Trooper’s sadistic taser antics expensive for Alaska.
February 1, 2008 – 11:21 am
Trooper Eric Spitzer repeatedly tasered Kevin Patrick in the back while he was handcuffed and helpless, face down in the snow. A jury awarded him $1.8 million, reduced on appeal to only $575,000. A bargain for the state, considering Spitzer’s record.
Patrick claimed the Taser gun left permanent marks on his back, shoulder and chest. Witnesses testified at the original trial that they saw Spitzer tase Patrick multiple times, even after he was handcuffed. One bystander told the jury that every time Patrick cried out or screamed, Spitzer would hit him with the Taser gun. Troopers and the Attorney General’s office declined interviews on last week’s settlement, except to say that it “was not an admission of wrongdoing or liability on the part of the state or Trooper Spitzer.”
Between this and settlements for two separate incidents, Spitzer has cost the state nearly $700,000. Mr. Patrick’s attorney David Henderson wonders why he’s still a trooper. “The troopers, they keep paying out this money but they deny he’s ever done anything improper. The last time we did his deposition, he said after the $85,000 settlement, he was promoted into Anchorage into the undercover unit.” In Alaska, official wrongdoing earns a promotion.
Don’t expect the situation to improve. Despite the verdict and Spitzer’s record, troopers stand by him. According to their statement at the time, Spitzer acted professionally and reasonably in taking Patrick into custody, “which he did without injury to Mr. Patrick or to others.” There’s a racial angle here, too- Mr. Patrick is a Yupik person, and the original Bethel jury was all Native, a jury of peers. In a classic case of blaming the victim, made easier, no doubt, by the racial divide, one blogger published the following last February. Can you detect a slight bias in these remarks?
“I worked with Trooper Spitzer… for well over a year. I can say without reservation that he is one of the best law enforcement officers I have ever met. Consummately professional, incredibly driven, he represents the finest in Alaska law enforcement. This case illustrates the difficulty in enforcing the law in areas traditionally unreceptive to law enforcement. The settlement recognizes the futility in attempting a fair resolution with an accurate portrayal of the facts; it simply would not occur in Bethel.”
Thank goodness that Trooper Spitzer and his consummately professional, incredibly driven colleagues have the finest of modern Tasers to help them take up the white man’s burden.
2 Responses to “Trooper’s sadistic taser antics expensive for Alaska.”
Yes he sounds extremely professional doesn’t he and I love how they claim justification for a sadistic act. Here in Nebraska we had a mexican fellow murdered by Lincoln cops after being put in a choke hold for several minutes. They were looking for a domestic violence suspect that didn’t even match the mexican fellows discription. He was left in the cruser for 2 hours unattended where he died, with the cops never bothering to check on him. The officers were put on trial for manslaughter with their fellow cops lineing the court in support of their fellow officers. In the world today cops can do no wrong just like the beating of a 60 some year black man in New Orleans. I love the excuse for this sadistic behaviour they perform, has cops are human too!
Behold the reality of the situation that everyone is subject to the law even cops.
By Tiger on Feb 15, 2008
Also being bound by the law just like everyone else also means your bound to the punishment for it also just like everyone else is. There are good cops out there just trying to do their job, but there are alot of people who are cops that shouldn’t even be wearing a badge. The belief that you respect the job not the person doing is a stupid thought especially when there beating a 60 yr old black man then trying to stop people from filming it. It’s time the public be concerned about these sadistic acts being performed by bad cops. In Nebraska here a Major for the Nebraska state patrol was arrested and jailed for having forced sex with a 14 yr old girl and then threatening her, there are BAD COPS OUT THERE!
By Tiger on Feb 15, 2008