Usually when one thinks of New England, one thinks of the seat of the War of Independence and home of states that value personal freedom and independence above virtually all else. After all, New Hampshire’s state motto is “Live Free or Die.” This was where the very idea of peaceful civil disobedience was born in the U.S.
So when a police officer in Barre, Vermont (population: 9,291) decided that a woman with mental illness wasn’t moving to comply with his requests, he decided to arrest her. And when the woman still wasn’t moving to allow herself to be arrested, Cpl. Henry Duhaime of the Barre (Vt) Police Department apparently decided to pull out his Taser, instead of his radio to call for backup.
Was the woman a coked up drug addict trying to fight off the police officer? Nope, the woman was a 58-year-old senior citizen who happened to be homeless and have a mental illness. She could be someone’s mother or grandmother. Her crime? Keeping her arms folded in front of herself, refusing to move, and then refusing to be arrested.
Henry Duhaime then went ahead and allegedly tased the woman multiple times. It seems apparent from the report below that Duhaime allegedly became incensed because the Taser failed to work the first time and the woman began laughing at him. So he allegedly used the Taser again and again, until she complied with being arrested. If this sounds like something out of the old Soviet Russia, well, you wouldn’t be far from the truth:
Osborn kept her arms crossed, according to the report, prompting Duhaime to unholster his Taser. As had previously been reported, Osborn responded by saying: “Give me a thrill.” Duhaime then fired the Taser, but claimed the probes did not penetrate Osborn’s jacket and the woman doubled over laughing.
According to the report, that’s when things escalated.
“… I could see that this was not getting any results so I pulled out the cartridge and went for a drive stun to Osborn’s left thigh,” Duhaime wrote in the report that was presented to the council. “This did have some affect and she screamed a little bit and went down on her buttocks, in the shrub area, next to the store at which time the Taser slipped off her thigh.”
According to Duhaime’s account that is when Osborn, who was struggling to get up, “took a swing” at his knee and missed.
“… Before Osborn could get up I was able to apply a second drive stun to her right thigh,” he wrote. “This again kept her down and she began to scream. I advised her to roll over and place her hands behind her back, which she did and the Taser came off her leg losing contact again.
“Now Osborn was still screaming without the Taser being on her, and would still not put her hands behind her back,” he continued. “I again applied the drive stun to the back of her left thigh. Osborn finally complied, put her hands behind her back at which time I was able to get the handcuffs on her and take her into custody.”
The woman’s crime in this small town?
Standing outside the local Cumberland Farms. It’s not clear why she was being asked to leave the property in the first place.
Apparently the officers have little regard for history in their own backyard as well:
“There’s a tradition in this country that goes back to Henry David Thoreau and it’s called non-violent civil disobedience and it’s woven into the fabric of this country,” Edward Stanak [a town resident] said. “I’m more than a little bit concerned now that there’s a perspective that it … might have been okay to users Tasers in Selma, Alabama because those people (civil rights activists) weren’t ‘passively resistant.'”
Unbelievably, rather than apologize for Duhaime’s aggressive behavior toward an elderly town resident, Police Chief Timothy Bombardier defended his officer’s actions. “Bombardier defended Duhaime, reiterating his belief that his actions did not violate the policy, or injure Osborn.”
The City of Barre’s town council met to discuss the issue and seems to, thankfully, understand that Barre, Vermont is not like a crime-ridden neighborhood in an inner city. And frankly, if the town’s Police Chief Bombardier doesn’t understand why this incident was so wrong on so many different levels, he should resign.
Tasers are potentially-deadly weapons, according to the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), that should only be used on people actively exhibiting aggression and should not be used on passive subjects. A woman standing still, with her arms folded in front of her, sounds pretty passive to me. So when a police officer isn’t getting satisfaction, does turning them into a “resisting arrest” subject then justify their use of a Taser (even when the woman’s actions have not changed, and she may not have the capacity to make informed judgments)?
This is another example of where the worst kind of assumptions are made about a person who is homeless or mentally ill, rather than showing some common sense, compassion and understanding for a fellow citizen. If Duhaime was really concerned for his own well-being, he should have simply called for another officer’s assistance (which, ironically, was literally a block away).
Duhaime should apologize to the woman, and Bombardier should apologize to the City of Barre and its residents for the inhumane treatment of this senior citizen.
Read the full article: Taser use questioned.
22 comments
The problem is that our police are being taught that they are there to keep us “in line” and have cultivated a engorged feeling of authority that far surpasses what this country was founded on. And then they give them these tasers which were meant to prevent use of deadly force, however because they don’t usually kill the officers have decided to use it more aggressively to enforce their “authority”. It’s not so much about how they treat the mentally ill but they feeling that we must comply and they have to power to whatever they feel is necessary to make us comply even if we are not doing anything wrong.
Thanks for the article. It’s really frustrating to see news like this. That poor woman didn’t deserve it. I do also believe that they should apologize. The behavior is not humaine 🙁
Police, and many others in society, need training to understand behavioral disturbances.
While I despise what happened to the elderly women and the use of tasers in general, the officer whose picture you have displayed is not Cpl Duhaime, could we get that right?
While I am opposed to the officer’s and chief’s actions and responses, I don’t think it was necessary to title this “Mentally Ill Old Woman …” and could even be demeaning.
Besides the fact that 58-years-old is NOT an “old woman” these days, so what if she’s mentally ill? Even if she had no mental wellness challenges at all Duhaime’s actions still would have been wrong.
The title of this entry is, to me, designed to provoke and is condescending, rather than being informative.
LB – According to the FBI website, it is him:
http://www.fbi.gov/publications/leb/2002/may2002/may2002.htm
CJMartin – Sorry, but we focus on mental health issues and those people affected by them on this site. So it is indeed relevant to our interest the story about this particular Tasering incident, and hence the reason it was mentioned in the headline.
Age is subjective. But since 55 is the minimum necessary to join the Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons (AARP), I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to suggest someone who is 58 may be considered “old.” (You can retire in the U.S. as young as 62, so again, there’s no set age here that will define “old.” As always, you’re only as old as you feel!)
Regardless of what one deems “old’, the term “old woman’ is pejorative … in all contexts. If a descriptor of age-range sort was necessary there are style handbooks to consult. ‘Old’ is never appropriate as a neutral description in a news article: ‘Elderly female’ could have been used, although in this case the female was not actually ‘elderly’ so it leaves one even more confused as to why age needed to be referenced at all. Even ‘mature female’ would have sufficed. ‘Old woman’ was deliberately pejorative — leaving this reader to wonder why the writer did this?
I do understand the focus on mental illness in this column. However, because it was included in this column it could be inferred it’s about someone with mental illness, either the perpetrator or the victim. Even so, it’s inflammatory and derogatory, as if somehow the woman is more of a victim than any other person. No human should be subjected to that treatment. Including her mental illness as a consideration that the officer should have taken into account before doing anything other than calling for backup is certainly relevant. Using it as you did is labeling – she is a woman with mental illness, not a mentally ill woman, just as people should try not to say “he is a schizophrenic.” Maybe we should say “Normal person killed today by police brutality.”?
As far as Barre City and the use of Tasers as well as the use of force in general goes, I wonder if anyone will ask why the same funds spent on all those Tasers, etc., were not spent on Vermont’s Act 80 law enforcement disability related training of all officers instead (and, not just the one day version either, but more along of the (CIT) type recommended in the attached 2010 report).
One also wonders if the police officer in question is among the ten (10) Barre police officers*(1) who supposedly received the basic 6-hour Act 80 disability related training or not and, if not, why not (rhetorical)?
*(1: 23% of the Barre City police force: i.e., 10 out of 44 full and part time members of the department)
It is odd that obtaining a huge mass of additional weapons are a much higher priority than is enough proper training, especially when training on certain topics are at a minimum if at all (e.g., mental health related matters), at least for some departments.
In addition, although it is recommended that one read the entire meeting minutes transcription section concerning the discussion regarding Tasers and related matters, contrast the following statements of the police chief to his reported and quoted interpretation that has been in the news of late of how he defines the Taser use of force policy now he has the Tasers in hand (PDF; also attached):
http://www.ci.barre.vt.us/vertical/Sites/{C56D92D5-E575-4F98-981D-17D0AE52466F}/uploads/{81C0E491-24CF-4F38-BA4F-8D50C5C8FF11}.PDF
(below excerpt from page 3, 3rd paragraph, middle section)
To be approved at 04-28-09 Barre City Council Meeting
1
Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council
Held April 28, 2009
The Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council was called to order at 7:00 P.M. by Mayor Lauzon. In
attendance were: from Ward I, Councilor Poirier; from Ward II, Councilors Mackenzie and Smith; and
from Ward III, Councilors Copping and Gagnon. City Manager John C. Craig was also present.
[…]
[…] The Chief said Taser use is not for first use of force, that verbal skills are the first option. He said Taser use is not punitive. They will be used as a tool to deal with the assaultive-weapon wielding individual. The Chief said Tasers would be used in physical altercations where someone is not pulling away, where they have a weapon, or are a danger to themselves or others.
[…]
——-
By the way, that photo is indeed the one of the officer involved as John reported, I had also come across it when searching the other day as well; it is from about eight years ago.
Lastly, one can read the latest news article concerning these matters as relates to the police reports:
Report details tasing incident:
http://www.timesargus.com/article/20100318/NEWS01/3180369/1002/NEWS01
via Times Argus
the reports themselves are also available online:
3/10/2010 Taser Use of Force Report; City of Barre, VT Police Department
http://www.barrecity.org/vertical/Sites/{C56D92D5-E575-4F98-981D-17D0AE52466F}/uploads/{E6C2B72B-9312-4CC8-8308-98A526CAD152}.PDF
7 pages
note that one page seven (7), on the second page of the second officers report it indicates that Ann Osborn was sent to Vermont State Hospital.
re: my last comment post:
if one intends to follow the links to either PDF document links were provided for, make sure to copy and paste the entire link for the item into your Web browser (since the links did not fully highlight and if one clicks onto what is highlighted, they most likely will not work).
He couldn’t handle an elderly woman without tasing her?
*Key Quote* re: [Barre (VT) Police] Officer Cleared In Taser Incident;
via WPTZ News; 3/18/2010:
http://www.wptz.com/news/22881877/detail.html
excerpted quote (*emphasis mine*):
[…]
[…] said Dep. Chief Marceau. “…. *It’s based on what the officer’s been trained to do* ….”
[…]
–end quote–
*Exactly!* — which then begs the question, just what has been his training to date and, does his previous training include the basic 6-hour Act 80 disability (including mental health matters) related law enforcement training available to Vermont police departments, etc.? If not, why not? However, if so (i.e., if the officer did indeed receive this initial basic training), then what can be done to ensure additional more intensive training along these lines is provided … ?
Make sure to read the entire news article or view the video clip of the news report via WPTZ News:
http://www.wptz.com/news/22881877/detail.html
It doesn’t matter to me, but the FBI is wrong.I live in Barre. i believe that is Officer Stupik (sic). Duhaime is much older
Thanks LB, we’ve gone ahead and removed the photo based upon your information.
We’ve also updated the article to remove references to “old woman.” Our apologies for this inappropriate reference.
The City Of Barre needs to issue guidelines for the use of a Taser in all situations. Cpl. Duhaime mishandled the situation. Using a Taser on a 58 year old woman who’s hands are crossed, not threatening the corporal in any way, is to say the least excessive. The whole police department of Barre needs to be retrained in dealing with the mentally ill.
That’s dispicable that a cop would abuse and hurt a mentally ill person.This cop should get tasered a 1000 X himself and thrown off the force!
Visit Texas and you can get that kind of treatment in the psychiatric facilities, only replace the taser with a needle. Once, I didn’t get up when it was time to leave the cafeteria because I was so dizzy from all the crap they had me on, so they threatened me and dragged me by my arms and legs back to my room and tossed me on my bed. Was I a danger to myself or others? No. I was an inconvenience. I also saw multiple cases where people who were non-threatening but incovenient or loud taken down and dragged off to their rooms and forcibly injected with antipsychotics. The way people who are treated with mental illness is despicable, even more so when it’s perpetrated by those who are supposedly there to care for people.
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