N.C. Cops Taser Man At Dad's Funeral

Police Apologize For Botched Arrest As Son Loaded Coffin Into Hearse

(CBS/ AP)  A North Carolina sheriff's official is apologizing for disturbing a funeral where undercover agents tried to serve an arrest warrant on the dead man's son - and used a Taser to do so.

The Star-News of Wilmington reports that the incident happened Saturday afternoon as the coffin was being loaded into a hearse. The officers planned to quietly arrest Gladwyn Taft Russ III, but it turned into a scuffle.

The 42-year-old Russ was charged with communicating threats against his ex-wife who lives in another state. Officials said he failed to turn himself in as promised.

New Hanover County sheriff's chief deputy Ed McMahon said the officers' move backfired in the emotional environment. McMahon said the officers should have waited until after the cemetery service.

"It was never my intention to create any more problems for the family, and I am truly sorry and apologize for that,” McMahon said, the newspaper reported.

Witnesses told the newspaper that two men wearing coats and ties appeared seemingly out of nowhere to arrest Russ and a scuffle ensued. Family members said the undercover police grabbed Russ, kneed him in the back of his leg and tasered him. At one point one of the officers' handguns fell to the ground, the newspaper reported.

In addition to the charges for allegedly threatening his ex-wife, Russ was previously convicted of resisting an officer, contempt of court and larceny. In the past, Russ also was charged with felony malicious conduct by a prisoner, assault on a government official, resisting an officer and disorderly conduct, the newspaper reported.

[earache4]

"N.C. Cops Taser Man At Dad''s''s Funeral"

CBS needs''s''s''s spell check.....

[earache4]

I hear tasing is good for the grieving process, gives you something else to think about....

[bks59]

this is the kind of conduct that creates a poor image for police ''peace officers''

[ramos937]

These officers are scum. They could have waited until after the his father''s funeral was over.I hope their names are published.

[renonv5]

The police are getting out of control with those taser guns. Arresting a man at his father''s funeral? How low can they go????

[hitoyou1]

The police are getting out of control with those taser guns. No the police ARE OUT OF CONTROL. They think they are above the LAW. They are NOT. More of the POLICE nedd to end up IN JAIL.

[hambonehd]

"The police are getting out of control with those taser guns. Arresting a man at his father''''s funeral? How low can they go????

Posted by renonv5 at 01:24 PM : Nov 19, 2008"

What would be your reaction if it was someone who had harmed your wife or family?? I bet not the same.
The cops have a tough job these days, would you like to try it?

[earache4]

Yeah!!! CBS''s''s''s'' fixed their typo!!!

[seer57]

There was no need for the Taser gun. They want to ZAP every one these days.If you are afraid to physically bring some one down and TAZ them insted then quite your job.No one drafted them. There have been times when innocent people have been ZAPPED. I tell you , If a cop ever ZAPS my kid on accident I will personally see to it that his kid is zapped.Or him several times. I ain''t taking that sorry sir , we had the wrong person.Now if my kid is trying to hurt some one then thats different.Zap me for nothing and I will see to it that justice is carried out.

[seer57]

Correction... QUIT your job.

[seer57]

We need more of this standing up to abussive law enforcement.

[seer57]

Sorry ain''t good enough.

[seer57]

See that this police man is Zapped at a wedding or some thing. Kids funeral.Maybe a wifes operation.

[ceres5]

As usual, the police officers will look for someone to blame for their erratic behavior. This time, they will say that they felt threatened by the dead man, and to defend themselves, they had to taser the stiff''s son.

[seer57]

Getting even should bring those undisciplined cops back into line and put fear into those who do this kind of thing.

[jackp32]

I like what they did. This guy is a dirt bag. Kudos to the police.

[idnnsg]

"The cops have a tough job these days..."

If they can''t handle the job, they should quit or be fired. That''s how it works with EVERY OTHER job! With the amount of power we give cops, it is even MORE IMPORTANT that they handle their job responsibly than it is for anyone else.

Cops today are needlessly pumped up on paranoia. They are no longer just the "thin blue line" between civilization and chaos (and that was already a cra.zy exaggeration!), they now believe that they are part of Homeland Security, protecting us all from "terrorists". As a result, cops are needlessly agressive and vile. A cop''s job is to "protect and serve", NOT to harass and intimidate and torture and murder.

No sympathy for bad cops!

[tonic12345]

the most tragic among us deserve the most love

[dbstevens]

This is a tough one to have an opinion on, because you don''t really know all the facts. On the one hand, if this is how the cops handled this, it''s no wonder he resisted arrest previously! On the other hand, you have to try to understand that all the cops get exposed to is the worst of the worst. I know how disusted I get just reading stupidity in these forums...I can''t imagine how most cops must feel coming face to face with scum all day long. That doesn''t condone abusive behavior on the part of the cops, but it does explain it. They''re human doo, and I don''t believe that cops have enough outlets for the terrible view of humanity they must develop on the job. Basic human psychology explains why we''re hearing so many stories of cops who are fed-up and enraged and mean. It can''t be allowed to continue, but there are two sides to every story.

In this case, I can''t imagine any circumstances that would have prohibited the cops from waiting till AFTER this funeral was over and everyone was leaving. This was stupid.

[rrozsa-2009]

''The officers planned to quietly arrest Gladwyn Taft Russ III, but it turned into a scuffle.''

''In addition to the charges for allegedly threatening his ex-wife, Russ was previously convicted of resisting an officer, contempt of court and larceny. In the past, Russ also was charged with felony malicious conduct by a prisoner, assault on a government official, resisting an officer and disorderly conduct, the newspaper reported.''

''New Hanover County sheriff''s chief deputy Ed McMahon said the officers'' move backfired in the emotional environment.''

What exactly made these idiots think he was going to be arrested quietly?

[summarex]

Like all government enforcers, these lowlifes deserve a quick walk to the far end of a firing squad.

[gramto8]

I absolutely LOVE people who dispise violence so much, that their solution to it is to kill everyone!!!

Posted by DaVicar1 at 02:52 PM : Nov 19, 2008

That is kind of like pro-life people that continue to send our troops overseas to get killed in an unjust and unnecessary war, isn''t it?

[excoachken]

And just when I thought Barney and Andy had retired.

[lily1972]

W.T.F

[dnlady]

this has to be about the most stupid scene for an arrest i''ve ever heard of. I mean really, who would have thought this man was going to go down quiet anyway.;/

[irreverent1-2009]

I have no sympathy for a guy who threatens violence against women and considering his rap sheet I don''t have a problem taking him down anytime and anyplace. If he can''t take what he likes to dish out he shouldn''t have slithered out of the hole he came from.

[docpeter1953]

I absolutely LOVE people who dispise violence so much, that their solution to it is to kill everyone!!!

Posted by DaVicar1 at 02:52 PM : Nov 19, 2008
_____________

Thanks for the compliment. I hate everyone equally, some a little more equally than others, but that is for personal reasons.

[azmka]

If he was wanted for hurting/killing someone that would be one thing but to taser him on one of the saddest days of his life for verbal threats is going way too far.

[cdfoxtrot5]

As I''ve said previously, it''s about time that federal rules were enacted to regulate when police can and cannot use tasers. They were introduced as a alternative to using deadly force IN LIFE AND DEATH SITUATIONS. Seems like police all over the country are using them on a routine basis, anytime anyone gives them the slightest bit of resistance. And sometimes they use them even when there''s no resistance, like the recent situation in NY where some mentally ill person was naked at a building site. He got tasered, fell down and died. It is time that so-called "lawmakers" got on this before more innocent people die unnecessarily.

[aldon61]

This guy is no angel and probably would have resisted arrest anyway, but the judgement of the arresting officers is highly suspect. If they had waited until later and had to taser him, the public would have been more forgiving. Stupid move guys!

[joethedumber]

Cops will taze you for looking at them funny.

[spredbury]

COPS in this country are out of control. They have no respect for anyone and consider themselves to be GOD ALL MIGHTY and accountable to no one. I have come to hate and fear all cops and will go out of my way to avoid coming in contact with any of them for any reason. COPS and their out of control actions scare me more than the worst criminal. We have no defense against these self absorbed thugs since they have the power and no one is holding them accountable.

[docadams3]

Russ brought this on himself. He should have turned himself in. No sympathy for the family. They were probably protecting him. I hope he spends some time in jail.

[cdfoxtrot5]

I guess cops really are a$$holes.

[rushlimpdrug]

Cops, tazers, and funerals, what a combination!

Donuts anybody?

[cjw3cma]

From the posts I''ve read so far, there are more idiots posting than I thought existed. Blaming the police for doing EXACTLY what the law prescribes. This Taft lied to the police (by not turning himself in when promised) and it sounds like he is a mental case. Too bad they didn''t wait until the coffin was loaded but THEY DID NOT HAVE TO.

This guy is a waste of DNA.

[magoo2u1]

"Russ brought this on himself"
Well , shallow Hal, I bet few people care about Russ and his ****** life. The rest of the family should have been able to have a peaceful funeral. The cops could have grabbed the jerk on his way in or out of the funeral. Disrupting the funeral was not necessary and you know it. The dead man''s grandkids shouldn''t have had to deal with it and grabbing the jackasss after would be a good lesson for the kiddies. "They always get their man". Now the kids hate cops.

[whatithink10]

"The 42-year-old Russ was charged with communicating threats against his ex-wife who lives in another state."


Is that all to approach things in such a manner?

What a stupid thing!

[whatithink10]

michaelt303,

You have just made assumptions and have no idea.

[whatithink10]

Posted by michaelt3032 at 08:15 PM : Nov 19, 2008

There are good and bad people in EVERY segment of society as well as police officers. And, there are HORRIBLE police officers. You give 100% credit to whomever.

Nothing started just in the 1980s. There were pictures before. They just were never charged. Below is an example...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICWZunLxcAc&feature=related

[shanev137]

cops.

[ronjjj157]

I do believe from reading the article that the arrest was supposed to have occurred at the end of the service. That is the reason the Supervisor is apologizing. Michael is correct in my opinion. I would rather be zapped with a taser than hit 4 times with a club or flashlight.

[idnnsg]

Iteresting that CBS now has a more detailed version of this story in the "Strange" section, where you can''t post comments. There, you can read this very revealing sentence:

"McMahon said the officers pointed Tasers at people [at the funeral] because the crowd was moving toward them." The other people present at the funeral didn''t think the cops did the right thing, so how can ANYBODY here who wasn''t there support them? Add to that the fact that the sheriff has apologized for their inappropriate actions, and there can be little doubt that the cops acted inappropriately.

Now, can ANYONE justify the violent behavior of these stu.pid cops? I think not!

PS to michaelt3032, who thinks he has proof that tasers are "safe": The many dead taser victims in this country provide irrefutable proof that tasers are NOT safe. Cops use tasers because that''s what they are allowed (even encouraged) to use and because they are violent thugs who want to smash and kill, rather than to protect and serve as they should.

And yes, that means that, whenever possible, they should even protect the lives of those they are sent out to arrest!

[memewolf]

Most all of you are taking potshots at the police. They''re our thin blue line that says the jungle is not permitted here. If they ever quit all of you little boys and girls who have nothing more to do than criticize will find yourselves eaten. Its obvious you know nothing but the safety of your little cubicles. Stay there and shut up.

[fush2]

wow!!! i bet this guy is messing with the wife...that was so not cool...there are guidelines i doubt that a funeral was the only opportunity he wouldve had to arrest him

[pcreversed]

Well, mlst NC cops are idiots and have no sense of honor. They should be fired for this stupid move. They act like modern day Nazi''s. I hate NC cops and give them no respect, they have not earned it.

[ann3332]

what is wrong these cops dont they have any respect or what especially he burying his father. That is shameful these officer need to be reprimanded .That was no reason for that especially at a funeral

[secondmac]

Idiocy at it''s best (worst).

[secondmac]

MeMeWolf,
You know they crossed the line. Blind faith is wasted faith.

[secondmac]

In the other case, almost immediately, police said the use of the stun gun appeared to violate department guidelines, which explicitly bar their use "in situations where the subject may fall from an elevated surface."