As usual, the police are in the news once again for their terrible actions. It has been confirmed in the release of an official police report, that an African-American woman, Natasha McKenna, died as a result of extreme force and unprofessional conduct by police officers who took her into custody.
According to the Fairfax County Police, Natasha was arrested and detained on January 26 this year, and was charged with assault on a law enforcement officer. People who knew Natasha have contradicted the police statement, saying she had not assaulted a police officer. They say she was being held at the Fairfax jail’s mental health unit for an unknown offence.
Others also say Natasha herself was the one who initiated police contact, by calling 911 after being assaulted by an unknown person. It is unclear why the police arrested her instead of her attacker. Since her arrest, her family has confirmed that she has been moved between jails and hospitals continuously without any explanation.
“They didn’t need to confront her this way. They made it worse. She was mentally sick,” Natasha’s mother, Marlene Williams said.
A comprehensive report put together by the Washington Post, surrounding Natasha’s death, revealed that Natasha died “after a stun gun was used on her at the Fairfax County jail in February was restrained with handcuffs behind her back, leg shackles and a mask when a sheriff’s deputy shocked her four times.”
In fact, the Post report was based on an official police investigation report on Natasha’s death. Since, many have expressed concern about the report. However, as it stands now, no action has been taken against the officers involved at the Fairfax County Police Department.
The Post described Natasha as “a petite mother of a young child and any explanation as to why it was acceptable to use a Taser four times on a woman whose hands are handcuffed behind her back, legs restrained, with a mask on is completely bogus.”
Experts on the use of Taser have shared their opinion on the tragic incident with the Post, saying it is unreasonable for the police to have used the Taser in that reckless way.
“Numerous experts said the use of a stun gun on a fully restrained prisoner was an unreasonable use of force, particularly in a jail setting where a person is unlikely to flee. They also said Tasers are not recommended for use on the mentally ill. The manufacturer of Taser products even warns against using them on people” who are in a state of “excited delirium. Using a stun gun more than three times is thought to be above the threshold for use on a single person,” the Post said.
Richard Lichten, a use-of-force expert and former jail official in Los Angeles, was also quoted as saying “She wasn’t a threat; she wasn’t going anywhere; she was restrained. It feels excessive, unnecessary and out of policy, based on what you’re telling me.”
In the light of this evidence, activists have said plainly, that Natasha was murdered by the Fairfax County police.
What has also contributed to the suspicions of Natasha’s murder, is that fact that the police have yet to explain, in detail, the event that led to the arrest of Natasha. All that has been stated, by the police, is that she assaulted a police office, however information regarding why, or even where she allegedly assaulted the officer, is being withheld from the public.
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Start an open season on cops. On every body post a note that says “for every one of us you kill, we will kill one of you…and so far you’re ahead by a few thousand. Let the games begin.”
Why doesn’t Anonymous, who’re supposed to stand up for the abuses of the government, their institutions and their abuses against the people, hack the police computers to get the REAL reports on these killings? Hang their laundry out to dry and then there is a much better chance of affecting some kind of change.