Three Georgia deputies face murder charges in tasing death

[Suzanimal]

Couldn't find a thread on this. If someone has posted, please report the post for a merge.

Three Georgia deputies face murder charges in tasing death

A prosecutor announced Friday he will seek felony murder charges against three Washington County sheriffs deputies for their role in the tasing death of a 58-year-old man reportedly “acting suspiciously.”

The decision comes after the GBI wrapped up its investigation of the death of Euree Lee Martin, killed July 8 while walking along Deepstep Road in Sandersville, about 120 miles southeast of Atlanta. District Attorney Hayward Altman said there’s been no evidence presented that Martin was breaking any laws at the time he encountered police.

Deputies Michael Howell, Henry Copeland and Rhett Scott were also fired Friday by Washington County’s sheriff. Their case will go before a grand jury on Dec. 19.

http://www.ajc.com/news/crime--law/s...GpOqNd5DEsOXK/

[Origanalist]

Not the bunch I would want to encounter walking down the road.

[Dr.3D]

They probably wanted to see if their tasers would work.

[SeanTX]

Plenty of time to tamper with the "random" grand jury selection -- there will be at least one active duty LEO, two retired ones, and two cop family members on it, I'm sure. A "No bill" and deputies re-hired is the likely result.

All while the DA throws up his hands and says, "well, we tried to prosecute the case, but the citizens didn't see a crime here" -- then he'll give them all a pat on the butt to welcome them back.

I guess there's video , but it's not being released -- if it would clear the deputies of wrongdoing it would have been released within 24 hours.

[angelatc]

Not the bunch I would want to encounter walking down the road.

From the looks of them they don't do much walking.

[angelatc]

All while the DA throws up his hands and says, "well, we tried to prosecute the case, but the citizens didn't see a crime here" -- then he'll give them all a pat on the butt to welcome them back.

.

Yep. In case it goes to trial, the DA will present a weak case, allow the defense to run roughshod over him, then let the jury do the dirty work.

[Suzanimal]

Yep. In case it goes to trial, the DA will present a weak case, allow the defense to run roughshod over him, then let the jury do the dirty work.

I'm sure they feared for their lives. /s

Sadly, you and Sean are probably right.

[SeanTX]

It looks like some "good citizen" called in a report of a "suspicious person walking." Someone named ' Cyrus Harris '. Maybe these callers should always be named, and held accountable for bogus reports ? What's with these people?

Me, I'm not calling the cops unless I see somebody walking around waving around a machete while his hair is on fire -- and then -- only maybe.

A while back I had a neighbor threaten me with a knife and I didn't bother calling the cops, knowing that they would just be interested in finding some reason to arrest me.

It also looks like the deceased committed contempt of cop by refusing to give his name and asking the deputy "who are you?"

That's something ultimately punishable by death in today's USA -- it all depends upon the mood of the cop(s) involved and how things proceed from there.

http://www.heraldbulletin.com/detail...36729670f.html

Details thin in case of Georgia man dead after being Tased by police

By Billy Hobbs | CNHI News Aug 7, 2017

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — It’s been nearly a month since 58-year-old Euree Lee Martin walked more than 15 miles from one Georgia city to another, where he was Tased by deputies with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, then collapsed and died.

Details surrounding the incident remain under wraps as the investigation continues, but Martin's death has sparked outcries for justice from officials with the NAACP, who are calling for the local district attorney to recuse himself from the case, citing his cordial working relationship with the sheriff's office in question.

Martin, who was known to walk the considerable distance from his home in Milledgeville to the city of Deepstep, Georgia, to visit family members, reportedly did that same thing Friday, July 7.

Shortly before 7:30 p.m., a Deepstep resident identifying himself as Cyrus Harris called a dispatcher with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office to report a suspicious person, according to a copy of the incident report from the call.

Deputy Michael Howell responded to the area, where he saw Martin walking on the right side of the road.

"I pulled alongside the black male with my passenger window down and asked the male subject, ‘Are you OK, and what’s your name.’ And he looked at me and asked, ‘Who are you,’ and he walked off walking toward Sandersville," Deputy Howell said in the report.

Nothing further was mentioned by the deputy in his incident report about what led to deputies deploying their department-issued Tasers on Martin.

[angelatc]

I'm sure they feared for their lives. /s

Sadly, you and Sean are probably right.

It would be either mildly interesting or insanely infuriating to check conviction rates at large against conviction rates of LEOs.

Wouldn't it be awesome if they didn't allow the juries to know the defendant was a cop? I'll bet that would change some of those outcomes.

[phill4paul]

It would be either mildly interesting or insanely infuriating to check conviction rates at large against conviction rates of LEOs.

Wouldn't it be awesome if they didn't allow the juries to know the defendant was a cop? I'll bet that would change some of those outcomes.

Absolutely!

[SeanTX]

The deputies were indicted by the grand jury, surprisingly.

Another case of some well-meaning(?) idiot dialing 911 over some none issue, in this case because somebody asked for a glass of water.

Well, the caller might have been concerned for the man's well-being, but the cops were more concerned about having their authority respected.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...icle-1.3712231

Three white Georgia deputies charged with murder of black man they shocked with Taser

Three Washington County deputies were indicted on several felony counts including murder, involuntary manslaughter and false imprisonment in the July 2017 death of Eurie Martin. (Handout)
BY
Elizabeth Elizalde

Updated: Thursday, December 21, 2017, 6:32 PM

A grand jury indicted three former Georgia white deputies Tuesday on charges of murder for using a Taser on a 58-year-old black man after he asked a stranger for water.

Deputies Michael Howell, Henry Copeland, and Rhett Scott, all with the Washington County Sheriff’s office, were indicted on charges of murder, involuntary manslaughter, false imprisonment and aggravated assault in the death of Euree Martin.

Martin was walking dozens of miles on a hot July 7 summer night when he asked a stranger for water, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The stranger then called 911 to report a person acting suspiciously, according to the newspaper. The deputies responded to the scene where they shocked Martin repeatedly with a Taser.

Video obtained by WMAZ-TV shows a man having convulsions on the ground as the deputies surround him.

Martin has never been charged with a crime. The deputies maintain that an altercation is what prompted them to use their Tasers on Martin. They were fired from the department in October.

[William Tell]

Wouldn't it be awesome if they didn't allow the juries to know the defendant was a cop? I'll bet that would change some of those outcomes.

Like 98% of them I bet.

[loveshiscountry]

Not the bunch I would want to encounter walking down the road.

It looks like the first 2 ate the road.

[SeanTX]

Time for the typical update , JustUs wins again -- judge throws out murder charges :

https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/...c-f39d00b5a5ee

'My God, what's goin' on?' | Judge's order breaks down Washington County fatal tasing
The judge last week dropped murder charges against three Washington County deputies, but his order raised new questions about the deadly-force case
Author: Bernie O'Donnell
Published: 2:34 PM EST December 5, 2019


SANDERSVILLE, Ga. — It all started with a man trying to fill a Coke can with water on a steamy midsummer day.

It ended with that man dead by the side of Deepstep Road in Washington County.

According to Judge H. Gibb Flanders, a superior court judge, it took about 16 minutes.

Flanders' order, issued last Monday, threw out murder charges against three former Washington County deputies who responded to a "suspicious person" call.

Two of them tased Eurie Martin more than a dozen times on July 7, 2017, and he died within minutes.

The judge's order breaks down what happened, almost minute by minute, and provides new details about how Martin died.

But those details also raise more questions about the case.

The judge writes, for example, that deputies didn't know the department's tasing policy, didn't understand the health risks of tasing and didn't realize that Martin was mentally ill.

Flanders also noted several times that the suspect was not violent or aggressive toward the deputies.

Despite that, the officers used deadly force on a man suspected of minor crimes -- loitering, walking on the highway and obstructing an officer -- a misdemeanor.

District Attorney Heyward Altman says he'll appeal Flanders' Nov. 25 ruling.

That means a higher court may decide whether the tasings were justified or whether Martin was -- as the head of Georgia's NAACP said two years ago -- electrocuted for "walking while black."