Fort Worth Police Tasered a Mentally Ill Black Man To Death

Family members said police officers used excessive force to subdue black man , who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

As if the recent tasing murders of Gary A. Decker and the recent murder of a 15 Year old Detroit boy is not enough. Here comes another tasing. This time as reported by Villager at the blog Electronic Village, who reports the Fort Worth Police tasered Michael Jacobs to death in front of his parents.



According to Mitch Mitchell of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, relatives are questioning the actions of Fort Worth police officers after a 24-year-old mentally ill man died Saturday shortly after being subdued with a Taser stun gun.

Police were called to a house in the 6200 block of Ava Court Drive in east Fort Worth about 10:30 a.m. by the parents of Michael Jacobs Jr., who said their son was causing problems, according to a statement from police.

When they arrived, Jacobs was in the front yard and uncooperative. When he became combative, an officer stunned him with a Taser, police said.

The officers planned to take Jacobs to John Peter Smith Hospital for a mental detention. He was handcuffed but began to have difficulty breathing, police said. He was taken to JPS, where he was pronounced dead about noon, according to the police statement.

Police are investigating the incident, and the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office will determine what caused Jacobs’ death.

Family members said police officers used excessive force to subdue Jacobs, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Charlotte Jacobs, Michael’s mother, says that her son was writhing on the ground and foaming at the mouth while he was being stunned and that she begged the officers to stop. Charlotte Jacobs also told police that her son was taking medications for his mental illness, relatives said.

"They have been to the house many times before, and they know Charlotte," said Helena Wigfall, 37, a cousin of Michael Jacobs. "That’s why we don’t understand why today was so different." More HERE

The publisher of the blog Tasered While Black will discuss this issue of police Tasering While Black on his Blogtalk Radio program tonight.