Sunday, March 20, 2022

Deputy Ryan Chapman. Caddo Parrish; Louisiana: Question of the day: What does it mean to be completely innocent in Louisiana - and who knows in how many other U.S. states - once a police officer crosses your path? 'Reason' Senior Editor Brian Doherty makes the answer chillingly clear in a commentary headed, "Man Suffers Heart Attack, Dies, After Being Cuffed For Cussing at Officer and Trying to Shut his Door - with the sub-heading, "Cops in Caddo Parrish Louisiana we're searching for a theft suspect on the property who was not there when they arrested William Walls and caused his death."..."As can be seen in officer bodycam footage featured in a news segment on local TV news channel KTBS, Walls at first willingly allowed the police to search his mobile home to look for a theft suspect who had indeed spent the night on the larger property the night before in one of Walls' son's mobile homes. But the suspect was no longer on the property when the search that led to Walls' death happened. Walls became annoyed the officers were still nosing around the larger property and came out of his mobile home offering them a phone, apparently so they could talk to one of his sons about the fugitive, and said they could then "get the fuck out of here." As seen in the video, Walls was walking back into his own mobile home, doing nothing to obstruct the officers besides having asked them to leave, when they followed him in, pushed him against a bit of furniture, and cuffed him in his own home—his invitation for them to enter obviously rescinded by then. At the time, as seen in the video, the reasons for Walls being cuffed and dragged out of his home were expressed by Chapman as "cuss[ing]" at him and "slam[ming a] door in his face." (As the video shows, Walls did not succeed in even shutting the door, which an officer had his hand on as he tried.) Given that they'd already searched the home, neither offense can be reasonably seen as criminal obstruction. "I have not obstructed justice, sir," spoken quietly, were among Walls' last words. While the officers insist he was a threat to their safety, that is not a conclusion a reasonable non-cop is likely to glean from the footage. Although an internal investigation (surprise) exonerated the officers, the Caddo Parish district attorney's office sent the case to a grand jury, where Chapman was indicted."


QUOTE OF THE DAY: (Enough to make one weep):

"I have not obstructed justice, sir," spoken quietly, were among Walls' last words.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------


PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "In part of their lawsuit, the family stated "William E. Walls was a senior citizen who spent his entire life as a law-abiding citizen, and was trying to cooperate with law enforcement – until Deputy Chapman began acting unreasonably." As always, and terrifyingly, even being completely innocent can be meaningless once a police officer crosses your path. The police's own procedures and investigatory powers seldom prevent or even punish unreasonable police behavior that causes harm and death."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------


STORY: "Man Suffers Heart Attack, Dies, After Being Cuffed For Cussing at Officer and Trying to Shut his Door, by Brian Doherty, published by 'Reason,' on March 8, 2022. (BRIAN DOHERTY is a senior editor at Reason and author of Ron Paul's Revolution: The Man and the Movement He Inspired (Broadside Books).

SUB-HEADING:    "Cops in Caddo Parrish Louisiana we're searching for a theft suspect on the property who was not there when they arrested William Walls and caused his death."

GIST: "Getting annoyed with police who had already searched and failed to find a theft suspect on his property led an innocent 68-year-old man to be cuffed and shoved in the back of a police car in March 2021, where he had a heart attack and later died at a hospital. The officers did attempt some basic CPR when they found him without an apparent pulse slumped over in the back of their car where they'd stored him.


Two sons of William Walls are suing the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office in Louisiana (and two specific deputies) under 42 U.S. Code §1983, which holds government agencies and agents liable for "the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution." 


That wrongful death lawsuit was shifted from state to federal court this week. An officer involved, Deputy Ryan Chapman, is also facing criminal charges for his role in Walls' death.


The officer had no warrant to enter Walls' specific residence, nor reasonable probable cause to have cuffed him and put him in the police car where he suffered his heart attack.


As can be seen in officer bodycam footage featured in a news segment on local TV news channel KTBS, Walls at first willingly allowed the police to search his mobile home to look for a theft suspect who had indeed spent the night on the larger property the night before in one of Walls' son's mobile homes. But the suspect was no longer on the property when the search that led to Walls' death happened.


Walls became annoyed the officers were still nosing around the larger property and came out of his mobile home offering them a phone, apparently so they could talk to one of his sons about the fugitive, and said they could then "get the fuck out of here."


As seen in the video, Walls was walking back into his own mobile home, doing nothing to obstruct the officers besides having asked them to leave, when they followed him in, pushed him against a bit of furniture, and cuffed him in his own home—his invitation for them to enter obviously rescinded by then.


At the time, as seen in the video, the reasons for Walls being cuffed and dragged out of his home were expressed by Chapman as "cuss[ing]" at him and "slam[ming a] door in his face." (As the video shows, Walls did not succeed in even shutting the door, which an officer had his hand on as he tried.) Given that they'd already searched the home, neither offense can be reasonably seen as criminal obstruction.


"I have not obstructed justice, sir," spoken quietly, were among Walls' last words.


While the officers insist he was a threat to their safety, that is not a conclusion a reasonable non-cop is likely to glean from the footage. Although an internal investigation (surprise) exonerated the officers, the Caddo Parish district attorney's office sent the case to a grand jury, where Chapman was indicted.


The indictment states Chapman faces "one count of malfeasance in office stemming from a March 18, 2021, in-custody death. The charge is a felony that carries up to five years with or without hard labor and a possible fine of up to $5,000."


In part of their lawsuit, the family stated "William E. Walls was a senior citizen who spent his entire life as a law-abiding citizen, and was trying to cooperate with law enforcement – until Deputy Chapman began acting unreasonably."


As always, and terrifyingly, even being completely innocent can be meaningless once a police officer crosses your path. The police's own procedures and investigatory powers seldom prevent or even punish unreasonable police behavior that causes harm and death."


The entire story can be read at: 


https://reason.com/2022/03/08/man-suffers-heart-attack-dies-after-being-cuffed-for-cussing-at-officer-and-trying-to-shut-his-door/

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"  section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;



SEE BREAKDOWN OF  SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG,  AT THE LINK BELOW:  HL:




FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

—————————————————————————————————

FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;