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View Full Version : Man Receives Settlement for being Tazed and Drugs Planted on Him



Codename Section
06-10-2014, 07:39 AM
These incidents are only now being caught due to people forgetting to turn off dash cams and the use of video recording equipment. DHS with their reward system for drug busts helps promote it.

We will see more and more of this unless we get some kind of change in government that tries to scale it back.

http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/crime/2014/04/30/dagsboro-man-settles-taser-suit/8523177/?sf25637141=[%27[%22[\%271\%27]%22]%27]


The incident that was the focus of Reginald Johnson's suit was captured on video and showed two Seaford officers – who apparently believed that Johnson was someone else – pulling over Johnson's car, demanding he get out and without allowing Johnson much time to respond, shooting him with a Taser and roughly handcuffing him.
Moments later, after Johnson protests that he has done nothing wrong, two officers can be heard laughing and one joking about planting drugs in Johnson's car.

Adding insult to injury, the day of the 2011 incident was Johnson's 43rd birthday.


In a statement released through his attorneys on Wednesday, Johnson said, "I hope this settlement sends the message that what they did to me is not OK, and constitutional violations like this will not be tolerated in the future, period."
Seaford officials referred questions to the city's attorney, who could not be reached for comment.


Johnson's attorney, Stephen Norman, described the cash settlement as a significant victory for Johnson, noting that despite Johnson's rough treatment that night, he did not sustain any significant physical injuries and, therefore, could seek little in the way of damages related to medical costs.


Norman also said that this resolution meant a quick and final settlement to the case, whereas if the matter had gone forward to a trial, a final resolution could have taken years if it went to an appellate court.


Norman said there were no settlement terms demanding training or other non-monetary measures from Seaford. Norman said he hopes that exposing the bad behavior of the Seaford police in this incident – along with the financial pain associated with the payout – will put pressure on the city to change the way Seaford police operate.

Common Sense
06-10-2014, 07:45 AM
All officers should be forced to wear chest cameras with microphones. You should be able to access the recordings of any interaction between you and the police, regardless of charges.

Peter1469
06-10-2014, 07:51 AM
All officers should be forced to wear chest cameras with microphones. You should be able to access the recordings of any interaction between you and the police, regardless of charges.

Who is going to pay for the data storage for all of that video? Some federal agencies stopped long term data storage because it was too expensive; even though they have to retain that stuff for long periods of time by law.

Common Sense
06-10-2014, 07:54 AM
Who is going to pay for the data storage for all of that video? Some federal agencies stopped long term data storage because it was too expensive; even though they have to retain that stuff for long periods of time by law.

It's not that expensive. If they can afford hummers and armored personnel carriers, I'm sure they can afford data storage.

Peter1469
06-10-2014, 08:03 AM
It's not that expensive. If they can afford hummers and armored personnel carriers, I'm sure they can afford data storage.

The contracts are public, at least the non-classified ones. You would be shocked to learn that they are actually really expensive.

Common Sense
06-10-2014, 08:05 AM
The contracts are public, at least the non-classified ones. You would be shocked to learn that they are actually really expensive.

I think they could find a way. They seem to manage to operate helicopters and fleets of vehicles.

Codename Section
06-10-2014, 08:07 AM
If you can own military equipment then you can own military equipment. :D

I'm sure everything "we" did is still stored somewhere.

Cthulhu
06-10-2014, 04:14 PM
Who is going to pay for the data storage for all of that video? Some federal agencies stopped long term data storage because it was too expensive; even though they have to retain that stuff for long periods of time by law.

Well....each department could just make a registered youtube account and load it up there. Youtube loves hosting videos for some reason. Hell, I bet some departments could monetize the accounts because of the amount of traffic they would receive.

Peter1469
06-10-2014, 04:20 PM
Well....each department could just make a registered youtube account and load it up there. Youtube loves hosting videos for some reason. Hell, I bet some departments could monetize the accounts because of the amount of traffic they would receive.

Good idea. Not sure about the technical issues on Youtube's side, but I imagine that they could handle it a lot better than the government or the typical government IT contractor.

Cthulhu
06-10-2014, 04:32 PM
Good idea. Not sure about the technical issues on Youtube's side, but I imagine that they could handle it a lot better than the government or the typical government IT contractor.

The mechanism exists, the space is there, and both sides stand to make a profit. And the public is served via private enterprise.

I can just see a capitalist boot stomping on a government official's face in my mind right now.