“This is done as a measure of control to [ensure] that if someone is going to flee or offer physical resistance, they will have to move their legs under them to do so,” the statement said. “Non-compliance is often a precursor to someone that is preparing to flee or fight with Officers.”<doc-sep>A video showing an unarmed Black man being tased by the police while he sits on a street curb has left a Pennsylvania mayor “upset” by what she saw. Lancaster Police Officers can be seen giving instructions to 27-year-old Sean Williams as he sits on a curb in a video, captured by an onlooker, posted on Facebook on Thursday, where he complies with the instructions given to him. A cop can be heard telling Williams to stretch his legs out, Williams doesn’t do so initially and that is when the officer pulls out the stun gun and repeats the instruction to him. https://www.instagram.com/p/BknFf0PHeHP/?taken-by=kevinlileskwl Another officer then says, “put your legs straight out and cross them, now.” When Williams places his legs in front of him but then pulls them back in, the officer standing behind him hits him with the Taser and arrest him. “Like you, when I saw the video I was upset by it and it is of great concern to me,” said Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace. “We take the use of force very seriously.” Sorace said that the incident has increased her desire to get body cameras for police officers. Law enforcement officials said that they were called because they got reports that Williams was threatening people in the area with a bat, despite no bat being found in the area, according to The Independent. “Non-compliance is often a precursor to someone that is preparing to flee or fight with Officers,” the police said in a statement online. Williams was looked at by medical professionals, arrested on an outstanding criminal and released on $5,000 bail, The Independent.<doc-sep>A Pennsylvania mayor has responded to a viral video showing a police officer tasing an unarmed black man who was siting down on a sidewalk curb in the back. Danene Sorace, the mayor of Lancaster, said that an investigation into the incident on Thursday made her upset, and that the video has reaffirmed her commitment to deploy body cameras to all officers in the City of Lancaster. “Like you, when I saw the video I was upset by it and it is of great concern to me,” Ms Sorace said in her statement. “We take the use of force very seriously”. Recommended Video shows Arizona police violently beating unarmed black man A video of the incident captured by a bystander shows the man, later identified as 27-year-old Sean Williams, sitting down on the curb with his arms outstretched and resting on his knees. Officers repeatedly tell him to extend his legs straight out, and he then extends them slightly. When an officer tells him to cross his legs, his feet move towards each other and the officer shoots the electric charge into his back. The video, posted originally on Facebook, quickly went viral online, attracting more than 115,000 views and 3,600 shares. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona.<doc-sep>Video Captures Pennsylvania Cop Tasing Unarmed, Compliant African-American Man Another incident involving what clearly seems to be the inappropriate use of force against an African-American man. Doug Mataconis · · 29 comments A newly released video shows a police officer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania using a Taser on an unarmed African-American male who had his back turned and was generally complying with the officer’s instructions: “Legs straight out or you’re getting tased,” the police officer can be heard saying on video, talking to an unarmed black man sitting on a curb. The man appears to begin following the officer’s directions, then folds his legs up again. The officer fires his stun gun. The man writhes in pain, then is handcuffed by officers while lying on his stomach. That encounter, captured by a bystander on a cellphone video Thursday morning in Lancaster, Pa., and then widely shared after being posted to Facebook, quickly led to a public outcry, including from the town’s mayor, who said an investigation would be conducted. The video shows Officer Philip Bernot of the Lancaster City Police Bureau repeatedly asking the man, Sean D. Williams, 27, to straighten his legs as Mr. Williams is sitting on a curb. According to a report from the Police Bureau, officers stopped Mr. Williams when responding to a 911 call about a man with a baseball bat. The video of the episode, which happened on Thursday morning, began circulating widely on social media, with many commenters saying the officer who fired the Taser appeared overzealous and decrying the use of a stun gun against a black man who appeared to be compliant. “He wasn’t combative at the time, he wasn’t running, he was curling his legs up,” said Geoffrey P. Alpert, a criminologist at the University of South Carolina who studies the use of force. “He wasn’t even resisting. There was no justification for any force.” Danene Sorace, Lancaster’s mayor, posted a video of herself commenting about the encounter to the city’s Facebook page on Thursday evening. She said that she was upset by what she had seen and that there was an investigation underway. Matthew Johnson, Ms. Sorace’s chief of staff, said Friday that there is an “ongoing internal police investigation” into the encounter that will determine whether department policies were violated. Mr. Johnson did not say when that investigation was expected to be completed. The Lancaster branch of the N.A.A.C.P. said on Thursday in a statement also posted to Facebook that it would investigate the encounter as well, noting that videos do not give a “full understanding” of such events and that “a full understanding requires a full investigation.” “This event highlights the need for strengthening the accountability and trust which necessarily characterizes a productive relationship between communities and law enforcement,” the Lancaster N.A.A.C.P. said in the statement. Here’s the video: While I suppose it’s fortunate that the officer involved in this incident used a Taser rather than a gun, which obviously would have resulted in the suspect involved in this incident being seriously injured if not killed, that hardly is a reason to ignore what happened here or to dismiss it. Regardless of the weapon or technique that was used, the improper use of force is still improper even if there isn’t any injury involved. Additionally, a group called the Center for Police Equity found in a 2016 study that African-Americans are more likely than others to be subjected to the use of force by police, whether that means deadly force like the use of a gun or a choke hold as in the case of Eric Garner or something seemingly less severe like a Taser. This also isn’t the first instance of a Taser being used against an African-American male under suspicious circumstances. Perhaps the most notable case came earlier this year when video footage showed Milwaukee police officers using such a device on Sterling Brown, a player for the N.B.A.’s Milwaukee Bucks. The circumstances of that case were not dissimilar to this one in that the video showed Brown was being compliant with officers and was not resisting them in any respect. While no charges appear to have resulted from that incident, three officers were suspended, one was discipline, and the Mayor of Milwaukee issued a public apology to Brown. In a 2009 incident in the San Francisco Bay area, a transit officer shot and killed Oscar Grant, an African-American man, while Grant was lying facedown on a train platform. The officer stated that the killing was an accident in that he had mistaken his pistol for his Taser, but he ended up being convicted of involuntary manslaughter. A year earlier in 2008, a New York City police officer fired a Taser on an emotionally disturbed man on a building ledge, which caused the man to fall to his death. This use of a Taser was contrary to department guidelines in place at the time. Finally, while its generally believed that Tasers are non-lethal, a recent investigation found that roughly 1,000 people had died after being stunned by a Taser since 2000, with the Taser being a contributing factor in the death in at least 150 of those cases. Taken in this context, the incident in Lancaster becomes even more disturbing. As in the case out of Milwaukee, which involved a player for the hometown N.B.A. franchise, the suspect in this case clearly seems to be complying with the requests of the officer. In any case, he was facing away from the officer and was not in any position to run away or cause danger to himself, the officer, or anyone else in the area at the time. At that point, there doesn’t seem to me to be any rational reason why he needed to be subjected to the seeming torture of having 50,000 volts of electricity pumped into his body simply because he apparently wasn’t moving his legs fast enough for the officer’s satisfaction.<doc-sep>
Disturbing footage of a police officer using a stun gun on an unarmed black man has gone viral. Concerned citizens took to Facebook to slam police for excessive use of force and giving “confusing” instructions to suspects. Police in the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania say they received a call on Thursday morning, claiming there was “a male with a bat.” When they arrived at the scene they found Sean Williams, who officers claim “refused to comply” to their instructions. Later police admitted that no bat was found at the scene of the incident. The footage captured by a bystander, shows a police officer telling an apparently-unarmed Williams to sit down on the curb and stretch his legs out in front of him and cross them at the ankle. He seems to misunderstand the instructions and stretches his legs out only partially and then moves them back under him. As he starts moving his legs towards the curb the officer uses a taser on him. Williams is seen writhing on the ground in pain. This police officer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania should be fired immediately. After he is fired, the District Attorney should immediately press charges for criminal assault. What he did here is completely illegal. This man was compliant, calm, unarmed, and non-violent. pic.twitter.com/kJCjzAoBiE — Shaun King (@ShaunKing) June 28, 2018 Later in a statement released by Lancaster police, officers explained that Williams wanted to fight a group of three people and attempted to prevent the woman in the group from entering her apartment. The group said Williams “was known to them” and that he had been “exhibiting increasing erratic behavior” over the previous few days. Officers found that there was an outstanding warrant for Williams’ arrest, with charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance (PCP) and Public Drunkenness. He was later released on a $5,000 bail. Originally posted on Facebook, the video quickly went viral, attracting more than 1.4 million views and 36,000 shares in less than 16 hours. Shocked viewers harshly criticized police actions, saying that the man was “no threat to anyone” and calling police actions “a crime.” Agreed. With yelling those nonsense instructions, it’s like they’re intentionally trying to create reasonable doubt. — Adrienne Lawrence (@AdrienneLaw) June 29, 2018 A man who witnessed the whole incident told local media that Williams was confused by police orders. “He first put them straight and then she said cross your legs, so he tried to cross his legs, tased him in the back (sic),” Juan Almestica said. Every single one of them—all going along with it like it’s okay. They are dangerous. This is terrifying. It was also so confusing, I wouldn’t have gotten all those weird instructions right, while I was afraid and trying to not look like a “threat.” — Brooke Thomas (@BrookeOnAir) June 29, 2018 People on social media echoed Almestica, saying that the instructions police gave to the man were truly “confusing” and “weird.” Utterly ridiculous police brutality•4 white cops taser a Black citizen for literally no reason •Black Guy sat on the curb, obeyed instructions, was non violent, did not resist, was calm•Within 20 seconds the cop tasers him#CJReformNOW#TakeAKneepic.twitter.com/N1ddtUI0lf — Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@MuslimIQ) June 28, 2018 Here’s hoping these cops have their names & whatever other personal info released publicly. Today once again showed us a white guy can shoot up a place & be taken in alive & without use of force but an unarmed nonviolent black man is assaulted & tasered for no reason. https://t.co/RgkT1GrZyk — Josh Neiman (@onceAwalker89) June 29, 2018 Journalist Glenn Greenwald denounced officers’ actions towards the man, saying that getting assaulted like this for “disobedience” is “sick.” “One officer orders him to extend his legs. Another orders him to cross his legs. When he tries to comply with both, they pump him full of electricity,” he wrote on Twitter. One officer orders him to extend his legs. Another orders him to cross his legs. When he tries to complies with both, they pump him full of electricity. The whole time he's calm, unthreatening and compliant. The idea that you get assaulted like this for "disobedience" is sick: https://t.co/G3ZKhNRDhH — Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) June 29, 2018 Police officers claim the instructions were meant to make sure the suspect was not going to flee. But the scope of the media fuss has reached the Lancaster mayor, who took to Facebook to explain that a probe into the Thursday incident i underway.