Police say both suspects struggled and both were charged with resisting arrest
TIVERTON — In separate incidents, two local men were tasered recently while being taken into custody by Tiverton police, the first time officers from this town have used taser technology.
The men were each charged with three offenses, among them resisting arrest.
Tasers are weapons that look and hold like a handgun, are typically holstered, and fire a temporarily disabling five-second electrical charge. Because they allow for the non-lethal use of force, they are in increasing use by law enforcement agencies, Tiverton Police Lieutenant Patrick W. Jones said. They are in use in Westport, Fall River, Portsmouth, and Newport, he said. Little Compton expects to have them shortly, a spokesperson said.
They were first deployed for use by Tiverton police on April 27 under a new taser policy that was implemented on Aug. 18, 2008. Their first actual uses to subdue suspects came on Aug. 29 and Sept. 15.
Two local incidents
In the first incident, at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29, the suspect tasered was a 180-pound 41-year-old Tiverton man.
Police reports say that a woman with a couple of friends and children had returned from the movies for a birthday party to find the man (identified as her boyfriend in the police report but from whom the report indicates she was divorced) apparently intoxicated, drinking beer, and watching television.
The woman called police indicating that the man was an unwanted party at the residence (which the report states was the man’s home address). A first officer, then a backup officer, arrived and sought to get him. to leave. A struggle took place in the yard when, police said, the man refused to allow himself to be searched for a weapon and grappled with the first officer.
The report says that he tried to return into the house, using his elbows and hands in an attempt to break the officer’s grip, and ending up on the ground as the first officer attempted to handcuff him.
When he continued to struggle, the officers sprayed the man with mace, then three times shot him with a “taser cycle” or electrical burst. The report states that between each use of force, he continued to struggle and try to make his way to the home.
He was charged with simple assault, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest, and was taken by Tiverton Rescue to Newport Hospital for taser probe removal (a nearly one and a half inch wired projectile with a half-inch long barbed pin that pierces the body and transmits the electrical charge).
The second incident occurred Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 11:40 p.m. A Tiverton woman called police to report that her 37-year-old son was “going crazy,” according to the police report, apparently from the effects of having taken a lot of insulin with a considerable amount of alcohol.
Two officers entered the residence and went to the man’s bedroom, and attempted to subdue him. The man struggled, allegedly attempted to reach for something, and resisted efforts to be lead out of the bedroom and down the hall. After being warned, he was “tased,” handcuffed, and taken out of the house to a police cruiser.
He was charged with domestic refusal to relinquish a telephone (he had attempted to prevent his mother from calling police), disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. He was transported by Tiverton Rescue to Newport Hospital, and than returned to police headquarters for further processing.
Tasers
The Tiverton department has eight tasers available to it, all purchased (at around $800 each) with drug forfeiture money, Lt. Jones said. The model used is the Taser X-26, he said. It is manufactured by Taser International, which calls the weapons “electronic control devices.” (www.taser.com/pages/default.aspx.)
Each Tiverton officer is trained in taser use by Officer James Rossi, a certified trainer
Taser “guns” are six to eight inches long. When the trigger is pulled, two outcomes can occur. If the suspect is at a distance, the taser can fire a wired projectile (that trails 60 feet of thin copper wire) that has a barbed pin that pierces the body and transmits one or more electrical charges, depending on the number of times (or cyles) for which the trigger is pulled.
Or the taser can be held directly against the body, with no projectile, and only an electrical jolt, being fired.
Lieutenant Jones said suspects who are tasered are routinely taken by rescue to the hospital for removal of the projectile.
They are never fired, he said, unless a warning — the officer calls out “taser, taser, taser” —is first given. Tasers are usually one-shot weapons, although Lieutenant Jones said a new three-shot taser is on the market. The device “keeps getting more and more advanced,” he said.
Tiv, don't tase me bro.
The number of Officers hurt fighting with idiots will be reduced with this device. Good job Chief, you seem to be working hard to make Tivertons officers safer.
haha I got to say these tasers are the greatest things since sliced bread. Take care of morons who do the stupidest things and do it from a distance how great is that.
Jack
On another note having been hit by many different voltages of lots of power over the years I have to say that stuff really hurts LOL
Jack
Anyone know if Officer Rossi is related to EP union wacko-o's John & Christine Rossi?
Does it really matter if he is related to them AKA(record holder for screen names taken away). I suppose if he us he will be a bad guy or perhaps you will then make up lies about him like you do to everyone else.
Jack this is not electro shock therapy,don't have a flash back.Ha Ha
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
This is not the first time the Tiverton Police has used tasers. They have had them since 1996-98 and I have known numerous people tazed by the Tiverton Police. So the scary thing is that it just has never been reported before. Tazers nowadays have functions built in to show they have baan fired. The older versions did not. So the sory should be why Tiverton Police Officers were hiding their taser usage in the past. I can testify to being tasered at 17 years old by the Tiverton Police for refusing a unlawful search. Tiverton police is as corrupt as they come and often conduct illegal searches and plannt drugs on people (and if discovered admit it being a joke to just try to get a confession or tips on other people who may have drugs). I also have witnesses to sexual abuse and illegal house searches and you are free to contact me to verify this information. They run their police force like the mob and rule by intimidation.
Sorry Ritual, but you are full of it. The only bad cop in Tiv.I remember was Sadoma, and he is gone, thanks to the good cops on our force.Clean up your act, your life will get better.
So, you know every cop in Tiverton and whether or not they are corrupt? Jethro either you are the stupidest person I have ever known for these assinine statements you make or you are connected somehow to these corrupt people and still the stupidest person I know for making these statements you make.
This guy actually sounds legit and i'm not just talking from his post, I have had people tell me things over the years about stuff that has happened to them over there.
You'd have to be a complete ass for denying someone stating a personal experience without first hand knowledge.
I know alot of cops in Tiverton and Portsmouth.Some went to school with me or my brothers ,some have arrested me. I have nothing but good to say about these guys.I was on the wrong side for a while my falt.I never blamed the cops, they never put drugs on me or searched me with out my concent.You don't no crap so shut your trap!
Jaqdadi you must want to take Rastamans place .Smoke your peace pipe and dream dream dream the night away.
Wow, you know the only real difference between us is the hyppocracy. I grew up in South Boston and Attleboro. I knew quite a few cops during my life and still do.
I sat on my back porch here about 4 yrs ago and listened to a conversation on the next deck over, about twenty feet away, with the police cheif of Central Falls, the new owner of the house, who was a Captain in the RI state police, as well as two other guys I can't remember their exact positions, one was from Pawtucket and the other I honestly don't remember. I wish to this day I had some kind of recording device handy because all these guys were talking about was a deal that had gone bad and what they needed to do about it. What I mean is someone was arrested that shouldn't have been and they were trying to ffigure out how they were going to "make it go away". No shit, I listened to them for about half an hr. I couldn't catch every word because I am only forty feet off the high tide line and the tide was coming in and making waves so as time went on it got more difficult to hear them.
So please, from my personal experience it would be impossible, especially for someone such as yourself, to make the statement that any police dept is clean. Really, do you think that any reasonable person on this site believes you.
Some will believe it because the no the people I do.This is a small town, about 35 cops.We have a good chief who is on the ball.This is not one of the cities up north.We have a good bunch of guys, alot of them grew up in this area .They have family and friend here.You are off base, believe it or not
Man, you are so misguided. Small towns are the best place for corruption. It is far easier to manage a situation in a small town tha big city.
Boy, I bet the cops in Tiverton are having a big laugh at you standing up for them on something like this. RFLMAO
So, the MP's in Honolulu back in the 80's that were good guys from nice families, who stomped on my face for no reason. They didn't arrest me for anything. Just found me partying with some guys and girls on the beach. They took me back to the Ft Derussy MP station and kicked my butt, while I was in handcuffs, these were straight laced otherwise respectable guys. No charges, no arrest. That didn't happen?
I would bet they would not laugh at all.They here it from people like you every day.That's why I choose to defend there good work and denounce fools like you.
I would bet there was a reason,just by the way you act on this site.Were you smoking some mowey wowey and drinking a little.Ran your mouth like a tuff guy.
I don't make bets on human behavior, there are enough silly reasons not to. How am I acting on this site? Funny how people like you always resort to assinine incinuations like the reference to maui wowie. Probably just trying to bait me in to letting you know where to find some.
No thanks, random drug tests at work, not worth my job$$$$$$
I normally check the comments on this site and just laugh at the stupidity. I am hoping that on this particular occasion people are making these comments just to get a rise out of others. Jaqdadi, if you have specific evidence of illegal activities at the Tiverton police Department then you have a responsibility as a citizen to share this information with the proper authorities (Attorney General's Office, Rhode Island State Police, FBI, etc.). Clearly you have not done that, you have chosen to make posts on this foolish site. The Tiverton Police Department has not had Tasers, or any other type of electronic device prior to this year. You do not know people that have been tased. If you were assaulted by MP's (these are not police officers) in the past than your issue is with those individuals and and that agency. The members of the Tiverton Police Department go out and do a dangerous job every day. This 'thin blue line" allows us to enjoy the quality of life that we have grown used to. My only hope is that you are using this forum to further any political agenda. Please issue an apology for these false accusations.
A+, Spenser!
