Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Oglala Sioux Police tasers helpless Lakota man 10 to 20 times

Caught on video

Oglala police officer, non-Indian, repeatedly tasers helpless Lakota man

Update Aug. 28, 2014: Officer charged for tasering helpless Lakota man:
http://indigenousresistancejuly2014.blogspot.com/2014/08/former-officer-charged-for-repeatedly.html

Officer fired who repeatedly tasered a Lakota man who was passed out "to wake him up"
http://www.chadrad.com/newsstory.cfm?story=34620

By Brenda Norrell
Indigenous Resistance

MANDERSON, Pine Ridge, South Dakota -- Oglala Sioux police officer Becky Sotherland, non-Indian, tasered a helpless Lakota man on the ground 10 to 20 times. The abuse was caught on video.
Officer Sotherland claimed she was trying to wake the man up by repeatedly tasering him.
The Lakota man, 32, from Manderson, survived this police attack. However, more than 540 people have died as a result of being tasered.
The repeated tasering by this officer also magnifies the problem with poorly-trained, non-Indian police officers on Indian lands. 
While some non-Indian officers on Indian lands are poorly-trained, or simply lacking in common sense, others are racist and mean, repeatedly carrying out excessive force.
According to MSNBC in a previous article, Sotherland is white and not a tribal member.
    Sotherland, 32, is somewhat of an oddity on the force and the reservation. Unlike most of       her colleagues, she’s not a member of the tribe. She’s a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, former       hair salon-owner, former city coroner who describes herself as a “white mutt.”
The video of the tasering attack is available on Facebook. It has been shared 4,511 times since the police attack occurred on Friday.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=756477774413582
The Rapid City Journal, known for its bordertown journalism, failed in its coverage of this crucial incident. 
The Rapid City Journal says the man was tasered "several times" by the officer.
Last Real Indians, however, shared Sis Cliff's video of the incident on Facebook, and said the man was actually tasered 10 to 20 times. 
Watch the video and listen. It is not several.
Further, the Rapid City Journal goes from bad to worse with its coverage of this police abuse. The Journal continues the typical media response of covering up for police abuse with a second story on the officer's "good record."
Rapid City Journal: Poor journalism and worse:
Tasered 'several times'
http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/investigations-launched-into-multiple-taser-use-on-helpless-man/article_60dfe320-81d0-5ea7-a002-54cb9f12b119.html
Officer's 'good record'
http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/chief-tribal-officer-in-taser-incident-had-good-record/article_bb192d4b-fc93-50de-a380-c2bd18ec9991.html

Check back for updates

2 comments:

Ned Hamson said...

People die - way too many - every year because police and private security have no idea of how much is too much and because some folks think they can mete out punishment just because they can. Nerve damage is also common.

Unknown said...

Typical, whites dont deserve to be working on our Reservations, they look down their noses at us for the most part.