Martinsville teen dies after police’s use of a Taser
MARTINSVILLE -- Virginia State Police are investigating the death of a 17-year-old Martinsville boy who died Thursday after a city police officer used a Taser on him.
Martinsville Police Chief Mike Rogers said officer R.L. Wray, now on paid administrative leave, approached the boy in a home on Rives Road and used his stun gun when the boy "moved rapidly" toward him in an offensive manner.
"The officer was well within the guidelines of our policy when he used the Taser," Rogers said.
In June, the U.S. Department of Justice tentatively completed a study that found no conclusive medical evidence that Tasers cause injury or death, despite many publicized cases of people dying from the use of stun guns. In many cases, the victims had pre-existing medical conditions.
Police would not release the name of the boy who died Thursday in Martinsville, but a 15-year-old boy who was in the home at the time identified him as Derick Jones of Martinsville.
The 15-year-old has been charged with disorderly conduct.
Rogers said Wray went to Rives Road after police received a 911 report at 9:25 p.m. of a young man "using the bathroom" in the street. A second 911 caller complained of two or more young men in the street "yelling or fighting."
When Wray arrived, he saw a young male run into the house in the 300 block of Rives Road. Wray followed and found the front door busted and blood on the inside wall.
He discovered the two teenagers inside. The one he had seen running was upstairs, so Wray called for him to come down, and after hearing "striking or pounding" noises in the kitchen, he called for the teenager in there to come out, Rogers said.
It was then that the 17-year-old moved aggressively toward the police officer, and the teen "was also making some not very kind" comments to Wray, Rogers said.
The 15-year-old said he came downstairs to find his friend on the floor. "The cop used excessive force," he said yesterday. "I told him he didn't need to Taser him. Derick was just drunk."
The 15-year-old said both of them had been drinking.
Rogers said the police officer tried to resuscitate the teenager as soon as he realized he was unresponsive. The teen was pronounced dead at Memorial Hospital of Martinsville and Henry County.
Rogers said the state police's investigation could take two weeks. State police Sgt. Bob Carpentieri declined to comment on the investigation.
Contact Rex Bowman at (540) 344-3612 or
.
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Reader Reactions
I wonder how many citizens police have to kill with their tasers before they take these things away from these jack booted thugs. Shouldn’t the cop been at the donut shop or pulling over someone for not wearing their seatbelt?
Drunk people are incredibly easy to take down in a fight. The deceased was a teen, on top of that. Police officers should go back to being men, instead of relying on little electronic zappers. Few people have ever died from a good slap in the face or a whack from the billy stick.
It certainly sounds like the officer was well within his rights to use the tazer. The question posed in this article is whether tazers have a potential to be lethal for some people (young, intoxicated, etc.). Perhaps pepper spray or some other non-lethal method should have been used.
Excellent summation, crimedriver. It’s easy to sit back and assess the situation and automatically blame the police, but I’m giving the officer the benefit of the doubt here. If you weren’t there, you can’t possibly know what the situation was. Besides, many teens these days believe that the world revolves around them and that everyone else is wrong. This punk kid could have been another Cho and wanted to go via “death by cop.“
I agree that being drunk and trying to assault an officer is a recipe for disaster and the use of force. However from my observation about 20% of a police force is given to use excessive force depending on their disposition when they encounter the public/wrongdoers. I have witnessed handcuffed suspects sitting quietly with their legs folded under them and their hands cuffed behind their back who were struck repeatedly with batons as officers walked by. There are a few people who should not be police officers and they take their frustrations out on people they encounter when wearing a badge. Woe unto to you should you ever encounter one of these cops. It won’t matter whether you are polite or innocent if they decide you are in need of a beating. Not all cops are honorable the majority of good cops cover for the bad ones.
I like the way the drunk teenager is an expert on excessive force. Don’t get drunk and assault the police and you won’t have any force, reasonable or otherwise, used on you.
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