http://www.norwalkadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-nor.taser3sep27,0,194471.story?coll=nor-news-local-headlines
NORWALK - The American Civil Liberties Union wants to know how many times Norwalk police officers have used Tasers, after a man said the device was used to stun him at least 14 times during a June arrest.
Renee Redman, legal director for the ACLU in Hartford, said Monday she is requesting the records through the state Freedom of Information Act, based on a complaint from Alfred Smith, 39, of Torrington. Smith, formerly of Norwalk and Stamford, was the focus of a June 15 drug arrest at the Roundtree Inn on Westport Avenue in Norwalk, police records showed. Smith said he was convicted of third-degree robbery in Norwalk in 1995.
Chief Harry Rilling said yesterday he believed that the Freedom of Information request had not reached the department. The Taser gun was used on Smith twice, Rilling said, citing reports of the incident.
Smith, who was released on $75,000 bond last month, faces six charges that include possession of narcotics with intent to sell, assault on a police officer and interfering with a police officer.
Police used the stun gun on him for 15 to 20 minutes while his hands were cuffed behind him, Smith said.
The shocks were administered while police questioned him Smith said.
"I have marks. If you want to take pictures of my back, I have 28 dots on my back," Smith said. "I was already subdued when they were Tasering me. . . . It was a form of torture."
Smith's defense attorney, Wayne Keeney, said he visited his client a short time after his arrest and took pictures of his back. Keeney said he counted 22 dots on Smith's back that represent 11 Taser shots.
"It appeared to me that the scars on his back are consistent with what I know a Taser burn to look like," Keeney said.
Smith said he spent seven days at Norwalk Hospital after his arrest because of high blood pressure. The repeated Taser shocks caused it, he said.
Rilling said he had not received a complaint.
"Here we are, three months later, and this is the first I am hearing about it," he said.
Rilling said he reviewed the reports that are required when an officer uses force to apprehend a suspect, and they state that the Taser was used twice.
"The reports seem to be in order and justify the use of a Taser," Rilling said. "Without a complaint, I don't have an opportunity to talk to the gentleman about his allegation."
Smith said he did not make a complaint because he was living in Norwalk and was "afraid of repercussions." He moved to Torrington Sept. 3 and decided to go public, he said.
Smith is scheduled to return to state Superior Court in Norwalk Oct. 4, Keeney said. Smith has pleaded not guilty to the charges, court records show.
Smith said he is scheduled to meet with ACLU employees today.
Norwalk began using the Tasers, which emit a temporary crippling electric shock, in 2004. Forty-eight officers are certified to use them, Rilling said.
Department policy does not limit the times a Taser can be used unless the person's health is in danger, Rilling said.
"It is up to the officer's discretion based on the level of resistance her or she is being met with and whether or not it is determined safe to continue the use of the Taser," Rilling said.
He did not know how many times Norwalk officers used the Taser in the past year, Rilling said.
"If we felt there was any possibility that the Taser could cause long-term disability or death, we would not be subjecting anyone to its use," he said.
The police report states that Smith was the target of a drug investigation at the Roundtree Inn at 5 p.m. June 15. A witness said a man called "Avenue" would come to Room 19 to sell crack cocaine.
When "Avenue," later identified as Smith, showed up and police tried to arrest him, he tried to flee, the report states. An officer grabbed Smith, who tried to punch the officer, the report stated.
Smith then reached into his front pocket, removed some small plastic bags and put them in his mouth, police said. Smith "would not stop fighting and became more enraged, violent and aggressive," the report stated.
Another officer arrived and applied the stun gun to Smith's back.
After Smith was taken to Norwalk Hospital, he did not follow medical staff instructions and was placed in restraints, according to police.
Police said drugs from a bag that came from Smith's mouth tested positive for crack cocaine, according to the report.
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