Tase

Bodycam Videos Show Cops Tase Wrong Man Mistaken For Suspect

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• published: 16 Jul 2016
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** Subscribe for more: https://goo.gl/5clm0J ** A trio of Georgia cops tased and handcuffed a man—then realized they had the wrong guy. Patrick Mumford, 24, was sitting in a driveway the afternoon of Feb. 1 when officers with the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department approached him. Less than a minute later, they shot him twice with a stun gun. The police had a warrant for another man, Michael Clay, but immediately assumed they had their guy. Indeed, the lawmen believed Mumford was Clay, and that he was lying about his identity, a review of body camera footage shows. Now Mumford’s fate is hanging in the balance because Savannah police mistook him for someone else. After the frightening encounter, Mumford was charged with violating probation—stemming from a nonviolent drug offense—and could spend up to seven years in jail, his attorney says. After Mumford was tased, the cops even argued with onlookers over whether he resembled their target suspect. “They look a lot—a good bit alike, ma’am. It’s not far off,” an officer tells a bystander in the footage. The startling confrontation began seconds after cops came to the Savannah residence looking for Michael Clay, Mumford’s attorney Will Claiborne told The Daily Beast. “The problem is Patrick Mumford doesn’t look like Michael Clay, he ain’t Michael Clay, and they roll up on him like he is,” Claiborne said in a phone interview Thursday. “When he says his name is Patrick, they don’t believe him. “If they had had adequate training, they would have known not all black men look the same.” Clairborne’s firm has released an edited version of the body cam video, which was obtained through an open-records request. The footage comes as the nation grapples with the recent deaths of two black men killed by police—Philando Castile of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Alton Sterling of Baton Rouge, Louisiana—and as Black Lives Matter protests nationwide are working to challenge law enforcement’s deadly use of force against black men and women. “I hope for the Savannah police department’s sake that this would be a teachable moment,” Claiborne told The Daily Beast. “It does add some context as to why folks can be fearful of law enforcement.” Mumford sits in his car facing the police, his feet outside the vehicle and on the pavement. “I’m not getting up, man. Show me the warrant,” he says. But the cop has already started counting down. “Three, two... all right, tase him!” he orders. A terrified Mumford raises his leg in front of him, trying to shield himself from the stun gun. “Y’all ain’t let me know what’s going on,” Mumford says. Another officer pulls the taser trigger twice. According to Mumford’s attorney, only 38 seconds passed between the cops saying hello and ordering “All right, tase him!” In October 2014, Mumford pleaded guilty to charges including misdemeanor marijuana possession and felony possession of a controlled substance, records show. As a first-time offender, he was not convicted and instead sentenced to probation. As a result of the police department’s mistake, Mumford could lose his job as a certified collision specialist. He may also be forced to drop out of college where he’s pursuing his associate’s degree, Claiborne said. Messages left with the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department were not returned as of Thursday evening. Still, arrest reports offer a glimpse into their actions. Georgia cops were searching for Michael Bernard Clay, after getting a call from a California detective seeking to verify his Savannah residence. Clay had “turned in a phone that was involved in a robbery,” the report states. The Savannah officers also discovered Clay had an active warrant in Cobb County for simple assault, the document reveals. Police claim Mumford was given “numerous reasonable attempts to comply with officers, but he refused and still physically/actively resisted,” as the officer with the body camera noted in a police report reviewed by The Daily Beast. He claims that Mumford “put his right foot up toward me as if he were going to kick me while I was aiming the Taser at him” and that Mumford “began to retreat back further into the vehicle as if he were reaching for a weapon.” His fellow officers echoed claims that Clay’s mother, who arrived on scene, allegedly admitted her son and Mumford looked alike, the report shows. “Mr. Clay’s mother stated that they looked very similar,” one officer recalled, “and she understood how all three of us not knowing either male could believe Mr. Patrick Mumford to be Mr. Michael Clay.” ✋ About the video / Community guidelines ✋ This footage is NOT intended to be violent or glorify violence in any way. We are sharing this footage STRICTLY for the purposes of news reporting and educating.