Tasered Grandpa Sues Hospital

Ohio Man, 67, Claims Guards Got Outraged Over What He Meant As Joke

(CBS)  A grandfather and pastor is suing a Toledo, Ohio hospital after being tasered and beaten by security guards at the facility.

Much of the incident was caught by surveillance cameras.

Al Poisson, 67, says he was visiting a friend in St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center a year ago and was in a very good mood when he came upon a glum-looking guard and joked with him.

"I said (to the guard), 'Are you happy today?' Poisson told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith Friday. "He said, 'Yeah.' I said, 'Well, you oughta tell your face!' "

Poisson added that, "It went downhill from there" and turned into an "atrocious, unbelievable situation, to say the least."

The guards wound up taking Poisson outside the building, where they used a taser and/or stun gun on him, dropping him to his knees and, he says, beat, kicked and "manhandled" him when he was down.

It all happened in front of Poisson's son and Poisson's six-year-old grandson.

The Web site of CBS affiliate WTOL-TV in Toledo cites Poisson's lawsuit as claiming Poisson's son pleaded with the guards to stop because Poisson has a bad heart

The Web site also says a police report quotes the security guards as asserting that Poisson provoked them and that, once outside, Poisson elbowed one guard and tried to pull his hair while on the ground.


The guards called Toledo police and had Poisson arrested for alleged assault, but those charges have since been dropped.

Poisson says he used to go to St. Vincent's regularly to pray with patients, but no longer can cope with doing that. He also says he's had to give up his duties at a local soup kitchen that's since closed.

Poisson is seeking punitive damages of an unspecified amount, along with damages for pain, suffering, medical expenses and lost income. The lawsuit also says the hospital doesn't train its security personnel properly.

St. Vincent's issued a statement saying, "According to our policy regarding physical aggression, the use of a taser is warranted if someone attempts to physically attack a staff member, patient or visitor. We conducted an internal review of this incident that determined the response to the aggression was appropriate."

"That's not true at all," Poisson responded to Smith when the statement was read.

[toldyouso12]

"Poisson is seeking punitive damages of an unspecified amount, along with damages for pain, suffering, medical expenses and lost income. The lawsuit also says the hospital doesn''t train its security personnel properly."

1. Poisson needs to realize that the time of "kidding around" even verbally with people who have weapons of any sort is long gone

2. The hospital should also be sued for lying and trying to cover for their guards

3. At no point should anything or anyone be taken off camera or out of a building to deal with as this is a clear indication they are trying to do something illegal or contrary to rules outside of surveillance.

4. The hospital should not be sued simply for failure to train their guards--by virtue of how they were allowed to act, they should also be sued for failing to monitor and screen the guards.

Giving people the legitimate means to harm others as part of their job is a very dangerous thing--companies must make sure those they give that power to would act appropriately at all times and not abuse that power.

Finally, Poisson should ask for a jury trial. Most of the public is tired of all this excess "tazing" for stupid reasons, that involve no criminal activity.

[soldat44]

Summed up quite nicely Toldyouso12. Thanks.

[luvny-2009]

OMG that man is 67 years old. I just watched the tape...hands down he should win!! If not then we have a huge problem with our justice system!!

[azcagirl]

I think his comment was rude. I would be annoyed if someone said that to me joking or not. I don''t think he needed to be tased for saying that, however I wasn''t there so I can''t be sure that was all that happened. The guards side of the story is still not heard. Just because he is older and has Rev. in front of his name doesn''t mean he is honest, in my experience it''s just the opposite.

[aldon61]

I don''t think there''s any amount of compensation that''s adequate for what this man endured. I only hope that there are criminal trials ahead for the pair of thugs that worked this man over. For heavens sake, let this one be heard by a jury!

[merlgrey]

sue the ever living *** out of the hospital.

then sue them personally.

it seems to be the only defense against the loose fingered taser patrols these days.

[shoebox119]

OMG that man is 67 years old. I just watched the tape...hands down he should win!! If not then we have a huge problem with our justice system!!

Posted by luvNY at 10:21 AM : Jul 25, 2008


________



Of course he''ll win... he''s white. Our justice system works well for them, but just ask any person of color.

[rudy654-2009]

Probably just another worthless hospital where they kick the patients to see if they still move.

[bobnjersey]

[The guards wound up taking Poisson outside the building, where they used a taser and/or stun gun on him, dropping him to his knees and, he says, beat, kicked and "manhandled" him when he was down. ]

these devices should be completely banned ... for everyone ... including the highest levels of law enforcement.

use of this device against someone should be viewed as torture ... w/ appropriate criminal and financial recourse against them for it''s use.

absolutely shameful! we are living in a police state ... where the presumption of innocence has been sorrowfully lost.

[patriot12436]

shoebox
Spoken like a true racist.

[patriot12436]

The tape will be excellent evidence in court one way or another.

[adasher1]

But Pastor - forgive and forget - turn the other cheek - it SAYS so.....the good book does not say SUE - that''s a MAN MADE response; use the god made response and forgive them and move on.....

[patriot12436]

You are not allowed to taser and beat someone for making comments. Why did they beat him after they got outside ? If he was a threat then he would have been tasered and beaten inside the building.

[patriot12436]

bobnjersey
These tools are very beneficial to law enforcement when used proplerly and are used so deadly force isn''t required. They have their place in law enforcement. I would bet he ends up owning the hospital.

[nextgenman]

Sue the guard too. Take his beat-up dodge Ram with the backwards 3 with angel wings on the broken back window away from him.

[nextgenman]

Posted by DaVicar2 at 11:30 AM : Jul 25, 2008
-----------

Unlikely. Bumpkins from Ohio aren''t that impressive.

[neonink]

Gramps was being rude to a guy doing his job. Gramp is taking it easy in his retirement, while the guy on the beat is tired and broke.

I''ll bet Gramps doesn''t shoot his mouth off anymore.

However, the severity of the attack was unwarranted and I smell money for Gramps.

[monkfellow]

[The guards wound up taking Poisson outside the building, where they used a taser and/or stun gun on him, dropping him to his knees and, he says, beat, kicked and "manhandled" him when he was down. ]

these devices should be completely banned ... for everyone ... including the highest levels of law enforcement.

use of this device against someone should be viewed as torture ... w/ appropriate criminal and financial recourse against them for it''''s use.

absolutely shameful! we are living in a police state ... where the presumption of innocence has been sorrowfully lost.
okey doke, Bob..
Police use batons,they are sued.Police interrogate someone too long while waiting for their attorney,they are sued.
Police use a weapon that is non-lethal except in rare cases (and those deaths often involved people who are high on drugs,so they''re near death anyway),they''re sued.
Shall police just talk a lot,and try to "defuse" situations that way?They do,someone is killed or hurt prior to all that "talking",police are sued.
I guess you''re among those who believe it''s better for a law enforcement officer to die than risk ANY injury to some supposed innocent. Liberal equivocation gone wild!

[patriot12436]

davacari2
if what your saying is true then law enforcement definately needs improvement where you are at. I always believed in the motto To Protect and Serve

[patriot12436]

monkfellow
I think bob just doesn''t have a lot of knowledge about the use of these tools. I would give him the benefit of the doubt.

[tweety_223]

I agree that Gramps should not have opened his mouth, being funny or not...but to beat him while he was down...that was unappropriate by any individual,especially a uniformed guard.

[gangesdak]

Many of the security people and police personnel are of unstable mind at best, thugs at worst. This shows by too many taser cases in the news media. Police is not protector any more. US is fast becoming like many third world countries.

[my2centss]

If that many guards have to taser a 67 yr old man, maybe they should try a different career.

[nextgenman]

Wanna bet? Just make a really bad joke in front of one, he will drop you like a sack of wet oatmeal!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by DaVicar2 at 11:35 AM : Jul 25, 2008
------------

Again, unlikely. I live in Ohio. The natives are a bunch of petty sissies, particularly south of Toledo and east of Cincinnati.

[shanev137]

After 9/11, the entire security industry in this country went on a power trip and got out of control, to the point of thinking they are God. They think every citizen in our country is a terrorist now.

[deceler8]

Never, ever mess with security guards...you don''t know where they''ve been.

I''m guessing both parties learned a lesson...Gramps knows not to shoot off his mouth and the hospital just might take a closer look at its hiring practices.

[sociald63]

hey - where the hel*l are rev j.j. and al sharpton?? they are always nosing around

[cbsblogger]

These minimum wage thug rent a cops are on a power trip. They need charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

[credibility2]

Security guards should never be entrusted with any weapons because of their general lack of intelligence and ability to judge and reason fairly. Most guards lack a high school or even grade school diploma and arming them with weapons like this or guns, is inviting their stupid ego to take over. I hope this guy gets plenty for what was done to him by this moron guard.

[xmanborg]

Listen BRO: Dont TAZE Grandpa. You would not like Grandpa after you TAZE him.

Dont TAZE Grandpa!

[cbsblogger]

People that go to that hospital are customers, whether they are vistors or patients and need to be treated as such.

The question is are we moving to a police state where citizens should refrain from making eye contact with "authority figures" whether they are rent a cops or airline stewardesses?

As customers and clients we must expect respect from any authority figure whether it be law enforcement or security guards or airline TSA.

[ejcspau]

hey - where the hel*l are rev j.j. and al sharpton?? they are always nosing around

Posted by sociald63 at 12:07 PM : Jul 25, 2008

Look at the picture. The man is white. The guard was probably black.

[navyjimfl]

I work in a medical center and I can''t imagine our security guards doing something like this....my guess is this is not the only issue they have had with their security guards......talk about needing customer service training..

[u2canb1]

Security guards are low IQ''d, miserable, untrained bullies, most of them fat, lazy and very stupid - this makes them hostile, defensive and have a propensity to just use physical force instead of the little brain cells they possess..

[lmartink]

I think St. Vincent''s Mercy Hospital should change its name to Gestapo Medical Center.

If the idiots who run the place think this was "appropriate" they should be tasered themeselves, or tarred and feathered. There is no way tasering this man was justified, then to defend the incident, is unbelievable. Incredible!

If Administrators at St. Vincent''s Mercy believe this incident was ok, then they cannot be trusted for anything -- particularly your healthcare. People in this community would be wise to seek medical services elsewhere.

[meanbiker]

so it took a year to get a lawyer.. ?

[patriot04321]

Are you serious deadly force? taking away tazers? If you happen to get into a fight with a law enforcement or security official, would you rather be shot with a gun or beaten down with a baton? In order to carry any of those tools you need training! I''m sure those security officers had training. And I''m sure they were in the right! They are security, don''t you think they know where the cameras are? And if they were really in the wrong don''t you think they would have stayed off camera? I think this so called reverend probably deserved what he got and now because of some fancy play on words he is trying to sue for money. He says he wants the two guards to find his kind of faith....really? I think he wants to use his "faith" to try to cash in on some hospital money...Wow..how religious.. So reverend? Do you have God''s blessing to sue a Catholic Hospital? Any pastor or reverends I know wouldn''t pick a fight with security or law enforcement then wait a year and try to sue them. Come on! Get real! Don''t worry, I''ll pray for you.

[missybelle-2009]

"Poisson elbowed one guard and tried to pull his hair while on the ground."

Hell, yeah! I would too, get off me you lame *** jerk-offs!

[mswolfestock]

Somebody ought to Taze those dumb-A*S*S* rent-a-cops.

I thought that people had to be trained or certified to carry a Tazer. I thought they would have to take a dose of the Tazer JUST SO THEY WOULD UNDERSTAND WHY IT SHOULD ONLY BE USED IN SITUATIONS WHEN ALL OTHER OPTIONS ARE EXHAUSTED.

You GO, Grampa. Sue the C*R*A*P* out of them.

[democrat122]

And we wonder why our health-care costs are climbing...this guy needs to realize that it''s the poor, needy sick patients who are going to foot the bill for his millions...dirty money-mongerer.

[bobnjersey]

[I guess you''''re among those who believe it''''s better for a law enforcement officer to die than risk ANY injury to some supposed innocent. Liberal equivocation gone wild! ]
[Posted by monkfellow at 11:40 AM : Jul 25, 2008]

supposed innocent? how about presummed innocent ... does that phrase ring a bell ... are are you one of those who believes everyone should be completely and totally subserviant to anyone w/ a uniform and a weapon ... regardless of whether they''re right or wrong?

their role is to ''protect and serve'' ... and it looks like fewer and fewer of them understand the meaning of this.

officers jobs are inherently dangerous ... they should know that when they decide to do that job. they''ll have to deal w/ the problems (and problematic individuals) that others can''t or won''t deal with. it''s a not a tool to use so you don''t scuff your shoes and soil your uniform. it''s likely you''ll deal with problem cases and get injured in the process of mitigating these situations.

there''s a famous quote from English jurist William Blackstone "Better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer" ... it''s known as the ''blackstone ratio'' ... and it''s taught in law schools across the western world as a fundamental principle of law.

apparently you think differently than what the jurisprudence of the western legal world promotes and teaches to it''s recruits as dogma.

[bobnjersey]

[monkfellow, I think bob just doesn''''t have a lot of knowledge about the use of these tools. I would give him the benefit of the doubt. ]
[Posted by patriot12436 at 11:44 AM : Jul 25, 2008]


i actually know quite a bit about these devices ... since they come up periodically in cases exactly like this ... where it''s abused ... and everyone argues that''s it serves good elsewhere.

i''ve read the studies that claim signifigant reduction in injuries associated w/ the interaction between officers and suspects ... with signifigant reductions in officer injuries when the have the taser.

i also know that they''re now selling these devices to anyone at all ... without any training in it''s use ... and no awareness of what''s it''s like to be on the receiving end of this. they''re using a ''tupperware party'' model to promote them.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/25/earlyshow/main4207156.shtml?source=search_story

get ready for many more stories of the abuse of this device ... which should be completely banned across the board due to failure of only a few ... to use it responsibly.

[patriot04321]

For all of you that are making assumptions about tasers, maybe you should read the facts... http://www.taser.com/Pages/default.aspx

[shazam112]

what does that tell you ,rob roy is right the american society is seriously cruel towards fellow human being ,and one of there owen ,can you imagine what the iraqi people must have been going through at the hands of american soldiers ...poor poisson ,sue the pants out of the damm hospital....

[randynason]

Not knowing the actual facts concerning the incident, if what Poisson says is true, I hope this case goes forward and he wins. The hospital and guard are on very shakey ground and should be held accountable, big time.

[monkfellow]

their role is to ''''protect and serve'''' ... and it looks like fewer and fewer of them understand the meaning of this.

officers jobs are inherently dangerous ... they should know that when they decide to do that job. they''''ll have to deal w/ the problems (and problematic individuals) that others can''''t or won''''t deal with. it''''s a not a tool to use so you don''''t scuff your shoes and soil your uniform. it''''s likely you''''ll deal with problem cases and get injured in the process of mitigating these situations.
Well,it''s pretty obvious you''ve had problems with the criminal justice system,and that''s your business.But, in this day and age when the criminal element has a legal "green light" to proclaim "I''ll sue" for about anything, then, yes, I think officers have the right to protect themselves..despite your stupid and snotty comment about getting their uniforms soiled.Since you have apparent superior intellegence about the role law enforcement plays and what "risks" officers in the middle of American cities should anticipate and expect, including their own deaths, let''s see you take the training and put on the "unsoiled" uniform, and hit the street,and confront criminals in the middle of the night,instead of snoozing away comfy in your bed.Again, there''s more here from you that we don''t need to know about,but such anti-law enforcement invective should not and will not be ignored.

[lochlan-2009]

This country is in a sad state after these last seven years of Bush/Cheney authoritarian Chinese government.

People better start getting p!ssed before it''s completly game over for all civil and human rightsin this country. The bill of rights has been torn to pieces, minus D.C.''s second Amendment ruling.

[bigboy1069]

First of all, let''s get over this "serve and protect" thing. They are SECURITY GUARDS NOT COPS. Cops are the ones who serve and protect. Having worked in the security industry for a good number of years, I know that buisness are concerned with keeping cost down. This includes their security. I''d bet my last dollar, the hospital guards had little, if any training. I''d take the word of a a man of God who was on a mission of mercy to the hospital with his son and grandson well before I''d take the work of a punk *** security guard who thinks he''s tough *** because he has a taser gun.

[feedback3-2009]

For all of you that are making assumptions about tasers, maybe you should read the facts... http://www.taser.com/Pages/default.aspx

Posted by patriot04321 at 01:20 PM : Jul 25, 2008
----------------------
I agree. The best source for unbiased information on tasers would be the company that makes and markets them. Also, obviously, self proclaimed "patriots" never lie. Just because this one is the 4321st doesn''t mean he/she is as credible as the number 1 patriot. No offense to my transgender friends with the use of the term "he/she".

[likeitis5050]

The truth should be apparent if there is video...but it''s amazing how that can end up ''missing'' or ''not clear'' or ''inconclusive'' when it''s law enforcement protecting their own. I''m sure a elderly volunteer and member of the church was just itching for a good take down that day...give me a break. Guard with a chip on his shoulder and a grudge against the world is more like it.