Man Dies After Police Taser Him

[bullets13]

May 18, 2009 - 9:48 AM

Lance Edwards

LA MARQUE, Texas (AP) - A man police believed to have been intoxicated died after officers used a Taser to subdue him near Galveston.

La Marque Police Chief Richard Price says officers found the man rolling around in a ditch about 10:30 p.m. Sunday. Price says the man fought with three officers when they tried to take him into custody.

When the officers used the shock gun on the man, he collapsed and was taken to Mainland Medical Center in nearby Texas City, where he died. 

Price says the officers were bruised in the fight but were not injured severely. They've been assigned to administrative duties until the investigation is complete. 

The man's identity hasn't been released. 

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.

[stang4life]

Wonder what his criminal history was?  I am quite surprised that that wasn't part of the press release under the circumstances.  Things that make us go hmmmmmmmm........

Truly wishing those officers a speedy recovery from the bruises they sustained in the altercation.  I know that their families are thankful that they are alive. 

[thetragichippy]

Sound Familiar:

LA MARQUE, TX (KTRK) -- Family members are left with a lot of questions about the death of their loved one while in police custody.

Police say Jamal Valentine was in a fight with officers in a ditch on Main Street in La Marque last night. He was hit with a Taser and died shortly afterwards.

We tried to talk to the police chief there this morning, but he won't comment. The district attorney's office has now taken over this investigation and the burden of answering a grieving family's questions.

Terrell wants to know how an encounter with police ended with his stepson's death.  "I just want to know what happened," said Terrell. "That's all, just want to know what happened."

Terrell says someone called his family overnight to warn them the 27-year-old Valentine was in a fight with police in the roadside ditch. But that's all he heard until his wife turned on the morning news.

"She said, 'I think that's our son, Troy'," said Terrell.  Overnight La Marque police confirmed they had shocked Valentine with a Taser. Officers told us they found him rolling around in a ditch, under the influence of alcohol or drugs. But when they tried to arrest him, officers say he put up a struggle.

"That could be," said Joe Spiller, Valentine's grandfather. "He struggled, but they didn't have to kill him. That's for sure."

Valentine's family says doctors at the Mainland Medical Center in Texas City told them they tried to revive him, but failed. Relatives tell us Valentine had two children, a boy and a girl, both under the age of three. Those relatives say he struggled with his life, but lost his chance at a promising future.

"Good boy," said Spiller. "He was a good kid."

The officers involved in this incident have been taken off the street until an investigation is complete. The DA's office has not returned our calls, but we will let you if we hear of any new developments.

Lesson would be to stay out of the ditches, there is the problem.

     

[Bucof2010]

Wonder how long it'll take Quannel to arrive?

[thetragichippy]

Wonder what his criminal history was?  I am quite surprised that that wasn't part of the press release under the circumstances.  Things that make us go hmmmmmmmm........

Truly wishing those officers a speedy recovery from the bruises they sustained in the altercation.  I know that their families are thankful that they are alive. 

I bet you are! There were 134 officers in 2008 killed in the line of duty protecting us from criminals. There have been 48 already for 2009. Everytime an officer finds someone in a ditch or pulls someone over, they never know if they are going to be added to this list.

[bullets13]

i definitely prefer the familiy's reaction here to the one that we got in lumberton. 

[PN-G bamatex]

i definitely prefer the familiy's reaction here to the one that we got in lumberton. 

I couldn't agree with you more. Noone is jumping the gun or making accusations. Everyone seems to be waiting for the facts before they start doing anything controversial. This is a much better way to handle things.

[tvc184]

i definitely prefer the familiy's reaction here to the one that we got in lumberton. 

Due to demographics, I don't think you will hear anyone claim that 90% of LaMarque are racists.

[Pirate88]

Wonder how long it'll take Quannel to arrive?

I thought the exact same thing when I read the headline. He must be a white man, because the X is not on the spot!

[Bucof2010]

Wonder how long it'll take Quannel to arrive?

I thought the exact same thing when I read the headline. He must be a white man, because the X is not on the spot!

Police say Jamal Valentine was in a fight with officers in a ditch on Main Street in La Marque last night.

I think not  lol

[stang4life]

Wonder what his criminal history was?  I am quite surprised that that wasn't part of the press release under the circumstances.  Things that make us go hmmmmmmmm........

Truly wishing those officers a speedy recovery from the bruises they sustained in the altercation.  I know that their families are thankful that they are alive. 

I bet you are! There were 134 officers in 2008 killed in the line of duty protecting us from criminals. There have been 48 already for 2009. Everytime an officer finds someone in a ditch or pulls someone over, they never know if they are going to be added to this list.

I truly am.  Noone should lose their life at the hands of another. 

[stang4life]

I think the lesson would be not to be under the influence of any substance.  Perhaps the family of the victim is from LaMarque and therefore the situation does differ some from the one in Lumberton. 

[BearBryant]

Nothing good at all comes from these situations.  Sad for family and for all involved. 

[thetragichippy]

I think the lesson would be not to be under the influence of any substance.  Perhaps the family of the victim is from LaMarque and therefore the situation does differ some from the one in Lumberton. 

Agree and disagree at the same time. The only difference I see is that he may be from the same town as the officers, however that should not make a difference. What was the same:

1. Both in a ditch

2. One accused of being under the influence, the other uncooperative to the point a sobriety test was unable to be performed.

3. Both resisted arrest

4. Both tasered

5. Both died

It's a sad situation. I'm curious if the death resulted from the taser, the alcohol or drugs, or a combination of both.

[stang4life]

Sure it should.  If my child died in a town that I was unfamiliar with under similar circumstances and it was a not-very-diverse town/city...I can not say that I would have some of these same feelings.  Hopefully, none of will ever have to deal with it.

[Bigdog]

He was found to have PCP toxicity.

[tvc184]

Apparently Tasers and PCP don't mix well.

[thetragichippy]

TVC, your wrong.........It's Taser's, PCP and ditches.    ;D

[tvc184]

TVC, your wrong.........It's Taser's, PCP and ditches.    ;D

Well, I was 2/3's right.

[stang4life]

Wow...and you say that qx is bad...this is right up there with the crap that he represents. 

[thetragichippy]

Wow...and you say that qx is bad...this is right up there with the crap that he represents. 

Why? We don't go around spreading hate. I can only speak for myself (but I think TVC would agree) it's ALL about personal responsibility. I have NO sympathy for someone who is on PCP, rolling around in a ditch and trys to assault police officers who are trying to protect him (from himself) and from others. What if  Mr. Laday would have went in the other lane of traffic instead of in the ditch? What if it would have been YOUR KID driving in the opposite lane? What if it was a head on and your kid died due to a driver under the influence. You can feel sorry all day long about the misfortunate criminals out there....I DON'T. I'm out there sometimes and I don't want them killing me or my family.  It's called PERSONAL RESONSIBILITY!!!!!

On a side note, I don't think TVC would have been this blunt   

[stang4life]

I don't know how I would feel, just as I wouldn't know how I would feel if I were Mrs. Laday!  I would have been pissed.  Now...what if Mr. Laday would have been your kid?  The point it...he was still someone's kid.  He was high, had tattoos (possible gang-related), and was in Lumberton at 3 a.m....the point is he was still somebody's kid.  Sure, he might have made many mistakes in life (obviously one too many), but the way people have just made jokes about him dying...just not right.

We should all be personally responsible...trust me I agree with that, but just because you make mistakes in life doesn't mean you should be dispensable...just because you make mistakes doesn't mean your death should not be ridiculed (or manipulated by people who don't really care about the fact that you died). 

Trust me...I am all about PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!  Of course, I don't share the same views as you, so my opinion really isn't worth much, right? 

[baddog]

A man I know lives in Silsbee. He said the man did run across the opposing lanes and off the left side of the road.

Has anyone ever seen someone on PCP? They can exhibit superhuman strength, they feel no pain, and can fight more than two or three people. They are crazy out of their heads and probably don't even know where they are. I personally don't think Lumberton was his destination, just where he ended up. Had he driven towards Winnie, that's where he might have ended up. Just my two cents.

[stang4life]

Well, we might never know.  Besides, surely someone high on PCP wouldn't be IN Lumberton at 3 a.m.  I guess we'll just have to wait until the "facts" come out.

[PN-G bamatex]

At this point, hypothetical questions are too late. We don't know what LaDay's intentions or reasons were, but the fact is that this man played a part in his own death. He is moreso responsible for his death than anyone else. The Lumberton police officers' part in this was unintentional. They didn't mean to kill LaDay; they were using reasonable force given the circumstances. Although LaDay's death, in part, was caused by their actions, they can't be blamed for this. They had no intention to kill LaDay and had no way of knowing that he was high on PCP. LaDay essentially killed himself when he got high on PCP and took off driving. It's noone's fault but his. Does that make his life expendable? No. But he did it to himself. We didn't do it to him, LPD didn't do it to him, society didn't do it to him, LaDay did it to LaDay. It's horrible, and, moreso for the family's sake than LaDay's, I wish it didn't have to be that way, but we're just going to have to live with the fact that he basically killed himself.

Moral of the Story:

Don't do drugs and you won't have these problems.