Would not stop for cops so they used a stun gun on him

Steve Watson
Prisonplanet.com
November 24, 2011

A 61 year old man from Halifax County, Virginia, was tasered by cops and died Tuesday after they were called to the scene by an onlooker who saw the man fall off his bike in a parking lot and feared he was drunk.

When the police arrived, Roger Anthony was riding away on the bike. Anthony did not respond to the officers’ requests for him to stop so Officer John Turner used a stun gun on him, causing Anthony to once again fall off his bike, reports wral news.

Family members told the press that when Anthony arrived at the local hospital shortly afterwards, he was declared brain dead.

Scotland Neck Police Chief Joe Williams told the media that the officer had seen Anthony “take something out his pocket and put it into his mouth,” and had therefore taken the decision to taze the man.

Anthony’s sister, Gladys Freeman, told wral that her brother was disabled, hard of hearing and suffered from seizures.

Anthony’s brother-in-law, Milton Freeman told reporters “Why would you (use a stun gun on) a man on a bike? He didn’t do any crime. He wasn’t trying to escape. How (was) he going to escape on his bicycle?”

The police have refused to comment further on the incident pending an investigation. Officer Turner, who had only been on active duty for a month, has been placed on leave...[Full Article]

Labels: police, Steve Watson, taser, Virginia

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