Family of Teen Who Died After Being Tased Reaches $12M Settlement

[EvilEyeFleegle]

My take? The State has plenty of money...they only had one son. Killed because he was riding an ATV in a residential area...tased while riding...at the age of 15....


Family of Teen Who Died After Being Tased Reaches $12 Million Settlement

The family of a 15-year-old who died after a Michigan state trooper stunned him with a Taser has settled a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Michigan State Police for $12 million, a family lawyer said Sunday.
The family of the teenager, Damon Grimes, will receive $7.8 million from the settlement, and family lawyers will receive about $4 million, according to court documents.
“We hope this kind of money will act as a deterrent, but unfortunately it rarely does,” said George Fieger, a lawyer for Damon’s family. Mr. Fieger added that the settlement is the largest ever paid by the Michigan State Police Department for a single incident.
In August 2017, Michigan State troopers followed Damon in their patrol car after they spotted him illegally riding an A.T.V. in a residential area of Detroit. The troopers asked Damon to pull over. When he did not stop immediately, an officer in the passenger seat of the patrol car pulled out his Taser and stunned Damon.

Damon then crashed into the back of a parked truck and died shortly after. Mark Bessner, the police officer who stunned Damon, was suspended and later resigned.
After two trials — the first ended with a hung jury in 2018 — Mr. Bessner was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in 2019. He was also charged with second-degree murder, but he was not found guilty on that charge.
Mr. Bessner was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison, according to court documents

 

[EvilCat Breath]

If only the kid had done what he was told. If only he didn't think he could be defiant. He would be alive today.

 

[Crepitus]

If only the kid had done what he was told. If only he didn't think he could be defiant. He would be alive today.

If only that idiot hadnt tased him while he was driving he would be alive and the cop would be outta jail.

Seriously, how did that guy think this was gonna end? Tazing a driver in a moving vehicle may be the dumbest, most thoughtless act of stupidity for the decade.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

If only we legalized all crime and abolished the police.

 

[pknopp]

I'm glad that I live where a person can ride their 4 wheeler on the street and not get tazed.

 

[CarlinAnnArbor]

I'm glad that I live where a person can ride their 4 wheeler on the street and not get tazed.

Until that kid kills someone, then you'd be blaming the police

 

[Polishprince]

My take? The State has plenty of money...they only had one son. Killed because he was riding an ATV in a residential area...tased while riding...at the age of 15....


Family of Teen Who Died After Being Tased Reaches $12 Million Settlement

The family of a 15-year-old who died after a Michigan state trooper stunned him with a Taser has settled a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Michigan State Police for $12 million, a family lawyer said Sunday.
The family of the teenager, Damon Grimes, will receive $7.8 million from the settlement, and family lawyers will receive about $4 million, according to court documents.
“We hope this kind of money will act as a deterrent, but unfortunately it rarely does,” said George Fieger, a lawyer for Damon’s family. Mr. Fieger added that the settlement is the largest ever paid by the Michigan State Police Department for a single incident.
In August 2017, Michigan State troopers followed Damon in their patrol car after they spotted him illegally riding an A.T.V. in a residential area of Detroit. The troopers asked Damon to pull over. When he did not stop immediately, an officer in the passenger seat of the patrol car pulled out his Taser and stunned Damon.

Damon then crashed into the back of a parked truck and died shortly after. Mark Bessner, the police officer who stunned Damon, was suspended and later resigned.
After two trials — the first ended with a hung jury in 2018 — Mr. Bessner was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in 2019. He was also charged with second-degree murder, but he was not found guilty on that charge.
Mr. Bessner was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison, according to court documents

Officer Bessner was sort of a dumbass, taking any kind of aggressive action against one of America's Sacred Cows- a black teenaged boy- especially in the city of Detroit.

Very similar to shooting a cow on the streets of Calcutta, something you don't do even if the cow is attacking an innocent child.

 

[pknopp]

I'm glad that I live where a person can ride their 4 wheeler on the street and not get tazed.

Until that kid kills someone, then you'd be blaming the police

The odds of killing someone on a 4 wheeler (other than yourself) is very slim.

 

[Camp]

Hopefully, the cop is being routinely sodomized during his brief vacation.

 

[Crepitus]

If only we legalized all crime and abolished the police.

Why not?

I mean if gun laws don't work then none of them do, right?

I'm glad that I live where a person can ride their 4 wheeler on the street and not get tazed.

Until that kid kills someone, then you'd be blaming the police

Which do you think is more likely to lead to a fatality, riding a four wheeler on the street, or tazing the driver of a moving vehicle?

Take your time....

 

[CarlinAnnArbor]

I'm glad that I live where a person can ride their 4 wheeler on the street and not get tazed.

Until that kid kills someone, then you'd be blaming the police

The odds of killing someone on a 4 wheeler (other than yourself) is very slim.

I'm pretty sure you're not aware of the details

 

[pknopp]

I'm glad that I live where a person can ride their 4 wheeler on the street and not get tazed.

Until that kid kills someone, then you'd be blaming the police

The odds of killing someone on a 4 wheeler (other than yourself) is very slim.

I'm pretty sure you're not aware of the details

I don't have to be to have said what I said.

 

[dblack]

If only the kid had done what he was told. If only he didn't think he could be defiant. He would be alive today.

Authoritarians love seeing this kind of shit.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

What is most likely to lead to a fatality is teaching teens that laws simply do not apply to them. They can do what ever they want.

 

[pknopp]

What is most likely to lead to a fatality is teaching teens that laws simply do not apply to them. They can do what ever they want.

As long as we are telling bankers and employers that laws do not apply to them I'm OK with not tasering some kid riding a 4 wheeler.

 

[jameny5]

This is tragic nevertheless but, this is called an officer not using his head. It sounds like the person was shot with a taser from a moving police car and caused this person to crash and die. Note: I was not there. I could be wrong.

What most people know is that an ATV is a dangerous vehicle on public roads and off roads. What did this officer hope to achieve by discharging that taser? The boy was going to stop immediately? I don't recall any person being jolted with 50,000 volts to get them to stop on an ATV on the regular. How did this officer assume or come to the conclusion that this would be the result? The taser was an item of convenience. In the SOP - I doubt the taser was allowed to be used for what this officer used it for - an apprehension.

I know some people are going to have smart comments and blame the man for his own demise as usual but, his police department is going to pay dearly for dumb decision. I have knives in my kitchen to cut meat and poultry. I can't go outside gungho and do whatever I want with them. This is just sad. Plain sad!

 

[dblack]

What is most likely to lead to a fatality is teaching teens that laws simply do not apply to them. They can do what ever they want.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

What is most likely to lead to a fatality is teaching teens that laws simply do not apply to them. They can do what ever they want.

As long as we are telling bankers and employers that laws do not apply to them I'm OK with not tasering some kid riding a 4 wheeler.

I'm okay with the cretin being dead.

 

[Polishprince]

Hopefully, the cop is being routinely sodomized during his brief vacation.

You never know, the gentleman might well be a Homosexual and into that.

 

[QuickHitCurepon]

Death of teen exposes risks of expanded Taser usage (August 1, 2010) Victor Steen was the fourth person who died in Florida in 2009 in a Taser incident. He was fleeing on bicycle from an officer when he fell from his bicycle; the officer's cruiser then ran over him. Late one night in October, a 17-year-old on a bike was chased by a police officer in a cruiser. When the boy refused to stop, the officer aimed his Taser out the driver's window and fired. The boy fell off the bike and the cruiser ran over him, killing him.