**UPDATE 4/26/11: $1.9 million Settlement**
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_17933662
Peter McFarland endured: Tased 4X, 36min of agony, disrespected & humiliated, all in the sanctity of his own home. He was finally hog tied to a special gurney and roughly handled out of his house into a waiting ambulance where he was taken to under go a "forced" 72hour (3 day) Mental Health Evaluation under code 5150. A person has zero rights when held under 5150, no phone call, no access to an attorney, no rights to due process!
This not some kind of rare event, law enforcement employs this thousands of times each month across the USA. This suspension of Constitutional rights is officially titled:
"Emergency Involuntary Commitment"
or in CA. it is known as:
"5150 W&I- 72 Hour Mental Health Evaluation"
http://psychservices.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/34/3/249
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=70875416514+0+0+0&WA...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5150_%28Involuntary_psychiatric_hold%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanterman-Petris-Short_Act
This is deplorable and against every last thing this great country was founded upon.... This may be hard to except but the Gestapo used precisely this action and eerily defined it as the same thing.
People must not allow this suspension of basic rights continue. Some argue that it is necessary in very rare, extreme cases and even though I may disagree, it is a valid point and must be respected.
Emergency Involuntary Commitment is not used in rare, extreme events, it is common practice across the country, used thousands of times each year in the US (I'm collating public police records from the major US cities in order to get a more accurate reflection of the numbers)
Number of times Marin County California Sheriff's Department over-ruled & suspended basic rights of people in 2nd Quarter 2009 by employing "Emergency Involuntary Commitment" or "5150 W&I- 72 Hour Mental Health Evaluation":
- At least 7 times
-This number ONLY reflects Taser involved deployment. More public facts on total cases of 5150 W&I- 72 Hour Mental Health Evaluation, forth coming.-
http://www.marinsheriff.org/uploads/documents/1_448.pdf
Marin County CA Sheriff's Department Contact Information:
http://www.marinsheriff.org/contact.aspx?gi_id=21
People must realize that Law Enforcement does not need to arrested you or to be involved in any type of crime. LEOs can/will relieve you of civil/Constitutional rights, seize you and place you in a Mental hospital where you are forced to undergo examinations for a least 72 hours (3 days) as they see fit and under their own discretion... and here is the part the many simply will not believe; they can do all this without court action or even contacting a Judge. Fact.
I implore you to research this on your own, becoming outraged that this is going on in your America and hopefully get involved to stop this.
Nowhere in the US Constitution does it state that it is nullified or suspended when a citizen is suspect of having mental issues or voicing a statement that can be twisted to fit a preconceived agenda.
The Constitution is always active and can never be suspended by individual Law Enforcement agents.
Their is zero gray area here.
For those not familiar with this atrocity:
MARIN COUNTY, CA
On June 29, 2009 Peter McFarland and his wife Pearl were returning home from a charity fundraiser just before midnight. McFarland injured himself as he stumbled and fell down the long steps to his front door.
"Mainly it was to my knee and the front of my leg, my shin," McFarland said.
His wife called paramedics, who helped him into the house and treated him. As the paramedics were leaving, two sheriff's deputies arrived.
"All of a sudden, they just showed up like a gunfight was going on," McFarland said.
What happened in the following minutes was captured on a camera mounted on the deputy's Taser.
The deputy tells McFarland he is going to take him to the hospital because he may be suicidal.
"We want to take you to the hospital for an evaluation, you said if you had a gun, you'd shoot yourself in the head," the deputy can be heard saying.
McFarland says it was just hyperbole. He was tired and in pain.
McFarland says he never had any suicidal thoughts. In fact, he considers himself lucky to be alive.
"I'm a survivor of pancreatic cancer; one of 4 percent in this country," McFarland said.
Scott says his client was arrested, jailed and charged with resisting arrest. A judge later dismissed the charge.
Scott says the deputies had no search warrant or legal reason to enter McFarland's home and even if they thought he was drunk and suicidal, Scott says the Tasing was excessive force.
First (edited) Breaking News story link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLhi_1eLnPE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS-N1dl0VQA
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5:41
Steve Kardian -CNN HLN - Police use TASER on 64 year old man!by DefendUNY609 views
The description states that Peter McFarland was arrested for resisting arrest.
No where on the tape does any cop read him rights and advise him that he is being arrested.
They lie.
hplaserjet2001 1 year ago
Thank you for posting this video.
The taser wires remain on him the whole time.
Good luck fighting the false copyright claim.
hplaserjet2001 1 year ago