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The police released a statement saying that the Tasering of a Brooklyn man who then fatally fell from a ledge seemed to have broken NYPD guidelines. Chief department spokesman Paul J. Browne said an airbag had been called to catch the victim, Inman Morales, but the lieutenant who issued the order for another officer to stun the man did not wait.
Morales, 35, who was apparently distraught as he stood naked on his fire escape and wielded a fluorescent light bulb, fell on his head outside his apartment building on Tompkins Avenue and later died at Kings County Hospital.
Browne also said, "None of the ... officers on the scene were positioned to break his fall, nor did they devise a plan in advance to do so." The guidelines say "when possible, the [conducted energy device] should not be used…in situations where the subject may fall from an elevated surface." The NY Times reports, "The lieutenant who gave the order was placed on modified assignment...while the officer who fired the device was given administrative duties." You can read the entire statement after the jump.
A witness told WCBS 2, "The mother was screaming, 'He's gonna fall, he's gonna fall!' And they said 'Ma'am step back.' They wouldn't allow the mother to talk to him."
On Wednesday, September 24 at approximately 1:50 PM, members of the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit responded to the report of an emotionally disturbed person at 489 Tompkins Avenue in Brooklyn. The individual, Inman Morales, fled out the window of his third-floor apartment to the fire escape. After unsuccessfully trying to enter the apartment of a fourth-floor neighbor from the fire escape, Morales fled to the second-floor fire escape, and from there onto the housing of a roll-down security gate, which was 10-feet, five inches from the sidewalk.As an ESU officer was in the process of securing himself on the second-floor fire escape, Morales jabbed at him with an eight-foot long florescent light. An ESU lieutenant directed another ESU officer on the sidewalk to employ a Conducted Energy Device (CED), commonly known as a Taser, against Morales, who fell to the sidewalk, striking his head. He was removed to Kings County Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
While officers had radioed for an inflatable bag as the incident unfolded, it had not yet arrived at the scene when Morales fell. None of the ESU officers on the scene were positioned to break his fall, nor did they devise a plan in advance to do so.
The order to employ the Taser under these circumstances appears to have violated guidelines, re-issued June 4, 2008, which specifically state that “when possible, the CED should not be used…in situations where the subject may fall from an elevated surface.”
The lieutenant who directed the use of the Taser has been placed on modified assignment. The officer has been assigned to administrative duties. The Brooklyn District Attorney has asked that neither officer be interviewed by the Police Department as the investigation into this incident continues.
Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne, New York City Police Department
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Typical NYPD sentiment: they don't give a shit about the person they're supposed to apprehend. They only care about their own safety.
I'd like to see how the PBA head Patrick the douchebag Lynch tries to frame this one.
Law & Order writers have the easiest jobs in the world thanks to the stupidity of the NYPD
NYPD = meatheads, absolute meatheads
The cops do a thankless job for little money and I'm second to none in support and admiration for them, but they blew it on this one.
Take the tasers away from the NYPD. Do it now!
I've always thought hating cops was a sort of leftist bohemian cliche that most people said but really didnt neccesarily mean.
But, fuck, I hate cops.
At least wait for the damn airbag to get there before you tase the guy for brandishing a light bulb while naked. They knew he was going to fall to the sidewalk. Shows a complete lack of respect for human life on their part, and the offending officers should be brought up on manslaughter charges.
As other commenters have pointed out, it seems pretty obvious that stunning Morales would have caused him to fall on the ground. And there clearly was no attempt to break his fall. Utterly unreal and tragic.
Thank goodness for the person who took this footage.
cops suck
This was clearly a situation where the first thought of the cops, after cordoning off the street to protect the public, should have been to consider this man a suicide threat. That would mean de-escalation the situation to calm the man, especially considering he didn't have a weapon that could reach anyone more than 10 feet away, and try to talk him off the ledge.
Instead the cop did the equivalent of ending a suicide attempt by preemptive murder.
Let's give the FDNY tasers so they can shock kittens out of trees!
Jen, that's a good point about getting the footage, because who knows what they would have put in the report if it wasn't on tape.
@Outter Burrougher--I know...there were certainly a lot of witnesses, but the footage is so powerful and disturbing.
The worst thing about this is that this wasn't the action of some rookie, this was the ESU. These guys are supposed to be the best; they're all experienced and supposedly well-trained.
In fact, the recent change in policy that has begun more widely equipping officers with tasers isn't relevant to this, because the ESU has had them for years.
Even ESU officers have to come up through the ranks. And the fact is that many police departments do not want really smart people to join the force. Too great a danger that they'll get bored and quit after being trained at the police academy at great expense. I wouldn't be surprised if NYPD has a similar policy for admission.
You lost me there Spirit.
The ESU unit is like being assigned to a Rescue unit in the FDNY. It is a very elite part of the NYPD. These people should know a bit more about handling distraught individuals. They don't get there by being just the average schmo. They are trained for the unusual. The supervising officer should be demoted to walking a beat.
david blaine has nothing on this guy. Dude fell only ten feet and died naked. david blaine fell 40 feet and lived while clothed.
It can't be that easy to lose you, Snoop. What's the proper phrase to put this in perspective? "You can polish a turd and it's still a turd." Police departments get turds and often want turds. Gems are too high-maintenance. The best of NYPD doesn't mean much when none of them are rocket scientists to begin with. Promoting someone to ESU is like putting lipstick on a pig, even if that pig has won a few state fair ribbons.
All the training in the world can't compensate for lack of raw intelligence. Does anyone really need to be trained to not disable somebody balanced on a high ledge or awning? No one should have to be told that. Anyone with half a brain should be able to figure out that that's a terrible idea. Don't shoot him, don't taser him, don't poke him with a pole, don't do anything that can cause him to lose his balance. That's just common sense.
WOW! I have never heard that term "putting lipstick on a pig" is that something you just came up with recently? Or are you are just like a cow regurgitating their cud? ESU officers are well trained and don't need guidance from a fool like you. It appears their commanding officer made a bad choice. The blame should be put on him.
This is what happens when you hire high school dropouts from Long Island and Jersey.
[18] Oh, and their "commanding officer" just came out of nowhere? Weren't you the one saying they're all some kind of elite force? He must have moved up the ranks from rookie, same as everyone else. A "fool like me" would have known better than to taser the man. If I am a fool, then what does that make your precious ESU which couldn't anticipate the man falling? Even a couple of guys holding a sheet between them could have caught him in lieu of an airbag. How hard is that? Instead, every last one of them just stood back and watched as he hit the sidewalk. Really smart guys there.
"A cow regurgitating their cud"? Little mix-up of antecedents there, no? Ah, senility, thy name be Snoopy.
You are a true idiot thinking that a bunch of cops holding a sheet would be able to brake the fall of an alleged perp. Why do you think that the FDNY does not use safety nets anymore? Because they are hazardous to the people holding the net, that's why.
But it's nice to see you back here. You look great wearing lipstick. Although the shade really should match your nail polish.
Attention:
All armed officers are warned to be aware of their
safety when faced with an Emotionally Disturbed Person naked and swinging a florescent tube if this
type of situation happens,shoot to kill.
I wish I was the lawyer for the family on this trial
to be.
Ah, the usual Snoopy drivel. Yeah, it is soooo dangerous to catch a guy falling about 10 feet (6 or 7 actually since the blanket would be a few feet above ground). Did someone fail Physics 101? Scratch that, did someone skip Physics 101?
Oh, brother. The old "call someone a faggot" scheme. Boy, are you stuck in the past. Stuff like that hasn't worked since the 1970s and hasn't worked well since the 1950s. Men are secure in their masculinity and don't need to go ballistic just because you can't do anything more than impugn their manliness. Every time you try this, it just makes you look more and more like a desperate old man whose emotional maturity never exceeded 13.
Sad, horrible story.
Spirit you were the first to mention lipstick.
I would like to see you and your buddies try to catch a well over a hundred pound individual in a blanket dropping from eight feet above you. Hopefully you will be the next naked individual standing on an awning with no one but ESU waiting to shoot you down.
LISTEN- dude had a florescent light. What would you have done?
OMG, a fluorescent light! Somebody shoot him, quick, before he, uh, just what can someone do with a fluorescent light?
And Snoopy was the first to mention a cow. I guess that makes him cow dung. Ever notice it's the trolls who claim they're amazingly rich? Babyhitler claims he withdrew his $200k out of WaMu. Snoopy claims he makes more in a month than we make every year. Yet both have nothing better to do than stick around here and post comments all day. Does either really believe people fall for these claims?
Whoops...
Even if he was over 200 pds I still believe a few guys, even with a sheet, could have prevented this man from cracking his skull. Sad story. I just thank God that no one calls ESU on me when I'm out naked recreating the epic final battle from Return of the Jedi.
Just wondering if the bulb lit up or even flickered a wee bit once he got lit up?
This is just a sad story for everyone. I am sad the man died-it was evident he needed help. It is clear the police employed the wrong strategy in dealing with this situation. The footage was horrifying to watch. The police have a tough job-but they accept that role. They also need to accept the criticism for fucking up on the job.