22,610,806 members doing good!
share your passions, stories, inspirations, and more
Oct 4, 2008

CARE2 MEMBERS, please note the story at this Care2News link:  http://www.care2.com/news/member/513396753/899699

The NYPD officer who gave the command to Taser psychiatric patient, Inman Morales, is dead.  Shortly before 6:00 a.m. on Thursday, police Lt. Michael Pigott shot himself with a 9-millimeter Glock.  Fellow officers report that Pigott had been “torn up” since he ordered Morales be Tasered as Morales, a 35-year old mental patient, stood naked and delusional on the balcony to his apartment on September 24.  Morales' mother had called for assistance for her son when he threatened suicide.  She had no way of knowing that police would be the ones to actually kill him.  

Inman Morales’ death could have been prevented by simply putting a protective air mattress underneath the balcony or by withholding use of the Taser.  Lt. Pigott’s guilt over the unnecessary death of a citizen was compounded by the prospect of his own arrest behind the incident.  NYPD ruled that Lt. Pigott’s order to use the Taser on Morales in that circumstance was an apparent violation of departmental guidelines, which prohibit using it "in situations where the subject may fall from an elevated surface.”

**************************

WARNING - GRAPHIC VIDEO FOOTAGE AT THIS LINK:

http://www.nypost.com/video/?vxSiteId=0db7b365-a288-4708-857b-8bdb545cbd0f&vxChannel=PostUsFeed&vxClipId=1458_385679&vxBitrate=300

************************** 

Police officer commits suicide over Taser incident

Los Angeles Times
By Rocco Parascandola, Newsday
October 3, 2008

Michael Pigott had ordered a fellow officer to Taser a psychiatric patient, and the man, Iman Morales, fell to his death.

Brooklyn and fired a single bullet into his head, police said.

Pigott, a respected 21-year veteran, was declared dead at a hospital. He had been tormented since Sept. 24, when his order to Taser a psychiatric patient led to the man's death, according to police officials and sources.

Several police sources involved in the investigation into the death of Iman Morales, 35, said Pigott was worried that he could lose his job and be indicted. Morales was killed in a 10-foot fall outside his Bedford-Stuyvesant building.

"The lieutenant was deeply distraught and extremely remorseful over the death of Iman Morales last week," Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said. "Sadly, his death just compounds the tragedy of the loss of Mr. Morales."

On Thursday, shortly before 6 a.m., Pigott took a 9-millimeter Glock from another officer's locker and committed suicide. A photo of his wife and children was nearby, along with a suicide note.

He didn't want his family to see him be arrested, sources said, and he didn't want anyone to blame Officer Nicholas Marchesano, who fired the Taser at Morales on his order.

"It's obvious how torn up he was over what happened," one police source said.

(See link for full article) 
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-stungun3-2008oct03,0,809645.story

*****************************
MARY'S COMMENTARY

Did the officer kill himself because he was sorry his order killed a mental patient, or was it merely because he now faced the possibility of going to jail himself?
That is something we may never know.

It appears to me that if Lt. Michael Pigott cared enough about Morales to kill himself over having caused his death, he would have cared enough on Sept. 24 to put down an air mattress to prevent it.

This belated sense of remorse does not impress me as being over Inman Morales' death, but the officer's suicide seems more intended to prevent himself from possibly facing criminal charges and going to prison, where 1.25 million mental patients are today -- jailed for being sick.

Police are used to Tasering mental patients. They are quite familiar with mental patients dying after Tasering, whether immediately or shortly after Tasering. I cannot believe the officer who gave the order to Taser Inman Morales, or the one who actually Tasered the deranged man as he stood helpless on a ledge at his 3rd floor apartment, were not fully aware of the danger to Morales. But they did it anyway.

I hope that Lt. Pigott's suicide in no way prevents NY from continuing with its case against the officer who "obeyed orders." Obeying orders to kill millions of innocent Jews in Germany during the Holocaust did not prevent those officers from standing trial after WWII for war crimes.

WE MUST BEGIN TO HOLD POLICE OFFICERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE DEATHS OF CITIZENS!

As long as Tasers sales are profitable to Taser manufacturers, we cannot expect them to stop selling them as "non-lethal devices."  What must happen is that society must demand accountability from the officers who abuse their use.  Only then will mental patients and others who are regularly killed or injured seriously by Tasers get a break.

We cannot expect Taser manufacturers to stop sales as long as Taser profits soar.  We need to look at their stockholders list for the names of our county commissioners and other elected officials who purchase these weapons for police departments. 

See who profits from Taser sales, and publish the list! 

Until now, people who have loved ones die at the hands of police for reason of EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE have sued the Police Departments. I believe we need to also SUE THE INDIVIDUAL OFFICERS. 

When Mr. Goldman got no satisfaction from the O.J. Simpson murder trial, Ron Goldman's father held O.J. Simpson personally responsible in a civil suit, and Mr. Goldman won. 

SUICIDE should be no escape for bad behavior.  Mr. Morales' mother should go after the estate of Lt. Pigott, and they should also sue the officer who actually killed Mr. Morales while "following orders." 

Inman Morales' mother should sue these officers individually (even the estate of the dead one) -- not to win money for herself, but to help protect other citizens from excessive use of force by law enforcement.

THAT IS WHY MY FAMILY IS IN A LAWSUIT AGAINST THE JOHNNIE COCHRAN FIRM. We need to make a statement to other lawyers:  Don't make fools of your clients while you secretly help the police, big agencies, and rich people who did your clients wrong in the first place. We will not take it quietly!

See my website for details.

************************

(This is the code that magically appears in front of my name now.  Copy it into an email, and it may appear as blank space on your "sent" file copy!
<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 />
Mary Neal
Website: 
http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com

Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill
Visit Online at:   
http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/AIMI

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

 


When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

 


Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

 


And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.  ~ Matthew 25:37-40

 

Visibility: Everyone
Tags: , , ,
Posted: Oct 4, 2008 8:23pm

 

 
 
Content and comments expressed here are the opinions of Care2 users and not necessarily that of Care2.com or its affiliates.

Author

Mary Neal
female, age 57, divorced, 2 children
Stone Mountain, GA, USA
Shares by Type:
All (582) | Blog (577) | Alert (1) | Poll (1) | Photo (1) | Message (2)

Showing shares tagged with: morales [show all]
SHARES FROM MARY'S NETWORK
Jun
7
(0 comments  |  discussions )
How To Be An Ally To Indigenous Peoples Text & Sponsor: Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign www.honorthetworow.org 2013 marks the 400th Anniversary of the Two Row Wampum Treaty between the Dutch and the Haudenosaunee {Iroquois}. T...
May
12
(1 comments  |  discussions )
Mama's Day Cards You Won't Find at the Drugstore Society & Culture  (tags: mothersday, mothers, families, queer, transgender, immigrants, strongfamilies ) BMutiny  - huffingtonpost.com The group...commissioned a group of artis...
May
9
(0 comments  |  discussions )
The largest genocide in human history happened where? Most people would answer Germany, and the Jewish Holocaust. Actually though, the largest genocide happened in the USA, with the native American Indians, with estimates of 19 million to 100 millio...
May
8
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Official Nuclear Radiation Study; Tokyo University Hayno, R.S., et al (2013) Internal Radiocesium Contamination of Adults and Children 7 to 20 Months After the Fukushima NPP Accident as Measured by Extensive Whole-Body-Counter Surveys, Proc. Jpn....
May
6
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Toxic radiation accumulates in water supplies after nuclear accidents. Radiation bioconcentrates in fish that live in fresh water and salt water. Runoff of fresh water from land which has been contaminated ends up contaminating oceans, and salt wate...
(0 comments  |  discussions )
66 Atomic Bombs were exploded on the Bikini Island Atolls. Hundreds of islanders were removed from the islands, but not from harms way. One hydrogen bomb exploded near the islands, and the children played with the dust from the bomb, as it fel...
May
5
(0 comments  |  discussions )
"Under our current law, a suspected terrorist on the FBI's No-Fly List can't board an airplane -- but they can still legally purchase guns and explosives. This loophole, known as the “Terror Gap,” is ...
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Germany added more solar panels in one month, than the US did in ONE YEAR. Nearly 1/3 of Germany power output is handled by bottoms up solar energy during the middle of the day. The transition to a 100% renewable energy nation is in process. T...
(0 comments  |  discussions )
http://www.upworthy.com/ /the-top-8-ways-to-be-tra ditionally-married-accord ing-to-the-bible?c=upw1 According to the Old Testament, which defines all of the 'rules' of traditional marriage, the above examples are all of the ways that couples can be ...
(0 comments  |  0 discussions )
What is the difference between bailing out or helping people at the bottom, or giving corporate welfare to the top 1%? The example of Iceland, compared to the US, provides us with a good comparison.  "Nobel prize winning economist Jo...

Copyright © 2013 Care2.com, inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved