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California man killed "stealing" his own car


Eldorado

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"A man has died in police custody after an officer attempted to put him in a carotid restraint at the end of a seven-minute high-speed chase started because they suspected him of being a car thief.

"David Glen Ward, 52, was driving his Honda Civic in Sonoma County, California last Wednesday, after having reported it stolen three day before.

"But he didn't tell cops he had retrieved the vehicle before they ended up beating him with personal body weapons, using a Taser gun on him and trying to restrict the blood flow to his brain with a non-fatal maneuver."

Full report at the UK Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7755415/Man-52-forgot-tell-police-stolen-car-dies-cops-sleeper-hold.html

 

"The deputies and police officers struck Ward with “personal body weapons” several times, and Little shot Ward with a Taser stun gun through the open driver’s window, according to police.

"It had no effect, and Ward continued struggling so Blount placed an arm around Ward’s neck in an attempted carotid restraint that could make Ward lose consciousness, police said."

Full report at CBS: https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2019/12/03/petaluma-man-who-died-in-custody-owned-vehicle-he-was-suspected-of-stealing/

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It sounds like all involved were very stupid and over zealous.  Why didn't the guy stop, what was the car chase about?

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5 minutes ago, Desertrat56 said:

It sounds like all involved were very stupid and over zealous.  Why didn't the guy stop, what was the car chase about?

I'm gonna take a stab and say meth is involved.  Meth head has car borrowed by friend to get meth and took a long time because he got high so car owner gets worried his friend is stealing his meth and reports car stolen.  Later friend comes back with meth and they get more high and forget to report car was not stolen.  A few days later without sleep, heart racing, dude see's cop lights behind him, panics because he's high and runs.  When he finally pulls over cop applies hold that would knock normal person out but meth head's heart is racing and weak from meth and not sleeping and gives out on him.

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The article offers some interesting information about the incident:

  • the suspect "bit" two officers as they tried to force him out of the vehicle
  • the suspect momentarily stopped twice - once when he was first pulled over, the second when he was pit-manoeuvred
  • though he was struck with batons and tasered, the officers claim that the suspect continued to resist arrest
  • the original suspect was thought to have been armed, though the owner of the vehicle was not
  • four officers ended up on the scene - ALL of them were unable to safely restrain the suspect (?!)
  • the suspect/victim's family claim that due to injuries and health complications, he had trouble breathing and walking - the family say they have great difficulty believing that the victim could have shown that much physical strength and aggression due to his ongoing health problems

The statement made that he "bit" two officers certainly makes me wonder whether @OverSword's theory could have some truth to it. That maybe drugs were somehow involved in some shape or form - or even that his prescription medications and the adrenaline of the situation had resulted in this extreme behaviour.

However - FOUR officers couldn't restrain him? Beating him and tasing him had no effect? Either he was on some serious s*** or they were seriously incompetent and ill-prepared in their training. There are many ways to overpower and restrain somebody, especially if it's 4:1.

The Daily Mail article offers photos of the victim. Like, really? Four fully-trained police officers had no other way of restraining this guy other than to risk his life by trying to choke him out? He was 52, sickly and his stature was small and slender. Sure, maybe drugs were involved (it certainly sounds that way but until the coroner releases their report, and assuming they aren't trying to protect the officers involved, we won't know for sure) but these days, every police force is well-trained in methods for dealing with such circumstances.

CBS report also covered short interviews with neighbours who said the victim's home was regularly visited by law enforcement, one remembers a recent incident where he observed at least five police vehicles responding to the home and a "helicopter circling overhead".

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:no:

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