Man Dies After Police Taze Him For Being On Roof (Updated)

[Great Nepal]

Since there were that many officers on the scene, I doubt it was just a innocent man standing on roof but more likely he was wanted for something and was attempting escape after pursuit...
Blaming police after just seeing a snapshot of it is wrong.

[Resora]

Since there were that many officers on the scene, I doubt it was just a innocent man standing on roof but more likely he was wanted for something and was attempting escape after pursuit...
Blaming police after just seeing a snapshot of it is wrong.

VIdeo != snapshot.

[Great Nepal]

Since there were that many officers on the scene, I doubt it was just a innocent man standing on roof but more likely he was wanted for something and was attempting escape after pursuit...
Blaming police after just seeing a snapshot of it is wrong.

VIdeo != snapshot.

It is snapshot of entire situation, otherwise there wouldn't have been that many officers at the scene.

[Vitaphone Racing]

Did the police know he was unarmed? Again, we have no idea why the hell he was on that roof nor do we know why police found him to be a threat. Yes, I'll agree he was treated roughly after having been restrained but I'm far less inclined to believe the way they carried him down the stairs (not dragged, that's really misleading) caused him fatal injuries.

What else could it have been, unless he had an adverse reaction to being tazed five times?

His father is a fucking ex-cop, I seriously doubt he has a grudge against the "pigs", so all the accusations of family bias are the usual cop apologetics this type of shit typically attracts. Is it possible that there's some convoluted explanation that explains why the cops acted the way they did? I suppose. Is that likely? Not really. It's just some unarmed guy wearing a pair of cargo shorts, he posed no threat to all those cops, and they knew it.

So are you going to come out with an explanation of why he was on the roof, or are you going to repeatedly state how he was found unarmed and tazed five times.

I also love how anyone who advocates taking a reasonable approach and fully investigating the matter becomes a "cop-apologetic", is that your way of discrediting all those who disagree with you?

But then again, you don't want anyone to disagree with you because it's obvious from the title that you just want this to be some circle-jerk about how cops are bad. If you didn't, you wouldn't have written "police kills man for standing on roof" even though there's literally nothing in any of your sources which backs this claim up.

[Resora]

Since there were that many officers on the scene, I doubt it was just a innocent man standing on roof but more likely he was wanted for something and was attempting escape after pursuit...

And it's just as likely that he was high as a kite (his parents mentioned that he had a drug problem), and had been up there for a while, and the cops were supposed to make sure he didn't hurt himself.

[Dyakovo]

Since there were that many officers on the scene, I doubt it was just a innocent man standing on roof but more likely he was wanted for something and was attempting escape after pursuit...
Blaming police after just seeing a snapshot of it is wrong.

VIdeo != snapshot.

Yeah, it really is. It doesn't tell us anything about what went on before the video started.

[Great Nepal]

Since there were that many officers on the scene, I doubt it was just a innocent man standing on roof but more likely he was wanted for something and was attempting escape after pursuit...

And it's just as likely that he was high as a kite (his parents mentioned that he had a drug problem), and had been up there for a while, and the cops were supposed to make sure he didn't hurt himself.

Yea, police departments dont trend to send out five officers for something minor as that and police dont handcuff everyone's limbs, especially if their job was to make sure he was safe.

[Vitaphone Racing]

Since there were that many officers on the scene, I doubt it was just a innocent man standing on roof but more likely he was wanted for something and was attempting escape after pursuit...

And it's just as likely that he was high as a kite (his parents mentioned that he had a drug problem), and had been up there for a while, and the cops were supposed to make sure he didn't hurt himself.

But fuck waiting for the investigation to finish! Let's jump to conclusions and persecute these morons! Besides, even if the investigation says something different, the cops are probably corrupt so we're still right!

[God Kefka]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyg32CPyKNc
http://www.wistv.com/story/23178374/fam ... sons-death

A family is looking for answers after their adult son died following a run-in with police. The video is hard to watch. It shows the man on the roof of his apartment complex, and after he jumps down, he is swarmed by police, repeatedly tazed and dragged down some stairs.

On July 28 at an apartment complex near 23rd Avenue and Indian School, several Phoenix police officers were trying to get 44-year-old Ruiz to come down from the roof. When he did, he was placed in a chokehold, tazed several times and told to stop resisting. According to witness video, Ruiz was in that position for at least three minutes. Finally his hands and feet were handcuffed, and he was dragged down the stairs with his head unsupported.

"We were both sort of in shock so we went down there the next morning, and he was on life support," said Ruiz's father, Richard Erickson, a retired LAPD detective. He said doctors at St. Joseph's Hospital told him his son was brain-dead. He saw an EMS report, stating his son had been tased five times and had to be resuscitated at the scene.

He took his son off life support on Aug. 2.

Discussion topic: what can be done to decrease the number of incidents of police brutality, which are becoming more and more common in the United States?

I am sure the police must have a good reason to do what they did to him... I notice how you have not mentioned why the police wanted him so badly.

The police protect us from criminals people... We need to appreciate their efforts. They should be able to do whatever it takes to maintain freedom, security, and prosperity in America and protect us from criminal filth.

Brutality is fine so long as its done to protect us am I rite?

[Resora]

And it's just as likely that he was high as a kite (his parents mentioned that he had a drug problem), and had been up there for a while, and the cops were supposed to make sure he didn't hurt himself.

Yea, police departments dont trend to send out five officers for something minor as that and police dont handcuff everyone's limbs, especially if their job was to make sure he was safe.

Actually they do send out that many cops for situations like that, because they could be suicide attempts. He probably was also breaking a law somewhere, it was his apartment complex but he doesn't own the entire building, so disturbing the peace or trespassing or damage to private property are possible reasons. Handcuffing someone's hands is not exceptional in any of those cases, it's kind of the go-to thing for increasingly minor offenses here in the states.

[God Kefka]

Yea, police departments dont trend to send out five officers for something minor as that and police dont handcuff everyone's limbs, especially if their job was to make sure he was safe.

Actually they do send out that many cops for situations like that, because they could be suicide attempts. He probably was also breaking a law somewhere, it was his apartment complex but he doesn't own the entire building, so disturbing the peace or trespassing or damage to private property are possible reasons. Handcuffing someone's hands is not exceptional in any of those cases, it's kind of the go-to thing for increasingly minor offenses here in the states.

Why do you seem to hate the cops so much?

Why do you get to live under the blanket of security they provide to you while still looking every step of the way to ruin their image, nitpick, and play the moral superior?

Who is out there risking their lives to fight criminals? I don't think it's you.

[Ceannairceach]

And it's just as likely that he was high as a kite (his parents mentioned that he had a drug problem), and had been up there for a while, and the cops were supposed to make sure he didn't hurt himself.

Yea, police departments dont trend to send out five officers for something minor as that and police dont handcuff everyone's limbs, especially if their job was to make sure he was safe.

I'm sorry, do you have sources about standard Phoenix arrest procedures?

If not, I'd suggest we wait for further information before jumping down each other's throats about who was in the wrong here. As it stands regardless, though, the actions of the police led to his death. That requires investigation.

[Kronstad]

1. It said in the video that he was on his own apartment's roof. Hence, it's irrelevant what he was doing there; if I want to go into my kitchen or on my roof, police shouldn't come after me. Also, he was unarmed, so whatever reasons the police had to want to invade his personal property, their treatment was still exaggerated.
2. The police killed him, one could say, on purpose; they tased him several times, they choked him, and then, they hit his head multiple times on the stairs for no reason. That isn't even manslaughter, it becomes much more when you also take into consideration that he was unarmed and versus 5 policemen.
3. To answer the question "what to do to stop police from abusing their position", one answer could be for the state to intervene. There should be laws to prevent policemen from randomly brutalising people while arresting them (e.g. unarmed civilians should be treated differently from armed ones).

[Kronstad]

Why do you seem to hate the cops so much?
Who is out there risking their lives to fight criminals? I don't think it's you.

Who is out there to come to your house, taser you, choke you, hit your head on the stairs multiple times and eventually kill you?

[Dyakovo]

1. It said in the video that he was on his own apartment's roof. Hence, it's irrelevant what he was doing there; if I want to go into my kitchen or on my roof, police shouldn't come after me. Also, he was unarmed, so whatever reasons the police had to want to invade his personal property, their treatment was still exaggerated.
2. The police killed him, one could say, on purpose; they tased him several times, they choked him, and then, they hit his head multiple times on the stairs for no reason. That isn't even manslaughter, it becomes much more when you also take into consideration that he was unarmed and versus 5 policemen.
3. To answer the question "what to do to stop police from abusing their position", one answer could be for the state to intervene. There should be laws to prevent policemen from randomly brutalising people while arresting them (e.g. unarmed civilians should be treated differently from armed ones).

1: Because there is no possibility that the police being there wasn't actually connected with him being on the roof...
2: Sure, you can say that... It doesn't make it true.
4: There are laws against police brutality.

[God Kefka]

Why do you seem to hate the cops so much?
Who is out there risking their lives to fight criminals? I don't think it's you.

Who is out there to come to your house, taser you, choke you, hit your head on the stairs multiple times and eventually kill you?

Criminals....

The police protect you from such scum...

That's how it works 99% of the time. Go ahead and stay ungrateful and whine about the 1% when the police make mistakes. Your hate is misdirected...

Respect the brave officers who risk their life everyday wearing a uniform and fighting criminals. Don't help the criminals by making the work harder for cops...

[Zottistan]

Not enough information to go on, but does anybody else suspect that there's a reason the family aren't seeking legal action?

[Kronstad]

Why do you seem to hate the cops so much?
Who is out there risking their lives to fight criminals? I don't think it's you.

Here are examples of police officers behaviour:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/lapd-abuse for a few links
1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/1 ... 58208.html
2. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/0 ... 49031.html
3. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/2 ... 40440.html
This is why you can't trust the police.

[Tarconia]

http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/20 ... 43206.html

Its an interesting story. I wonder how much of it is true. The neighbors call the cops because theres a guy acting weird on the roof and the rest, you see. I wonder what he said to the cops, if anything.

No one seems to be disputing that the Phoenix Police Dept violated their own department policy of stunning people who are in danger of falling. But I wonder what the Department defines as "falling." Hypothetically, if you get stunned, you fall and pee your pants. Thus, by using a stun gun, they are violating their policy regarding falls. Is the distance of the fall ambiguous or does the department lay out a set distance?

Finally, I will think twice the next time I call 911 to get my kitten out of the tree.

[Great Nepal]

Yea, police departments dont trend to send out five officers for something minor as that and police dont handcuff everyone's limbs, especially if their job was to make sure he was safe.

Actually they do send out that many cops for situations like that, because they could be suicide attempts. He probably was also breaking a law somewhere, it was his apartment complex but he doesn't own the entire building, so disturbing the peace or trespassing or damage to private property are possible reasons. Handcuffing someone's hands is not exceptional in any of those cases, it's kind of the go-to thing for increasingly minor offenses here in the states.

Well, here they usually send out two for anything less of a stabbing so I was assuming it was similar situation there as well but anyway, police should get benefit of the doubt until investigation says otherwise, simply because they are officers of the law.

Yea, police departments dont trend to send out five officers for something minor as that and police dont handcuff everyone's limbs, especially if their job was to make sure he was safe.

I'm sorry, do you have sources about standard Phoenix arrest procedures?
If not, I'd suggest we wait for further information before jumping down each other's throats about who was in the wrong here. As it stands regardless, though, the actions of the police led to his death. That requires investigation.

No, and of course there should be investigation however until that time, benefit of doubt should be given to police rather than a druggie.

[Kronstad]

1. That's how it works 99% of the time. Go ahead and stay ungrateful and whine about the 1% when the police make mistakes. Your hate is misdirected...
2. Respect the brave officers who risk their life everyday wearing a uniform and fighting criminals. Don't help the criminals by making the work harder for cops...

1. Look at the examples I posted above.
2. I think you seem to trust theory more than practice; the definition of a police officer in a utopian society where all of them are mini-Batmans, fighting evil and stuff is hardly congruent with reality.

[God Kefka]

1. That's how it works 99% of the time. Go ahead and stay ungrateful and whine about the 1% when the police make mistakes. Your hate is misdirected...
2. Respect the brave officers who risk their life everyday wearing a uniform and fighting criminals. Don't help the criminals by making the work harder for cops...

1. Look at the examples I posted above.
2. I think you seem to trust theory more than practice; the definition of a police officer in a utopian society where all of them are mini-Batmans, fighting evil and stuff is hardly congruent with reality.

1. Your examples don't capture the big picture... in which the police are on the whole the forces of righteousness locked in a constant battle against the evil that is crime... for our freedom, security, and prosperity (yes, even of those who don't appreciate their efforts).

2. The police catch criminals. That's how it works. They protect us. Sometimes they makes mistakes (rarely). That's it. Don't overcomplicate it.

I'd love to teleport you to a world without the police just to see how you'd like it. I bet you would drop everything you are advocating for right now...

See you live under the blanket of security the police provide... and yet you join the ''Fuck the PO-lice'' crowd... It's almost as if people like you WANT the police to fall and lose against the criminals.

[Ceannairceach]

No, and of course there should be investigation however until that time, benefit of doubt should be given to police rather than a druggie.

Yeah, no. Innocent until proven guilty works both ways. Fuck that judgmental bullshit.

[Brickistan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyg32CPyKNc
http://www.wistv.com/story/23178374/fam ... sons-death

A family is looking for answers after their adult son died following a run-in with police. The video is hard to watch. It shows the man on the roof of his apartment complex, and after he jumps down, he is swarmed by police, repeatedly tazed and dragged down some stairs.

On July 28 at an apartment complex near 23rd Avenue and Indian School, several Phoenix police officers were trying to get 44-year-old Ruiz to come down from the roof. When he did, he was placed in a chokehold, tazed several times and told to stop resisting. According to witness video, Ruiz was in that position for at least three minutes. Finally his hands and feet were handcuffed, and he was dragged down the stairs with his head unsupported.

"We were both sort of in shock so we went down there the next morning, and he was on life support," said Ruiz's father, Richard Erickson, a retired LAPD detective. He said doctors at St. Joseph's Hospital told him his son was brain-dead. He saw an EMS report, stating his son had been tased five times and had to be resuscitated at the scene.

He took his son off life support on Aug. 2.

Discussion topic: what can be done to decrease the number of incidents of police brutality, which are becoming more and more common in the United States?

Living in Scandinavia (and so going mostly by what I read in the news and see on YouTube), I would suggest that you could do away with the notion of "overwhelming force". Seems to me that the police have now become so militarized that their default reaction to any incident, smelling ever so slightly of danger, is to draw their guns and tasers. And once you got your guns drawn, it's all to easy to get a bad case of nerves. Everybody is on edge, yelling and screaming, and if one officer snaps and starts shooting everybody follows suit and the suspect ends up riddle with bullets, deserved or not...

If, on the other hand, guns were still holstered and voices were kept down, then there would be less of a chance of someone snapping.

Yes, this might mean that, from time to time, a suspect will get to shoot first. But that's why officers are well trained and well paid - to minimize such occurrences. At least, in theory...


Remember the old saying about how having a hammer makes every problem look like a nail? Well, when you're constantly on the look for guns, driving around with pistols, rifles, bulletproof vests, tasers, etc. in your car, then perhaps the temptation to shoot first becomes overwhelming.


Of course, the glorification of violence that permeates the American culture cannot be ignored. When you have that many guns in the hands of the public, and a general sense that violence is acceptable and that "might makes right"... Well... I guess it's not unreasonable for officers to assume that they will regularly be meet with deadly violence.

[Dyakovo]

Why do you seem to hate the cops so much?
Who is out there risking their lives to fight criminals? I don't think it's you.

Here are examples of police officers behaviour:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/lapd-abuse for a few links
1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/1 ... 58208.html
2. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/0 ... 49031.html
3. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/2 ... 40440.html
This is why you can't trust the police.

Four instances are why you can't trust any police?