Campaign Against the Taser

www.campaignagainstthetaser.com

16 August 2006

Media Release:

White and black crosses to lead Taser march on Saturday

A sea of white and black crosses will lead the Campaign Against The Taser.Com march this Saturday.

Over the past six years 197 people have died following being tasered in the US and Canada. Campaign Against The Taser.Com has prepared a cross for each death with the name and age of the person written on the cross.

“We have used white crosses for people who died before the launch of Campaign Against The Taser.Com on May 11th this year and black crosses for those who have died since”, says Campaign Against The Taser.Com spokesperson Marie Dyhrberg.

There are 175 white crosses and 22 black crosses.

Most are males but there are 5 females which includes one foetus.

The black crosses mean that at last count 22 people have died since May 11th this year. The rapid rise in taser-related deaths has led to a US Justice Department federal level investigation in the United States.

“The New Zealand government should be waiting for the results of this investigation before approving taser use. To do otherwise is to play Russian roulette with mental health patients and other groups the police have identified as target groups for the taser”, says Campaign Against The Taser.Com spokesperson Marie Dyhrberg.

We want to get across to the public just how lethal these weapons are. It is a nonsense for the police to describe them as “less lethal” when they will not replace guns but instead will be used in place of pepper spray and batons. They are therefore a more lethal option and the sea of crosses will show this clearly.

(The taser stun gun fires two barbed metal darts at the victim and delivers a 50,000volt electric shock. It is excruciatingly painful. Similar devices are used around the world as instruments of torture)

The march takes place from the bottom of Queen Street, Auckland at 12 noon this Saturday August 19th.

Following this release is a list of the people who have died following being tasered in the past 6 years.

Marie Dyhrberg
CATT Spokesperson

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Taser related deaths to 14 August 2006

1. David Flores, 37, Fairfield, Calif.
2. Enrique Juarez Ochoa, 34, Bakersfield, Calif.
3. Mark Burkett, 18, Gainesville, Fla.
4. Hannah Rogers-Grippi, 6-month-old fetus, Chula Vista, Calif.
5. Marvin Hendrix, 27, Hamilton, Ohio
6. Steven Vasquez, 40, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
7. Vincent Delostia, 31, Hollywood, Fla.
8. Anthony Spencer, 35, Philadelphia
9. Henry Canady, 46, Hilliard, Fla.
10. Richard Baralla, 36, Pueblo, Colo.
11. Eddie Alvarado, 32, Los Angeles
12. Clever Craig, 46, Mobile, Ala.
13. Jason Nichols, 21, Oklahoma City, Okla.
14. Fermin Rincon, 24, Fontana, Calif.
15. Unknown male, 39, Phoenix
16. Johnney Lozoya, age unknown, Gardena, Calif.
17. Gordon Jones, 37, Windermere, Fla.
18. Frederick Webber, 44, Orange City, Fla.
19. Stephen Edwards, 59, Shelton, Wash.
20. Unknown male, 31, Albuquerque, New Mexico
21. Terrance Hanna, 51, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
22. Joshua Hollander, 22, Normal Heights, Calif.
23. Timothy Sleet, 44, Springfield, Mo.
24. Clay Willey, 33, Prince George, British Columbia
25. Troy Nowell, 51, Amarillo, Texas
26. John Thompson, 45, Carrollton Township, Mich.
27. Gordon Rauch, 39, Citrus Heights, Calif.
28. Ray Austin, 25, Gwinnett, Ga.
29. Glenn Leyba, 37, Glendale, Colo.
30. Clark Whitehouse, 34, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
31. Roman Pierson, 40, Brea, Calif.
32. Dennis Hammond, 31, Oklahoma City, Okla.
33. Louis Morris, 50, Orlando, Fla.
34. James Borden, 47, Monroe County, Ind.
35. Michael Johnson, 32, Oklahoma City, Okla.
36. Kerry O'Brien, 31, Pembroke Pines, Fla.
37. Curtis Lawson, 40, Unadilla, Ga.
38. Lewis King, 39, St. Augustine, Fla.
39. David Glowczenski, 35, Southampton Village, N.Y.
40. Raymond Siegler, 40, Minneapolis, Minn.
41. Curt Rostengale, 44, Silverdale, Wash.
42. William Lomax, 26, Las Vegas, Nev.
43. Perry Ronald, 28, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
44. Terry Williams, 45, Madison, Ill.
45. Phillip LaBlanc, 36, Los Angeles, Calif.
46. Melvin Samuel, 28, Savannah, Ga.
47. Alfredo Diaz, 29, Orange County, Fla.
48. Eric Wolle, 45, Washington Grove, Md.
49. Roman Andreichik, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
50. Peter Lamonday, 38, London, Ontario, Canada
51. Henry Lattarulo, 40, Hillsborough County, Fla.
52. Frederick Williams, 31, Lawrenceville, Ga.
53. Darryl Smith, 46, Atlanta
54. Anthony Oliver, 42, Orlando, Fla.
55. Jerry Pickens, 55, Bridge City, La.
56. James Cobb, 42, St. Paul, Minn.
57. Jacob Lair, 26, Sparks, Nev.
58. Robert Bagnell, 44, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
59. Kris Lieberman, 32, Bushkill Twp., Penn.
60. Bernard Christmas, 36, Dayton, Ohio
61. Demetrius Tillman Nelson, 45, Okaloosa County, Fla.
62. Willie Smith, 48, Auburn, Wash.
63. Jerry Knight, 29, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
64. Milton Salazar, 29, Mesa
65. Keith Tucker, 47, Las Vegas
66. Samuel Truscott, 43, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
67. Ernest Blackwell, 29, St. Louis, Mo.
68. David Riley, 41, Joplin, Mo.
69. Anthony Lee McDonald, 46, Harrisburg, N.C.
70. William Teasley, 31, Anderson, S.C.
71. Richard Karlo, 44, Denver, Colo.
72. Michael Sanders, 40, Fresno, Calif.
73. Lawrence Davis, 27, Phoenix
74. Jason Yeagley, 32, Winter Haven, Fla.
75. Michael Rosa, 38, Del Rey Oaks, Calif.
76. Samuel Wakefield, 22, Rio Vista, Texas
77. Andrew Washington, 21, Vallejo, Calif.
78. Jon Merkle, 40, Miami
79. Dwayne Dunn, 33, Lafayette, La.
80. Greshmond Gray, 25, LaGrange, Ga.
81. Robert Guerrero, 21, Fort Worth, Texas
82. Keith Raymond Drum, Clearlake, Calif.
83. Ricardo Zaragoza, 40, Elk Grove, Calif.
84. Charles Keiser, 47, Hartland Township, Mich.
85. Byron Black, 39, Lee County, Fla.
86. Patrick Fleming, 35, Metairie, La.
87. Kevin Downing, 36, Hollywood, Fla.
88. Douglas Meldrum, 37, Wasatch County, Utah
89. Lyle Nelson, 35, Columbia, Ill.
90. Timothy Bolander, 31, Delray Beach, Fla.
91. Ronnie Pino, 31, Sacramento, Calif.
92. Christopher Hernandez, 19, Naples, Fla.
93. Jeanne Hamilton, 46, Palmdale, Calif.
94. David Cooper, 40, Marion County, Ind.
95. Gregory Saulsbury, 30, Pacifica, Calif.
96. Dennis Hyde, 30, Akron
97. Carl Trotter, 33, Pensacola, Fla.
98. Unknown man, Chickasha, Okla.
99. Jeffrey Turner, 41, Lucas County, Ohio
100. Ronald Alan Hasse, 54, Chicago
101. Robert Camba, 45, San Diego, Calif.
102. Joel Dawn Casey, 52, Houston
103. Robert Heston, 40, Salinas, Calif.
104. Shirley Andrews, 38, Cincinnati, Ohio
105. Willie Towns, 30, Deland, Fla.
106. Milton Woolfolk, 39, Lake City, Fla.
107. Mark Young, 25, Indianapolis, Ind.
108. James Wathan Jr., 32, Delhi, Calif.
109. Eric Hammock, 43, Fort Worth, Texas
110. Ricky Barber, 46, Carter County, Okla.
111. John Cox, 39, Bellport, N.Y.
112. Keith Graff, 24, Phoenix
113. Kevin Geldart, 34, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
114. Stanley Wilson, 44, Miami
115. Lawrence Berry, 33, Jefferson Parish, La.
116. Vernon Young, 31, Union Township, Ohio
117. Leroy Pierson, 55, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
118. Randy Martinez, 40, Albuquerque, New Mexico
119. Lee Marvin Kimmel, 38, Reading, Penn.
120. Richard Alverado, 38, Tustin, Calif.
121. Walter Lamont Seats, 23, Nashville, Tenn.
122. Richard Holcomb, 18, Springfield Township, Ohio
123. Nazario Solorio, 38, Escondido, Calif.
124. Unknown man, 33, Sacramento, Calif.
125. Russell Walker, 47, Las Vegas
126. Horace Owens, 48, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
127. Michael Anthony Edwards, 32, Palatka, Fla.
128. Shawn Pirolozzi, 30, Canton, Ohio
129. Robert Earl Williams, 62, Waco, Texas
130. Melinda Kaye Neal. 33, Whitfield County, Ga.
131. Carolyn Daniels, 25, Fort Worth
132. Unknown man, Miami, Fla.
133. Gurmeet Sandhu, 41, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
134. James Foldi, 39, Beamsville, Ontario, Canada
135. Rockey Bryson, 41, Birmingham, Ala.
136. Kevin Omas, 17, Euless, Texas
137. Ernesto Valdez, 37, Phoenix
138. Paul Sheldon Saulnier, 42, Digby, Nova Scotia, Canada
139. Otis Thrasher, 42, Butte, Mont.
140. Michael Crutchfield, 40, West Palm Beach, Fla.
141. Carlos Casillas Fernandez, 31, Santa Rosa, Calif.
142. Maury Cunningham, 29, Lancaster County, S.C.
143. Terrence Thomas, 35, Queens Village, N.Y.
144. Brian Patrick O’Neal, 32, San Jose
145. Eric Mahoney, 33, Fremont, Calif.
146. Olsen Ogodidde, 38, Glendale, Ariz.
147. Unidentified man, 47, Phoenix
148. Shawn Norman, 40, Laurelville, Ohio
149. Brian Lichtenstein, 31, Stuart, Fla.
150. David Cross, 44, Santa Cruz, Calif.
151. Timothy Torres, 24, Rancho Cordova, Calif.
152. Patrick Lee, 21, Nashville
153. Michael Clark, 33, Austin
154. Steven Cunningham, 45, Fort Myers, Fla.
155. Jose Perez, 33, San Leandro, Calif.
156. Timothy Mathis, Loveland, Colo.
157. Miguel Serrano, 35, New Britain, Conn.
158. Josh Brown, 23, Lafayette, La.
159. Jose Angel Rios, 38, San Jose, Calif.
160. Hansel Cunningham, 30, Des Plaines, Ill.
161. Tracy Rene Shippy, 35, Fort Meyers, Fla.
162. Kevin Dewayne Wright, 39, Kelso, Wash.
163. Jeffrey Eranhardt, 47, Orlando, Fla.
164. Michael Tolosko, 31, Sonoma, Calif.
165. Howard Starr, 32, Florence, S.C.
166. Unidentified man, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
167. David Moss, 26, Omaha, Neb.
168. William Lomax
169. Robert Bagnell
170. Keith Tucker
171. Robert Boggon
172. Alesandro Fiacco
173. Russell Walker
174. Jorge Trujillo-Hernandez
175. Unknown
176. Jeremy Davis
177. Kenneth l Cleveland
178. Felipe Herrera
179. Jason Troy Dockery
180. Jerry Preyer
181. Kenneth Eagleton
182. Joseph Stockdale
183. Christopher Tull
184. Nickolos Cryus
185. Jesus Nearon
186. Wilson van Rhyn
187. Curry McCrimmon
188. Unknown
189. Ryan Michael Wilson
190. Matthew Dunlevy
191. Carol Alexy
192. Nickolas Cyrus
193. Carlos Fernandez
194. Kevin Ray Omas
195. Robert Heston
196. Daryl Kelley
197.Jerry Preyer

ENDS

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