Family of 16-year-old may sue over use of Tasers

By Michael Ko
Seattle Times staff reporter

SEATTLE POLICE DEPT. Kenneth, 16, shows the scars from a July 2003 incident involving the use of a Taser gun by Seattle police.

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most e-mailed articles

Within minutes, a routine pat down turned violent and Kenneth lay on the ground, handcuffed and bleeding. A Seattle police officer had pressed a Taser four times against the back of Kenneth's neck.

Each of the 50,000-volt jolts lasted five seconds and left a dime-sized char mark. Scars still remain almost a year later.

After an internal investigation, the department concluded it was an unfortunate misunderstanding and ruled three of the four officers involved did not violate department policies. The fourth was ordered to undergo additional Taser training.

	Seattle police Deputy Chief Clark Kimerer

But Kenneth and his family maintain the police used excessive force, especially the repeated use of the Taser. Nothing illegal was found in the car, and Kenneth was not charged with a crime. His last name is not being used because he is a minor.

The family has filed paperwork in preparation for a possible lawsuit against the city. Their lawyer, Fred Diamondstone, said he is discussing a settlement.

Kenneth's case is another in a small but growing number of complaints related to Tasers, the popular shock guns that are widely praised as a step toward eliminating fatal shootings.

"Clearly, as an alternative to using deadly force, (the Taser) is a wonderful tool," Diamondstone said. "What concerns me is the use of the Taser in a very low-end situation, a situation where there's no immediate threat to the officer. ...

"Just because somebody is uncooperative doesn't mean you jump to using less-than-lethal force."

	Guild President Ken Saucier

Diamondstone said the Police Department should be more specific in its policies about when officers can use Tasers.

The citizen board that oversees the department's Office of Professional Accountability (OPA), which reviews citizen complaints about police misconduct, agreed in its annual report, released last month.

The board, which recommended that the department's Taser policy "be refined to provide more detailed guidance and training," referenced several local cases: a man Tased more than four times; a man Tased by two different officers at the same time; and a man Tased after he already had been handcuffed.

"Are (Tasers) being used to punish?" asked Peter Holmes, a board member. If somebody is in handcuffs, he said, the arrest is a success.

The Seattle police manual says Taser use is appropriate for self-defense; to stop somebody from hurting himself or others; or to "overcome a subject's combative intent, physical resistance, and/or assaultive behavior."

Seattle police Deputy Chief Clark Kimerer and Guild President Ken Saucier both support fine-tuning Taser training and policy but said it would be extremely difficult to place restrictions on Taser use.

For example, during the internal investigation of the officers in Kenneth's case, there was concern about the Taser being applied to the vulnerable neck area. There's no current restriction about where on the body a Taser can be used.

But Kate Pflaumer, the former U.S. Attorney who audits the OPA, said in her annual report that "trainers have been fairly consistent about appropriate use: for instance, that Tasers may be directly applied on shoulder areas when officers need to 'end the struggle quickly and they feel their life is in danger.' "

	Attorney Kate Pflaumer audits the Office of Professional Accountability.

Saucier said it would be impossible to mandate no Taser use to the neck, because an officer might end up in a situation where that's the only choice.

Kimerer said, "Putting in place parameters that take away options might get somebody hurt."

Kimerer, who has reviewed all 480 Taser applications since SPD started using them more than three years ago, said, "I remain very impressed with their effectiveness, and there are so few and so minimal injuries arising out of Tasers."

"The thing about the Taser, people walk away (alive) from the Taser application."

Police purchased Tasers shortly after a shooting in April 2000 when an officer killed an armed, mentally ill man in Queen Anne. Critics said he might not have had to be shot if nonlethal options were available.

Tasers can fire two darts at a subject up to 21 feet away. Electricity travels through wires connected to the darts, shocking the subject. Tasers also can be applied directly to the skin.

Sam Pailca, OPA director, said there were nine Taser-related complaints in 2003 out of 177 Taser uses.

She is reviewing those complaints and plans to include an analysis in an upcoming report about unnecessary force. She said the only one that ended in any kind of administrative action was Kenneth's.

The incident occurred at 1:10 a.m. at South Fletcher Street and Renton Avenue South. The police report says it started as a routine traffic stop for a broken headlight in a traditionally high-crime neighborhood.

Officers Matt Hendry and Jason Cannon later reported that as the Ford was pulling over, they saw the person in the back seat — Kenneth — fidgeting and furtively leaning to the left. They wrote later they thought the person might be reaching for or hiding something, possibly a gun.

The officers called for backup and approached the car. Hendry shone a flashlight into the back seat and told Kenneth to get out. By this time, two other officers, Simon Edison and Jason Diamond, had arrived.

In his report, Hendry says he secured Kenneth's hands and attempted to search him for weapons. But Kenneth's body got tense and he pulled his hands away, so Hendry tried to handcuff Kenneth, the report says.

The report says Hendry then pulled Kenneth to the ground. During the ensuing struggle, the officers say Kenneth was flailing, screaming and ignoring verbal commands.

At any given time, two or three officers were piled on top of Kenneth. They reported that they hit him on the leg with a flashlight, slapped him and used other police techniques to stop the struggle.

During the struggle, Diamond jumped in and pressed the Taser into Kenneth's neck. He said later in his report he was worried Kenneth had a gun. So Diamond used the Taser four times, until officers finally subdued him with handcuffs.

Kenneth said in a recent interview that the officers should have known he wasn't armed, because one patted him down completely.

He said officers told him to get out of the car and lean against it with his hands and legs spread. He said Hendry searched him top to bottom and even found the extra sock that was folded in half underneath the tongue of Kenneth's shoe.

The extra sock is a current style among some teens, intended to make shoes look puffier.

Kenneth said he panicked when Hendry started talking about arresting him, and turned his head and told the officer he is claustrophobic.

He said he remembers being pushed against the car, then pulled to the ground. He said he tried to get free because he was unable to breathe.

"I find the police version to be not credible," Diamondstone said. "Normal police procedure would be to have Kenneth put his hands on the car and pat him down, before handcuffing him. We've all seen it."

Kenneth said later the furtive movement was him either putting his seat belt on or turning off a cellphone that had been vibrating. The sergeant who arrived on scene a few minutes later found the phone and agreed that was what probably happened. He drove Kenneth to meet his mother.

"There are two or three officers on him at all times," Diamondstone said. "They're already holding him, hitting him, and then they're shocking him on top of that? What was the purpose?"

Staff reporter Bob Young contributed to this story.

Michael Ko: 206-515-5653 or mko@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

E-mail this article

Print this article

Search archive

More local news headlines...