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Incompetent, COWARDLY, RACIST, Oz police LIE to avoid culpability
by barra Wednesday, Jun 17 2009, 11:29pm
national /
injustice/law /
commentary
It has emerged in the bright light of day that Queensland POLICE LIED to avoid responsibility for the brazen MURDER, with RACIST undertones, of ethnic Australian “Antonio Galeano” who died after receiving twenty eight (28) bursts from a POLICE TASER – a far cry from the three (3) bursts police originally claimed they inflicted! This new revelation leaves little doubt that criminal charges must be laid and pursued with vigour against those responsible for the murder. It is painfully clear, after similar revelations of TASER ABUSE in NSW, that all Australian police require thorough screening for racism, sadism, cowardice and other obvious psychological flaws that would interfere with their duties and pose a RISK to the PUBLIC – which ironically is the group police are commissioned to protect!
After the now highly revealing racist pursuit of an INNOCENT, dark-skinned, Indian doctor (Haneef) by Federal Police Chief, Mick Keelty, it is hardly surprising that the ‘tactics’ employed by lower levels of State police are exceedingly gross and DANGEROUS to the extreme.
In the few short months that TASERS have been issued to the NEW BREED OF COWARDLY, RACIST, AUSTRALIAN POLICE, three deaths have been recorded – to place that in context, the DEATH PENALTY has BEEN APPLIED for minor offences on each occasion. In NSW a pedestrian was repeatedly TASERED for not complying with a traffic regulation – for pity’s sake!
I leave the good, just and fair people of Australia to make their own decisions regarding gross incompetence, collusion and possible corruption at the highest levels of State and Federal politics.
The most effective method of sending a clear message to our incompetent and corrupt leaders is to VOTE for real INDEPENDENT REPRESENTATION at every local, state, and federal election – things were not always like this. Restore the nation, VOTE INDEPENDENT!
I leave you with the following EVASIVE report from the local ABC:
Taser death: stun gun fired 28 times
Civil liberties groups are demanding a more thorough investigation after it emerged a Queensland man who died during an arrest last week may have been tasered by police more than 20 times.
Queensland Police initially told the media the Taser was used up to three times when officers tried to arrest Antonio Galeano during a violent struggle at Brandon, south of Townsville, last Friday.
The 39-year-old collapsed and died a short time after being stunned by the 50,000 volt gun.
Data collected from the weapon reveals it was fired 28 times. The data does not reveal the target.
Further testing is being done but the police union is standing by the officer who fired the weapon.
On Monday, Police Minister Neil Roberts and Commissioner Bob Atkinson suspended any further rollout of the Tasers and ordered the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) to review the use of the gun.
Queensland police say the investigation into the man's death will be completed within a month.
Investigation
The Deputy Commissioner of Queensland Police, Ian Stewart, says it is not clear how many times Mr Galeano was stunned.
He told ABC Radio's AM program that police are trying to work out just how the Taser was activated each time.
"Whether or not they were in probe mode - where the weapon is actually fired and the probes are ejected from the weapon, or whether it was in stun drive mode - where the weapon is placed against a person or an object," he said.
He says there is an ongoing investigation into all of the circumstances involved in the incident.
"I am not going to talk about the specifics of that investigation, only to say that as a result of further information that came to hand from that investigation the review into Tasers has been commenced," he said.
"That is an independent review in terms of our ethical standards and jointly with the CMC in Queensland undertaking a review of our policies, training and monitoring of the use of our Tasers.
"The review is expected to be completed within four weeks and then obviously there is issues to do with the inquiry being conducted by the coroner, but the information that can be released will be released to the public."
Deputy Commissioner Stewart would not comment on whether Mr Galeano was handcuffed when he was tasered.
He says there are significant policies surrounding the use of Tasers and they are used only in serious matters.
"It is a serious use of force option which we make available, next only to the use of a service firearm, and the reality is that the use of Tasers actually saves lives," he said.
He says there is policy in relation to the number of times a Taser can be fired at someone.
"We do have policy in relation to this but it's situational, meaning that we ask our officers to reassess constantly their use of any force option available to them and that includes Tasers."
'Baffling data'
Queensland Police Union acting president Ian Leavers says it is hard to know exactly what happened during the arrest at Brandon last Friday.
"The reported results of the gun's data are baffling, concerning, and I believe are at odds with a number of other crucial pieces of evidence," he said.
"It should be remembered that there are a number of other crucial testing results that will shed more light on the likely cause of death."
Mr Leavers says Mr Galeano was extremely aggressive, armed with an iron bar and broken glass, and had harmed himself before officers tried to arrest him.
He says he is confident the officers involved have been honest and frank during the investigation.
"I've spoken to them at length - I spoke to them in Ayr - and I'm confident they told the truth," Mr Leavers said.
Mr Leavers has called on the State Government to immediately free up funds to install camera attachments on all Tasers.
"I believe at this point in time it is imperative that we have cameras attached to all Tasers because that will record each and every movement everything that happens - than there can be no doubt," he said.
© 2009 ABC
Related:
http://cleaves.zapto.org/news/story-1608.html
http://cleaves.zapto.org/news/story-1588.html
See:
http://cleaves.zapto.org/news/story-1600.html
http://abc.com.au/news/stories/2009/06/18/2601290.htm COMMENTS show latest comments first show comment titles only
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'I begged them to stop'
by Marissa Calligeros via talya - Brisbane Times Thursday, Jun 18 2009, 10:26pm
[Anyone with the least experience of Australia's current stock of COWARDLY, incompetent, racist, brutal AND SADISTIC police, would immediately recognise the following eyewitness account as ACCURATE!
Follow police tactics carefully, they are now seeking refuge with the QLD Coroner, who we remember exonerated a Queensland police officer for the bashing murder of an Aboriginal man (human being) on Palm Island. That victim died of a brutal bashing; injuries sustained (in police custody) included a completely SEVERED LIVER! The Police officer on trial offered the excuse that he "fell on him" (and completely SEVERED the victim's liver -- yea, sure!) Only in Queensland, and possibly WA!
In the event the corrupt, collusive and racist Queensland Coroner attempts to exonerate TASER-murdering police, FEDERAL INTERVENTION WOULD CLEARLY be REQUIRED! However, we should bear in mind that the current PM, Kevin Rudd, is a Queenslander. We shall see! Ed.]
A woman claiming to have witnessed a fatal Taser incident in north Queensland last week says she begged police to stop continuously zapping him with the electric stun gun moments before he died.
Antonio Galeano, 39, died after being shot with a 50,000-volt Taser stun gun during a violent confrontation with police at a unit in Brandon, near Townsville last Friday.
Police initially said Mr Galeano was shot three times but data recorded by the Taser showed it operated on 28 separate cycles during the confrontation.
The Australian newspaper says a post-mortem examination by pathologists found the man - had a pre-existing heart condition - died in handcuffs just 10 minutes after being shot with the Taser.
A police source told brisbanetimes.com.au Mr Galeano was "talking and lucid" before he suffered the heart attack.
Brandon woman Sandra Winn - who has made a statement to the Queensland Police Ethical Standards unit - reportedly said she saw police Taser Mr Galeano seven times, and begged the officers to stop.
"The police officer states that he only used that Taser ... three times," Ms Winn told The Townsville Bulletin.
"He hit him through the window here, the first time, hit him in the chest.
"Toni fell down, he hit the ground, I heard him."
Ms Winn declined to speak to brisbanetimes.com.au when contacted this morning, as she was on her way to Mr Galeano's funeral, to be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Ayr.
Mr Galeano's parents Carmelo and Agata said their son was "dearly loved". His son Blake and sister Giovanna and extended family will pay their final respects at Ayr Cemetery.
Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson last week said Mr Galeano, who was clutching shards of glass and an iron bar, had assaulted a woman before she ran to a nearby unit and called police.
However, police have been unable to confirm how many people were in the unit at the time of the incident.
"I stood up on that chair (and looked through the window from outside) by that time they'd gone in," Ms Winn told The Townsville Bulletin.
"The police officer was standing over him and going (makes Taser motions) on his back.
"I was screaming (at) this window ... at the police officer stop, stop, stop you are supposed to be helping me. How many times can you hit him with that before you're going to kill him?"
Ethical Standards Command Assistant Commissioner Peter Martin said an investigation into the man's death would endeavour to compare the number of Taser "bite marks" on Mr Galeano's body with the data obtained from the Taser.
"That is the subject of our investigation - all the dimensions associated with the potential development of that device," Assistant Commissioner Martin said.
"We are looking at a range of investigative methodologies in an attempt to ascertain how the device was used.
"That level of detail about this investigation I'm not prepared to discuss, but I can tell you that the issues (surrounding body marks) are the subject of the investigation."
The Assistance Commissioner confirmed the investigation centred on the male constable, who deployed his Taser in probe mode, as the first-year female constable was not trained in its use and had not been issued with the device.
Queensland Police Union of Employees Acting General President Ian Leavers has slammed recent media coverage of the incident, as sensational, emotive and irresponsible.
"It has been commonly reported that the deceased was tasered 28 times, when as yet, there is no evidence to support that claim," Mr Leavers said
"Information does not constitute evidence that the deceased was exposed to 28 Taser shocks. In fact it conflicts with a number of other crucial pieces of evidence.
"It's time to stop this ridiculous speculation and let the Coroner properly examine all the available evidence."
Mr Leavers praised police arguing that Tasers had regularly been used to peacefully resolve otherwise potentially fatal situations in Queensland many times since their issue earlier this year.
"It is important that we do not overreact to the media hysteria to the detriment of good policing practice."
He renewed calls for the State Government to commit to funding camera attachments for all Tasers.
© 2009. Fairfax Digital
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/i-begged-them-to-stop-20090619-cm7l.html
Eleven police officers linked to scam remain in Queensland force
by Sarah Elks via talya - The Australian Tuesday, Jul 21 2009, 11:22pm
ALMOST half of the 25 police officers implicated by the Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission in rackets involving a double murder are still serving in the force.
Responding to the CMC's damning Operation Capri report, Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said the 11 officers had been given “managerial guidance” and that he thought the response was adequate.
The CMC report lifts the lid on allegations that detectives with the armed holdup squad ran a scam to misuse reward money allocated for information on unsolved bank robberies.
Police improperly removed prisoners from jail to induce them to confess to unsolved heists and other crimes with unofficial “rewards”, the CMC alleged.
Other police allegedly diverted phone calls made by Lee Owen Henderson - the convicted murderer at the centre of the web - to allow him “virtually uncontrolled” communication from prison, all at police service expense.
Mr Atkinson denied that the revelations arising from Operation Capri signalled a return to the bad old days of pre-Fitzgerald Inquiry Queensland.
He said police would continue to work with the CMC to improve standards but acknowledged that the temptation for police to “do the wrong thing” would always exist.
While the findings were serious, the police force had come a long way from the systemic corruption of the pre-Fitzgerald Inquiry era.
“When you read (the) Fitzgerald (Inquiry report), we are a long, long way away from that,” he said.
Police Minister Neil Roberts said the officers' behaviour was “simply inacceptable” but said the Queensland public should still have faith in the integrity of their state's police.
Mr Roberts said Mr Atkinson should not be forced to resign from his role.
© 2009 News Limited
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25819464-601,00.html
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