December 11, 2009

Taser Death: Andrew Grande (Bay County FL)

Andrew Grande, 33, messed with the wrong deputies from the Bay County Sherriff's Office (BCSO) and it resulted in yet another taser-related death. Three deputies responded to a physical disturbance call from a female victim of assault at a local hotel. [SOURCE]

The cops located Grande in the parking lot of the hotel. The police say that Grande attempted to flee, but the deputies stopped him and placed a handcuff on one wrist. The police say that Grande attempted to swallow something a bag of marijuana with his other hand.

Police say that Grande was able to free himself and stand. Deputies jolted Grande with at least 50,000 volts of electricity from a taser gun. Shortly thereafter deputies observed that Grande seemed to be choking and attempted to use the Heimlich maneuver on Grande but were unsuccessful. Deputies continued to provide aid until EMS arrived. Grande was transported to Bay Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Oak County Sheriff Frank McKeithen requested the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) conduct the investigation of this incident and extended his sympathy to the family of Mr. Grande.

A deputy injured during the physical altercation with Grande has been treated and released from Gulf Coast Medical Center. The three deputies involved have been placed on administrative leave per BCSO policy.

Andrew Grande did a stupid thing by having marijuana, assaulting a woman and running from the police. However, the penalty for those things should NOT be death. Grande should be DEATH. The police should not be able to use their taser as a form of extra-judicial electrocution.

What are your thoughts as you learn of this taser-related death?

4 comments:

Gunfighter said...

I guess we need to wait to have this question answered: Did he die becuase he choked to death on his bag of dope? or was he electrocuted?

Unknown said...

Gunfighter - Fair enough. It seems that BCSO is a very open office. I've not seen such a quick public response to one of these situations in quite awhile.

pearmbeatgutz said...

no if you watch the video he clearly swallowed the bag and when he was tased i believe it forced the bag back up and lodging it in his throat because he was speaking and breathing fine after swallowing the sack but as soon as he was tased he began to choke andrew was a long time friend of mine as i have known him since we were 15 years old and yes he was definitely the type to put up a fight and im actually surprised he didnt put them all in the hospital as he was a well experience fighter it is a tragic incident and who truly knows where the blame lies no he shouldnt have pushed the girl but he by no means assaulted her he shoved her and told her to let him out of her car point blank simple and done thats all that happened and he walked yes he had pot on him but i blame the govt's neglegance for not legalizing the highest earning cash crop this country has ever seen but knowing that he swallowed something knowing what the taser does why on earth would you electrocute someone that you know you could cause them to choke on whatever it is they swallowed given the number of officers and his condition at the time i am certain that they could have maintained control of the situation if had they just used the physical training they are supposed to have instead they chose to be lazy and use a taser and end a good friends life i blame no one but circumstance but damn arent those chain reactions a real bitch...

Unknown said...

pearmbeatgutz - I watched the video and I remain convinced that the police could have restrained the young man without using a taser. I'm convinced that the police simply use the taser gun out of laziness to use other means of restraint. In any case, I appreciate your comments and I'm sorry that your friend lost his book...