Manslaughter, maybe, assuming someone can demonstrate the taser was responsible. Having been i n this situation before, I wonder what should have been done. Leave him in the cell with hand and legs cuffed? And if he never calms down? At what point do you have the responsiblity of removing the restraints? If you think one guy can not seriously injure himself and a number of officers if he just doesnt care, then your wrong.

Hmmm...

My pro cop bias leads me to believe that 11 deputies properly restrained a violent arestee, based on the video shown.

I'm particuarly intrigued by the fact that the widow considering a civil suit was the very one who called the cops asking for assistance with her out-of-control husband.

I'd be interested in seeing the whole video from beginning to end without the news channel edits. I'm willing to reverse my initial impressions if the raw, unedited footage gives evidence to support the widow's claim.

Conclusion? It's too early to tell. Without seeing the full, unedited video, I think the TV station does a decent job covering the facts of the story without being too sensational. The footage in question is shocking and tragic, but I remain unconvinced that it's criminal. As the anchorman said, "Obviously a lot more on this story..."

Kevin, I don't want to watch the video. If you get hit by one taser or an electrical current or even those medical thing-a-ma-jigs that are supposed to help pain and it's in the wrong place, it can change your heart rhythm and even your brain stimuli but mostly it will change without question your heart rhythm. That's why they should be used on the lowest possible power and used very little. Five people with tasers is instant death; the heart can't beat. WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO LEARN THIS? This is not right. Everyone of them should be charged with manslaughter and assault and pay their price for killing this man. No doubts here.

Cindy

And upon rereading my published comment, I appologize for the "shocking" pun. Purely unintentional. I'm serious.

Murder? I don't think so.

Negligent? Hells yeah.

Ok, first off, the dude was violent due to the fact he was not taking his medication for his Epilepsy. I know someone who gets violent seizures, there is no malice in their violent actions. It is not something they can control.

I did not see a doctor or a medic there, which there should have been considering the man was a known epileptic.

Did the Sherrifs do anything wrong with the Taser? I don't think so. Were they negligent in the handling of a violent epileptic? I think they were. In this manner they are responsible for this mans death. That would be Negligent Homicide. They should be held responsible for their actions.

Unless there is more facts to this story that I am unfamiliar with, that's how I feel on this subject.

The widow called the police for assistance in restraining a man in a violent seziure(from my understanding). Simple fact was she wanted to help her husband, now he's dead.

My goodness! Who knew there were so many forensic pathologists and use of force experts on this blog. They can't even determine cause of death yet you are willing to blame the deputies for it. Are you arguing that the written policies of the sheriff's office in the proper use of the taser are defective? How? Or, that they were not followed? Again, how were they not followed? Are any of you even familar with the proper use of a taser and when it maybe used by law enforcement? Can you people be any more biased towards police officers?

I am sorry, but there is no way I could watch that. No way. It seems wrong on the surface for sure. But then I wasn't one dealing with an out of control person.
I can see both sides. But just from what you wrote, it seems they used too much force.

"Do you want another one?" from one of the deputies, which might change your mind if you were initially inclined to give deputies the benefit of the doubt.

Why would it? All it indicates is that the deputy told him that if he continued to resist, he would use the taser on him again.

His wife stated that “her husband’s violent behavior was due to his failure to take medication for epilepsy.”

What does that mean? Note: she does not say, he didn't take his meds, he had a seizure, and now he's disoriented and combative. If that were the case, why not call an ambulance so he could be sedated, taken to a hospital, and given his anti-seizure medications? Now, why wd she call the police instead? You don't even know what, if anything, she told the police. If she did tell them he had a seizure, why wouldn't the police take him to the hospital instead of jail? Oh, I get it! Because police officers just like to have knock down drag out fights and get hurt and better yet, they like to kill people for the hell of it. What was I thinking!

As far as being negligent because there was not medical personnel there:
You are assuming they knew he was epileptic
You are assuming that due to being an epileptic that he needed medical personnel.
You are assuming that his combativeness was due to his epilepsy.
You are assuming a doctor is going to get near him when he is combative. They won't – they will wait until he is restrained.
You are assuming that a jail has to have medical personnel at the jail.
You are assuming that they didn't have a medical person present.
You are assuming that it would have made a difference.

Lastly, he died two days later, not, at the jail. The coroner testified that there was no evidence that the shocks from the taser either caused or contributed to his death.

One person says he died "minutes later"? The other says he died two days later? Which is true?

"You want it again?"

That makes me think the cops did NOT intend him harm. They wanted him to calm the hell down. He didn't calm down, so he got it again. The use of tasers is a policy issue, and if they were used according to policy, the cops involved are blameless.

Several days ago you ran a story about an out-of-control inmate who put 3 police officers trying to subdue him into the hospital. I believe the injuries included a fractured vertebrae, fractured jaw, and blown-out eye socket. The police are damned-if-they-do and damned-if-they-dont.

The MURDER of Frederick J. Williams

Greetings. I am Melvin Johnson, a friend for 18 of Mr. Williams' 31 years of existence, as well as Attorney (now along with 2 others) on this matter. Unfortunately, I just recently read your article regarding Mr. Williams' tragic death. On behalf of Mr. Williams and the family and supporters, thanks for your humility and conscience regarding this 31 year old lost (and never to return) father of 4 very young children (ages 1 thru 9), husband, only child, church deacon, beloved friend, etc. Secondly, I wish to correct some statements in your article (again sorry that I am responding so late, I've been very busy).

(1) All evidence clearly suggest (to any objective-minded-red blooded-human) that the incident which started at the Williams' home was a medical emergency and an eventual MURDER. From all of the 911 calls Ms. Williams did describe Mr. Williams' threatened violent behavior, but clearly and repeatedly explained to the dispatcher that Mr. Williams had problems with his medication and this problem was causing his behavior. Even the 9 year old son repeated the same. In fact, this child's last plea to the Dispatcher was "please bring the truck with the medicine," not the taser guns.

(2) Although Gwinnett is refusing at this time to provide the entire 911 tape (which should include conversations between the dispatcher and all emergency authorities). I am certain that said recordings will indicate that the dispatcher communicated that Mr. Williams behavior was due to a medical problem.

(3) Even assuming arguendo that the dispatcher failed or forgot to mention the cause of Mr. Williams' behavior to the authorities, when the first officer arrived on the scene and before he even approached the home or Mr. Williams, Ms. Williams and a deacon from the church greeted the officer and clearly explain the situation. In fact Ms. Williams and the deacon pleaded with the officer not to approach Mr. Williams but to wait for more officers, since the officer was smaller and appeared much older than Mr. Williams, Mr. Williams was not armed, had not left his property (Mr. Williams was in his garage/drive way), was not harming or threatening anyone and was only 'talking crazy.' The officer told Ms. Williams and the deacon to 'back-up' and the officer pulled out his asperton [baton] and approached Mr. Williams. This officer states in his own post-incident report that Mr. Williams was unarmed, in his drive-way and talking crazy when he approached Mr. Williams. Nevertheless, the officer approached Mr. Williams shouting commands for Mr. Williams to be quiet. When Mr. Williams (who is still 'talking crazy') did not comply, the officer states that he strikes Mr. Williams several times with his asperton. On either the third of fourth strike, Mr. Williams reacts and grabs the asperton. A struggle ensures over the asperton and the officer states that he "loses his balance" and falls. Not once in his report did he state that Mr. Williams intentional makes contact with him. The only contact between Mr. Williams and the officer was pursuant to the struggle over the asperton when the smaller officer falls and is injured as a result of the fall. Mr. Williams neither attacks nor even retaliate against the officer for the blows with the asperton while the officer is on the ground. In fact, Mr. Williams never even took one step towards the officer. The officer states that Mr. Williams essentially continues his 'crazy' speech and behavior and is pacing. The injured officer pulls away and indicates on the radio that he is down and injured. There is no further encounter between Mr. Williams and the officer. Mr. Williams reportedly continues his 'crazy' behavior and his pacing in and out of the house and about the drive-way. Back-up arrives (reportedly 10-15 officers) and storms at Mr. Williams who is still neither armed nor attacking nor threatening anyone.

(4) Mr. Williams is hog-tied (arms bound behind him and feet tightly bound) and is seen carried by police "like an animal" says one witness, is and place in the back of a patrol unit. Ms. Williams', the deacon and others on the scene begged the police to please take Mr. Williams to the hospital for treatment as Mr. Williams appeared unconscious. The police respond that "this guy has injured one of our own, we will take him to the jail and deal with him, we have all of the medicine we need at the jail." Persistent, Ms. Williams goes in the house, grabs and tenders Mr. Williams' medications to the officers. The police refused it and repeat the foregoing. Scared from the reaction of the police at the scene, the deacon calls Mr. Williams' pastor via cell phone and begs him to do something before "these people kill Fred." The Pastor request to speak to an officer. The Pastor reiterates the reason for Mr. Williams' behavior and pleas for medical attention, but he is told the same. An ambulance arrives and is seen treating the injured officer, so the family and witnesses go and plea with the ambulance for medical attention for Mr. Williams. They are turned away by police. Mr. Williams is transported to the jail. This entire incident is witnessed by Mr. Williams' 4 very minor children. This is the last memory that they have of their daddy alive. This is the last memory we have of our husband, only child, deacon, friend, etc., alive. An officer who eventually transports Mr. Williams dead body to the hospital tells the medical staff (and this is documented in the medical reports) that he observed Mr. Williams foaming from his mouth and uncontrollably jerking in the patrol car at the scene at the Williams' residence.

(5) At the jail, while still hog-tied and securely bound, Mr. Williams is tasered at least 5 times according to the autopsy reports. I say at least 5 time because not every taser attack results in an identifiable burn mark. There are mounted cameras at the jail and an officer reportedly had a hand held camcorded to record the entire ordeal. Of course, at this point, Gwinnett has refused to provide either of these recordings. Gwinnett County justifies the tasering under these conditions because according to another written report by a senior officer at the jail, Mr. Williams was reportedly thrashing and jerking his body upon arrival at the jail. Nowhere in this second report does the senior officer indicate that Mr. Williams attacks any of the officers, throws a punch, kick, bite, or anything; nonetheless, Gwinnett County officials, in the media, justifies the MURDER of this young father, husband, only child, deacon, friend, etc., because his apparent thrashing and jerking was "combative" while he is still hog-tied and securely bound. In fact, the senior officer records in his report that Mr. Williams is conscious at least for a moment, and utters his last and only words "PLEASE DON'T KILL ME." Upon arrival of Mr. Williams' body at the hospital, Doctors record that there were plastic instruments that were apparently used to hog-tied Mr. Williams at his house. Doctors' examinations revealed acute with suspicion of chronic renal failure, negligible brain activity, negligible pulse, and negligible blood pressure. His hands and feet were cold and capillary refill was poor. He had no eye movements, no muscular movements and his entire body was flaccid. His pupils were dilated 6 mm and fixed. Doctors' impression were that there was cardiac arrest, brain hemorrhage, pulmonary embolus and/or seizure. Mr. Williams reportedly lost all pulses at about 1948 hours. He had no gag response.

This account certainly seems plausible and consistent. Verified, it would certainly give major credence to Kevin's post and should give pause to those who might want to dismiss the accusation of murder without further investigation.

What I see, however (assuming the account above is accurate) is a system of law enforcement exhibiting either poor training or poor application of training in dealing with agitated people with known medical conditions. Negligent homicide. Epilepsy, Alzheimer's, Hypoglycemia, Schizophrenia are a few conditions that can sometimes be associated with agitated behavior that can not be reasoned with. Using pain or force in an attempt to subdue such patients is doomed to failure - the neural pathways that would work to induce submission in "normally aggressive" people will not work. Medical restraints (using medication) can be equally difficult, since the patient often sees any attempt to medicate them as a threat, and if enough drugs are delivered to sedate the patient, protection of the airway may be a priority (the patient may stop breathing).

Another dilemma in a situation like this for the police is: Here is an agitated and difficult to restrain patient - if I take him to the ER, can I protect the medical personnel from him?

Our emergency response system for most areas in this country does not include getting a doctor to the patient at the site of injury. Some countries, like Germany, have doctors that do respond to the site of a medical emergency if indicated (I think they are called Notz Arzt). The armamentarium of paramedics in our country is more limited, naturally, than what a physician can provide, but an experienced paramedic team would likely have handled this situation entirely differently at the home of the man who died. A physician would certainly have guided the handling of the situation differently. Tasers and batons would not have been likely intruments suggested by either team.

I've worked in ER's and the field where patients have attacked me with broken bottles, furniture and their bare hands. Never had to use more than a few burly cops (tactical application of force initiated in a non-threatening way) to hold them down long enough to zap them once with a syringe. Though this guy was big, he had no weapons and did not attack until he was attacked. I just can't believe he was handled comptently if the description above is anywhere near accurate.

I am not a lawyer. If the definition of murder requires the intent to take life, this appears to not be murder. Nothing I saw makes me think that was the officers intent.

This appears to be a tragedy born of several mistakes by people whose mistakes may bear horrible consequences. If Mr. Johnson is correct, the first policeman on the scene set this nightmare in motion by striking a harmless man acting crazy.

When fellow police officers hear that an officer is down, they no doubt operate on the basis that there is now a deadly serious threat. Another error.

Where was an emergency medical team asserting its authority? Another error.

Did they have to repeatedly taser a bound man? Would it not be wiser to simply monitor his condition until medical authority arrived? It appears to be another error.

I would want this case prosecuted as, minimally, a wake-up call to the authorities. Also, the consequences of the police's actions were so severe that they deserve a public airing and fact-finding to ensure justice.

My initial impression of the tape is that it is too unclear to garner any facts not already presented in the story. Most of the time, the bodies of the policemen are blocking the camera.

The fact that death occurred a full two days after the incident certainly complicates the situation. Calling it "murder" is a big stretch IMHO. I am leaning toward negligence or maybe even manslaughter if the implications of the attorney's story turn out to be true. At the very least, it does appear that the officers should have been more careful, given the facts.

It is too easy to become jaded from police work and constantly hearing stories from people, about 75 percent of which is bull. They appear to have too readily discounted the statements of those involved.

The implication of the attorney's account is that the officers were hellbent on retaliation after receiving an "officer down" call. This is not at all hard to believe. More facts are needed to make a determination.

The widow casts a believable figure. Unlike those one often sees on TV, screaming at the top of their lungs about "racism" or some other such nonsense, she calmly states what she believes. This makes a much better impression.

I too am very sympathetic towards police officers, but this looks very bad.

Death by overt negligence...is murder.

There are too many erroneous, ignorant, and down right crazy statements being made to even attempt to refute them all. I am an attorney. I once worked for a very large city in their police litigation unit. It's not a criminal case and I doubt the family would win a civil suit. You have that pesky problem of causation. The medical examiner testified that there is no evidence that the taser caused a cardiac arrest. There is no evidence that he was denied medical care once he did arrest.

Death by overt negligence...is murder.

Really? Do you have authority for that, i.e., the Ga. penal code and case law? Or, are you just making it up?

I guess any police actions short of perfection are negligence, or murder, to some people. The man was combative, for whatever reason, and wouldn't stop even though he was in the custody of a large number of armed policemen in a jailhouse. What would he have done to medical personnel? As a former EMT, I can tell you people like that don't get medical treatment until they are subdued. It's a tragic situation, but getting litigious about it, or calling those who disagree with you something other than "objective-minded-red blooded-human"s, is adding insult to injury.

If he died two days later, it is unlikely the tasering did it. If someone croaks as a direct result of being roughed up and tasered, they generally croak on the spot.

If someone is violent with eleven police deputies, he is going to take a thumping. While police are often arrogant, vicious and brutal, this kind of incident is not their fault. If someone is violent with me, I am going to beat the crap out of him, not knowing or caring that he failed to take his medication or that he has a dicky heart. Police act the same. Doesn't everyone?

Mr. Johnson,

Please give my heartfelt sorrow to this man's wife and children. Also to you as his friend.

This is truly tragic.

Rightwingsparkle

Here's the Amnesty International version:

Frederick Jerome Williams, aged 31, died in Gwinnett County Jail, Georgia, in June 2004, after being shocked with a taser while being strapped into a restraint chair. According to media reports, police went to his home after receiving a call from Williams’ nine-year-old son saying that his dad was “talking crazy” and not taking his epilepsy medication. The boy reportedly asked for an ambulance “because my dad is saying all sorts of stuff and he is hitting my mom with a belt”. When police arrived, Williams called the officer “the devil” and grabbed the officer’s baton and threw it at him. Despite the son’s request for a “hospital truck”, police arrested him and took him to jail. He was reportedly struck twice with a taser while being strapped into a restraint chair and was noticed to have stopped breathing seconds later. He died later in hospital.

The autopsy is reported to have found that Williams had died of brain damage caused by “lack of oxygen and/or blood to the brain” from a heart attack triggered during the altercation. The forensic examiners reported that “There is no evidence the Taser directly caused or contributed to his death”, but were unable to determine the reasons for the heart attack.

Not taking seizure medication does not cause one to become violent. If someone has a seizure, they may become combative and disoriented afterwards. By combative, they are prone and flailing about. Neither having a seizure or not taking your seizure medication causes one to become violent. It does not cause you to walk around beating your wife with a belt. This guy was involved in a domestic violence incident. When the cops arrived, he knew he was going to jail and fought the cops.

There is no evidence that Williams was hog-tied. By the attorney's own definition he was not hog-tied. Handcuffs and leg restraints (they used plastic -cuffs) is not hog-tied. So, why do you think the attorney chose to use that word?

Just what exactly is the reason this guy didn't take his required epilepsy drugs? Seems to me like he should've done what he was supposed to do, anything that happens as a result of his willful negligence is his own fault.

Those cops could've been protecting innocent people instead of dealing with this idiots self-imposed situation

This case stinks, tasers are supposed to be non-lethal.

This case stinks, tasers are supposed to be non-lethal.

Your proof that in this case it was lethal is?

Forum calls for Taser curbs

A coalition of activist groups put Tasers under the microscope at a Sunday night community forum at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center.

The sparsely attended forum was sponsored by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in a commemoration of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s battle against violence in all its forms. Today is the 37th anniversary of King's assassination.

The two-hour meeting, which began at 6, was spurred by the deaths of two men at the Gwinnett County jail. One had been shocked three
times; the other, five.

Groups on hand included the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, NAACP, American Civil Liberties Union, Concerned Black Clergy, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials and Amnesty International.

Gwinnett District Attorney Danny Porter, Sheriff Butch Conway and police Chief Charles Walters had been invited, said the Rev. John Stewart, the moderator, but all declined because of possible
litigation.

The groups have called for a moratorium on use of the devices until definitive independent research has been performed. They also called for more training by law enforcement agencies and written policies akin to those on use of lethal force.

"Every [law enforcement] department has a clear policy on the use of deadly force," said panelist Fay Coffield, a retired Atlanta Police Department sergeant who now works as a private investigator.

"There are no uniform policies on Tasers."

The NAACP's Gwinnett branch distributed a draft resolution calling on the County Commission to suspend any Taser use until research is completed.

Barring that suspension, the resolution requests that only trained supervisors be allowed to use Tasers. That is the policy in DeKalb County, panelists said, where there have been no Taser deaths.

Policies differ

Use of the controversial devices has sparked a national debate on whether they constitute use of excessive force.

Some agencies, such as the Macon Police and Forsyth County Sheriff's departments, have stopped using Tasers.

Gwinnett Sheriff Butch Conway, on the other hand, has said he thinks they're one of the best available alternatives to lethal force.

State Rep. Tyrone Brooks (D-Atlanta) told the audience he sponsored legislation on the use of Tasers, stun guns and other electroshock
devices that failed to make it through this session, but will be resurrected next year.

"We must hear from victims and their families," Brooks said.

The SCLC wants to see a national policy on Taser use, said SCLC General Counsel Dexter Wimbish, another panelist.

More than 7,000 law enforcement agencies worldwide use the devices, according to manufacturer Taser International.

Tasers use what is supposed to be a nonlethal pulsating electric shock to immobilize a person — a shock that according to some is lower than that applied by the defibrillators used by medical
emergency services.

The SCLC says the devices have been linked to 86 deaths nationwide since 1999. A study released by Amnesty International on Friday put the number at 103 in the United States and Canada during the past four years.

In particular, Amnesty International claims Tasers can be deadly to those with pre-existing heart conditions.

Representatives of Taser International maintain that no death has been directly caused by its product.

Deputies cleared

In the past two years, five people in Georgia have died after being shocked with Tasers by law officers. Two Gwinnett County inmates died in a nine-month period after scuffles with deputies and Taser shocks.

Ray Charles Austin, 25, died in September 2003 after he was stunned three times, given psychotropic drugs, punched and placed in a restraint chair.

Last May, Frederick Williams, 31, died after he was shocked five times in a tussle with five deputies.

Both men died of heart attacks, according to the county medical examiner.

All the deputies were cleared of wrongdoing, though District Attorney Danny Porter said last week he was considering filing criminal charges in the Williams case and was still investigating.

"The family is confused about the status of the case," said Melvin Johnson, the Williams family's attorney, who attended the forum with Williams' widow, Yanga Williams.

Williams said she thought the forum was beneficial, though she said she would like to have seen it better attended. About 20 people in
addition to the panelists attended the forum.

Having more proponents of the devices' use on hand would be helpful, Johnson said.

Audience member Todd Pell, 34, of Buford drew gasps from the crowd when he asserted that the Gwinnett Sheriff's Department has used electric shock — first used by the Nazis in 1938, he said —
as a method of torture since 1999.

"The practice goes on," Pell said. "Nothing's changed, and until there's an investigation into the murder of this individual [Williams], nothing will."

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/0405/04taser.html

One thing that troubles me is that they say the deputy used the taser five times on his chest. I'm no doctor, and I'm no expert on tasers, but using electrical shocks that close to the heart can NOT be a good idea. The heart is probably the most sensitive part of the body to electrical shock, and the way the electric chair works (as I understand it) is to get the electric charge to go through the heart. There must have been somewhere else on this guy's body they could have zapped him that wasn't right on top of his heart.

J.

Dear Forum:

If you actually read the reports instead of paraphrasing someone else