Here we go again

[AccountingDrone]

I'll tell you why. Some cops get that God feeling when they slap on their pea-shooter, and get behind the wheel of that Crown Vic. The asshole that cited me was one of them. Unfortunately, I no longer trust the police department anywhere.

I swear it is enough to make me slap driver cams on all our vehicles and strap on personal hidden microcams on my body.

[Gravekeeper]

The police have applied for search warrants for the kid's car and his cellphone. Turns out the kid was filming the officer on his cellphone the entire time up until he got tazed. But the phone is now in possession of police department. Naturally.

According to the court records for the search warrants, this is the officer's side of the story:

He says he smelled marijuana in the car when the window was rolled down. He asked the kid to roll the window down all the way to which he said "Why? I can hear you". This somehow escalated to the officer asking the kid to get out of the car. To which he allegedly said "Why? Am I under arrest?".

That somehow escalated to the officer trying to physically drag him out of the vehicle. The officer said the kid "braced" himself inside the vehicle so he could not pull him out. So he tazed him to get him out of the car. Then:

Officer Runnels states Masters did not comply with his command to move to the side of the road, so he grabbed Masters from behind and carried him to the side of the road where, according to an affidavit, Masters began to suffer from some sort of medical emergency.

So the officer says he carried Masters to the side of the road, where he magically started convulsing and died on the ground.

The medical side of things says that the tazer hit the kid in the chest near the heart and induced a cardiac arrhythmia. Then when he was dragged out of the vehicle his head was allowed to drop and hit the pavement. He was dead for 5 minutes before being resuscitated by paramedics.

So the officer basically says Masters was fine when he got out of the car and was not complying so the officer brought him over to the curb. Where he began to "suffer from some sort of medical emergency". Like its all some sort of mystery.

Whereas the medical side of it says the kid was screwed as soon as the tazer hit him.

[Panacea]

So... even though the article pretty much says outright that video evidence contradicts the cop's story, we're being biased and making unfounded assumptions because we have not personally viewed said video evidence?

I think he meant us for our purposes of discussion. If we're going to debate a situation, we should do so with all available evidence.

I've viewed the only video available thus far. It is USELESS. It could show convulsions. Or not. I see an arm move. That could mean anything. From an assessment standpoint as a medical professional, I can't tell anything useful about Bryce Master's medical condition from this video.

A kid ended up dead over a simple traffic stop.

Please, let's avoid the hyperbole. The kid is NOT dead. He is alive and in an ICU.

The police statement on the matter said he "fell at some point during the vehicle stop" and "was having a medical emergency". They also said he was tazed while still in the car but "got out of the car under his own power".

Yeah, this statement I would question. No one moves of their own volition while being tazed.

But hey, here's some witness video.

Useless, as I said. You can't reach any conclusions at all from the video: not that he was in distress, nor that he was OK. It does not help either side of the story.

It doesn't show what happened prior. But it does show the already injured kid on the ground, convulsing, while the officer stands over him with a foot on him, drags him around and then at one point even starts kicking him to see if he's still alive I guess.

I don't see any convulsions. And I've seen a lot of convulsions. I see movement. That could be anything. The distance is too far to conclusively call it a convulsion.

He may have had one. But the video isn't really helpful.

At no point does the officer render aid. He lets the kid convulse and die on the ground.

Not uncommon in these situations. They usually let EMS deal with the medical emergencies when they have a suspect in custody. Not saying it's right. Saying it's what usually happens. We can't tell from the video when the kid coded.

I could ask you the same question. In what world is the officer's actions in the video considered first aid?

None. He moved the kid onto his stomach because that's what you do to keep them in a submissive posture.

Absolutely not. You put them on their side in the recovery position and ensure a clear airway, cushion their head to prevent further injuries and you actively monitor breathing and pulse. You do not drag them over on their front like a trash bag, watch them suffocate and die then kick them to see if they are still alive.

Side position is correct in an active seizure. I don't know that's what happened from this video. I don't see anyone close enough other than the officer to make that determination. I also don't see a kick. I see him put his foot on top of Bryce; again that's common to make sure a suspect stays down.

A fucking cop should know basic first aid.

They do. And CPR. But prisoners fake medical emergencies all the time. I do think once he was cuffed, the officer should have checked to make sure he was OK. But we really can't tell if that happened or not from the video.

This is another situation where the cop says one thing, and the witnesses (who are not close) say something else. The friend must still be in the car, which is probably why the officer didn't do first aid; he had to maintain control of the situation until EMS and backup arrived. He could have been attacked by the friend in the car while trying to resuscitate Bryce Masters. So as far as first aid goes, I'm not convinced the officer did anything wrong, and he may have been following department policy.

So ultimately, we don't know anything about what really happened other than this kid ended up in ICU.

[HYHYBT]

Indeed, to my knowledge, the foot is not used for any form of first aid.

Unless you count running to the phone

[Greenday]

Thank you, Panacea, for summing up the non-evidence so eloquently.

[Gravekeeper]

It is USELESS. It could show convulsions. Or not. I see an arm move. That could mean anything. From an assessment standpoint as a medical professional, I can't tell anything useful about Bryce Master's medical condition from this video.

His arms convulse in a set rhythm for at least 20s that I can see. Then he stops moving completely. The officer seems to eventually realize this and kicks him a few times with no response.

Although in fairness, I am watching this video on a 47 inch TV. Not a computer monitor.

Not uncommon in these situations. They usually let EMS deal with the medical emergencies when they have a suspect in custody. Not saying it's right. Saying it's what usually happens. We can't tell from the video when the kid coded.

Again, we know that it was the tazer that caused his heart to stop and that he suffered enough head trauma to cause brain swelling. Both of these occurred when removing him from the vehicle prior to the beginning of the video. We also know his brain was without oxygen long enough to cause memory loss and brain damage.

We also know from the court affidavit that the officer noted the medical emergency after bringing the kid to the curb. So in the video the officer, by his own statement, is aware of the medical emergency from the beginning of this video and its entire duration.

Please, let's avoid the hyperbole. The kid is NOT dead. He is alive and in an ICU.

He died on scene and was resuscitated by paramedics. That is not hyperbole. Just because he was resuscitated does not mean he did not die on this officer's watch. He died and he has now suffered brain damage as a result.

None. He moved the kid onto his stomach because that's what you do to keep them in a submissive posture.

Which is a problem given that the officer stated in court that he was aware of the medical emergency at this point

I also don't see a kick. I see him put his foot on top of Bryce; again that's common to make sure a suspect stays down.

You don't see the kick? How did you not see the kick?

Its right here after the officer takes his foot off of the kid and seems to realize something might be really wrong. He also picks up something after that. I'm guessing the kid's cellphone?

The friend must still be in the car, which is probably why the officer didn't do first aid; he had to maintain control of the situation until EMS and backup arrived. He could have been attacked by the friend in the car while trying to resuscitate Bryce Masters.

Back up arrives in the video. When it does, the officer makes no move to render aid. Nor does the second officer show any concern or urgency for keeping an eye on the friend in the car.

So as far as first aid goes, I'm not convinced the officer did anything wrong, and he may have been following department policy.

The officer's statements in court already don't match the video and the FBI is investigating.

So ultimately, we don't know anything about what really happened other than this kid ended up in ICU.

Sorry, but that is demonstrably false. Between the video, court documents and doctors we know a lot about what happened. The part we don't know anything about is the altercation itself that lead to this. Which hopefully we'll know more about soon now that the FBI has the kid's phone which he was recording the officer with.