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Wednesday, 23 November 2011 00:59

WRAL: Man died a day after being shocked with stun gun


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Anthony Anthony WRAL

A 61-year-old Halifax County man died Tuesday, a day after police shocked him with a stun gun while he was riding his bike, family members told WRAL.

Scotland Neck Police Chief Joe Williams was in a meeting tonight and could not immediately discuss the matter with rrspin.com.

WRAL reported Williams said police received a call Monday night about a man who fell off of his bicycle and injured himself in the parking lot of the BB&T bank, 1001 Main St. The caller was concerned that the man was drunk.

When Officer John Turner arrived, he saw Roger Anthony pedaling away along 10th Street. He followed Anthony in his patrol car, briefly put on his sirens and lights and yelled out of the window for him to stop, but Anthony continued to ride away, police said.

Williams said Turner then saw Anthony take something out his pocket and put it into his mouth. At that time, Turner got out of the car and yelled for Anthony to stop. When Anthony didn't stop, the officer used a stun gun on him, causing him to fall off of his bike.

Anthony was transported to Pitt County Memorial Hospital, where he was declared brain dead, his sister Gladys Freeman said. He was taken off of life support on Tuesday.

Freeman said her brother was disabled, suffered from seizures and had trouble hearing. She said he was riding his bike home from her house on Sunday night. Anthony lived alone in an independent living community.

Williams would not comment further on the incident, citing an ongoing investigation. Turner, who has been on the force for just over a month, has been placed on desk duty.

Scotland Neck Mayor James Mills is calling for the State Bureau of Investigation to look into what happened.

"The best we've been able to determine is that he offered no threat," Mills said

Milton Freeman said Anthony, his brother-in-law, used to smoke cigarettes, drink coffee and ride his bicycle around town. Anthony was nicknamed "Rabbit" because of his big ears.

"Why would you (use a stun gun on) a man on a bike? He didn’t do any crime. He wasn’t trying to escape. How (was) he going to escape on his bicycle?" Milton Freeman said.

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Lance Martin

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comments  

 
-1 #7 brown sugar 2011-12-03 17:21
Why would the police be working by his self anyway and just been on the force for a month I think he should be off desk duty and be at home until trial date and go to jail just like everybody else because to me he didn't have no gun or knife or anything to be a threat to the police now I wonder how he feel for his a action hay he might say anything to get his back off the wall cause it is some dirty police on the force these days just trying to get a name for themselfs and to the family my heart goes out to you all deeply cause that could have been one of my love ones
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+10 #6 Level Headed 2011-11-26 15:25
I think that the mayor should not rush to judgement of his own men until the SBI investigation is complete. I have seen before where only enough facts are talked about to incite rage in public before the accused is found to have not acted in the wrong based on the facts present at the time. I am sure this officer did not go into this a malicious intent, and no one can judge what he was able to see in the dark unless they were with him. I am sure he is going through hell right now knowing that a man has died while he was trying to do his job as he was trained to do it. It has been stated that he used lights and siren to try to stop the man. Even if the man was deaf, the lights should have been seen and he should have stopped for the officer. The officer was dispatched to check on a person who had fallen and was possibly drunk. Who is to say that the original fall is what caused the injury that would eventually kill him? There is such a thing as a period of lucidity after a head injury.
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0 #5 Stunned 2011-11-26 14:45
I mean come on....look at the old guy, does he look threatening? The officer should be fired from the police department and his certification should be snatched by the state of NC to make sure he never gets employed as a police officer again. The SBI will have a good time making an example out of this officer.
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-5 #4 Easy 2011-11-23 21:50
I see why Scotland Neck is the only town in the county full of heroin and gangs. The police are scared of the youngsters so they go find the elderly to beat up on.
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+3 #3 T-ONE 2011-11-23 14:47
On the force for over a month and now someone is dead. He should be fired, immediately. Why did he deploy his taser? The family should be seeking legal advice and enquiring about a wrongful death suit.
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+11 #2 Evelyn 2011-11-23 13:53
Kee, you are mistaken. The gentleman you are talking about is not the one that was tased. I actually saw him at the Laundry yesterday afternoon.

This is how vicious rumors are spread.

As for the family, my heart breaks for them. Yes, this is a tragic event, but we also need to wait for the investigation to be completed before we start throwing daggers at the officer involved.
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-5 #1 Kee 2011-11-23 12:32
This man couldn't walk, he had to crawl for mobility when he was not on the bike. One family's circle broken and another who will never be the same. I'm like the mayor, I cant imagine what he could have done to pose a threat to the officer.
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