Pubdate: Wed, 28 Sep 2005
Source: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
Copyright: 2005 Austin American-Statesman
Contact:  http://www.statesman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/32
Authors: Katie Humphrey and Claire Osborn
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Taser
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/racial.htm (Racial Issues)

MAN WHO DIED IN CUSTODY HAD MULTIPLE TASER INJURIES

Austin Police Say 9 Officers Were Involved in Arrest; 2 Shocked Suspect

The man who died Monday after a scuffle with Austin police officers 
was identified Tuesday as 33-year-old Michael Clark.

Clark, who was black, was a married father of a 3-year-old boy. He 
was the second person this year to die after Austin officers used force.

Since 1998, all but one of the 14 people who died while or after 
Austin police officers used force on them were minorities.

"Enough is enough," Michael Clark's mother, Mary Clark, said of use 
of force by police officers, especially against minorities. "I want 
this stopped right now."

Clark, who had a history of criminal convictions, died after police 
fired a Taser at least twice to attempt to subdue him and arrest him 
on charges of public intoxication.

Clark's death occurred as officers responded to a fight between a 
man, later identified as Clark, and an unidentified woman Monday 
afternoon in the 6400 block of East William Cannon Drive near , 
police officials said.

Clark struggled, officials said, as police were attempting to arrest 
him. Clark bit Detective Robin Denton on the hand and injured Sgt. 
Robert Pewitt's shoulder, officials said.

Eventually, nine officers, including Denton and Pewitt, were involved 
in taking Clark into custody. Officers subdued him with pepper spray, 
and officers Douglas Drake and Blaine Eiben administered Taser 
shocks. Clark went into "medical distress" after being taken into 
custody and died at South Austin Hospital at 3:55 p.m.

The cause of Clark's death was undetermined Tuesday, pending 
toxicology results, said Dr. Roberto Bayardo, the Travis County 
medical examiner.

Clark had a few Taser gun injuries, which look like small pricks from 
a two-tined fork, and had been sprayed in the face with pepper spray, 
Bayardo said. Clark also had a few minor scrapes.

Bayardo said he could not comment on how many Taser injuries Clark 
had or where they were because the autopsy was done by Deputy Medical 
Examiner Elizabeth Peacock, who was not available for comment Tuesday.

The two Austin police officers who used their Tasers, Drake and 
Eiben, were placed on restrictive duty, which is standard procedure 
when a death occurs, said Laura Albrecht, a department spokeswoman. 
Police records show no disciplinary actions against either officer.

According to the department's policy, officers are allowed to use 
Tasers to control a dangerous or violent person when deadly force 
doesn't appear to be necessary, if attempts to subdue someone by 
other tactics haven't worked or if it is unsafe for officers to 
approach the person.

Only one officer is allowed to use a Taser on a person unless it is 
obvious that it did not work, according to the policy. Officers also 
must warn a person that they are going to use a Taser, unless the 
warning would jeopardize the officers.

Albrecht said it was too early in the investigation to determine how 
many times the weapons were fired against Clark and whether they were 
fired at close range or from a distance. There was video taken of the 
incident but it was not being released Tuesday, Albrecht said. She 
declined to comment further.

After using a Taser, officers are to notify their supervisors 
immediately, gather the used cartridges and electrical probes to be 
used as evidence, and download the electronic firing data from the 
Taser. The firing data are then to be attached to a use-of-force form 
for review by supervisors, according to the department's policy.

The Central Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union 
condemned the use of Tasers by the department in a Tuesday afternoon 
protest by a handful of people at police headquarters.

Austin Dullnig, an ACLU spokesman, called for a moratorium on use of 
the devices and a more uniform discipline matrix for the department.

"Not four months ago, Daniel Rocha was shot in the back," Dullnig 
said. "If five officers cannot deal with a suspect with anything 
other than a lethal weapon, policy needs to change. If the police 
chief and the city manager don't do anything, then it's up to City 
Council. If the council doesn't do anything, then it's up to the 
people to vote them out of office."

Officer Julie Schroeder has said she shot Rocha because she thought 
the 18-year-old had taken her Taser gun during a struggle and was 
about to use it on her or a sergeant who had come to her aid.

The last person to die after Austin police used a Taser to subdue him 
was Abel Ortega Perez. Perez, 36, died after he was arrested June 16, 
2004. However, the Travis County medical examiner's office found the 
cause of death to be a cocaine overdose.

Clark had four felony convictions, according to Travis County court 
records. In 1990, he was sentenced to two years in jail for 
possession of cocaine, to four years for delivery of a controlled 
substance and to 10 years for aggravated robbery with a deadly 
weapon. In 2002, he was sentenced to 20 months in state jail for 
possession of cocaine.

He also had a misdemeanor conviction from 2002 for possession of 
marijuana within 1,000 feet of a drug-free zone.

The latest charge against Clark involved a misdemeanor charge of 
driving without a license in May.

Relatives said Clark was using crutches because of a leg injury he 
sustained Sunday and wouldn't have become violent with police. His 
wife, Monica Clark, said she didn't know about the events leading up 
to her husband's death.

The family was also frustrated by the lack of information they were 
receiving about the incident, said Glenda Guiton, Michael Clark's 
cousin. She said police have been changing the story of what 
happened, telling the family that there was also another man, not 
just a woman, involved in the fight prior to Clark's arrest.

But the family's biggest question is why police went beyond pepper 
spray and used the Taser more than once.

The use of Tasers has been widely debated among civil rights groups 
because their safety has not been firmly established. More than 70 
people have died from Tasers in the United States since 2001, Amnesty 
International says.

Gathered on the front porch of the Clark family home on East 21st 
Street on Tuesday, relatives remembered Clark as a fun-loving guy who 
liked to play with his son, Michael Jr., and pick people up in giant bear hugs.

"No matter what the problem was, if you came over here, Michael was 
going to have you smiling when you leave," said cousin Larry Foley.

"If you want to uphold the law, one man doesn't have the right to 
take another man's life," Monica Clark said.
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