26 year old Daniel Johnson and his 58 year old father, who suffers from a neurological disorder, were standing in the driveway of their home, when a cigarette that the father was smoking fell from his hand. Two LA county deputy sheriffs approached the father and issued a $1,000 ticket for littering.
The son tried explaining that his father had nerve damage, at which point Deputy Abdulfattah threatened the son with arrest for obstruction of justice. The son then turned around and started walking back to the house, but was grabbed from behind by Deputy Russell who slammed him into the squad car and put him into a "full nelson." While unable to move, Deputy Abdulfattah proceeded to Tase him repeatedly in the genitals.
Papers presented in a lawsuit against the officers stated: "Mr. Johnson could smell his flesh burning from the Tases and he was screaming in pain. [Deputy] Abdulfattah continued to intentionally shoot his Taser at plaintiff’s genitals every couple seconds. Mr. Johnson begged Abdulfattah to stop Tasing him. His mother and father repeatedly asked Abdulfattah to stop Tasing him. Deputy Abdulfattah did not stop.”
Tasers emit 50,000 volts of electricity, which means Daniel Johnson was made to absorb one half MILLION volts of electricity in his most vital area.
The complaint also noted that Abdulfattah has previously faced multiple complaints of excessive force. The case is ongoing.
But what really struck me was that when I went to do further research on the story, and typed into Google "news for man Tased in genitals," instead of seeing listings for the article I was working on, the following links appeared:
California cops sued for firing Taser at teenager's testicles
Man Tasered by police in testicles calls it "brutal"
Police Taser in genitals sparks investigations, brutality suit
Boise police threaten to Tase man's "ass" and "balls"
Philadelphia policewoman Tasers handcuffed man in testicles
Latest News - Taser manufacturer recommends use on genitals
To show the police are nondiscriminatory, there was this headline -
Police Taser transgender in the genitals
And not to be outdone -
U.S. air force girl gets Tased, crushes man's testicles [although that's another story all by itself]
Apparently, if you'll pardon the pun, there is a rash of testicle Tasing going on.
Surely this is a violation of civil rights, more appropriate to a black ops rendition site than to the streets of America. Amendment VIII of the Bill of Rights as enumerated in the Constitution of the United States clearly states: "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."
The Preamble to the Bill of Rights explains:
THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.
I maintain that the electrocuting of a man in his most personal parts 'misconstructs' the scope of government authority, is an abuse of power on its face, erodes the ground of public confidence, and does not ensure the beneficence of the government towards its people.
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