MILWAUKEE — An Associated Press (AP)investigation released this week found that over a decade, more than one thousand Americans died after police subdued them with physical force that is not supposed to be deadly. In many cases, drug use or pre-existing conditions were blamed for the deaths, instead of the force itself.
During their reporting, the names of 11 cases where "less-lethal" or "non-lethal" force killed a person in Wisconsin between the years 2012 and 2021 were discovered:
Paul Bruner - 2021 - Age 58
Demetrio Jackson - 2021 - Age 43
Javier Garcia - Mendez 2019 - Age 46
Steven Millar - 2019 - Age 37
Percy Morgan - 2019 - Age 34
Dillon Galien - 2017 - Age 30
John Kriewaldt - 2012 - Age 30
Adam Trammell - 2017 - Age 22
Thomas Smith - 2017 - Age 65
Robert Maurina - 2012 - Age 46
The AP also released exclusively obtained police video from the night a Waukesha man died. Paul Bruner died at the hospital after being tased by Waukesha Police in September 2021. Originally, police were responding to a medical call regarding Bruner's health challenges.
"Paramedics are responding for a male having difficulty breathing. Caller stated he kicked paramedics the last time and he is getting upset right now," a dispatcher said as officers were en route to Bruner's home.
When Waukesha Police arrived, police dash camera video shows they were met with threats as Bruner became upset.
"You want to (expletive) die?" he shouted to police.
Police reports show officers had also learned at this point that Bruner may have been violent toward his girlfriend.
After police requested Bruner to come outside several times, the quickly escalating situation was met with what is commonly called "less-lethal" or "non-lethal" force - a taser was deployed by police. Not once, not twice, but three times.
At one point, you hear Bruner yell, "Stop. You're going to kill me. Stop, you guys, please. I'm going to have a heart attack."
Suddenly the resistance ended after the third taser deployment. A dash to provide medical assistance began with police officers using an AED to try and rescue Bruner who was now experiencing a medical episode. The life-saving efforts were caught on camera.
"You go and it's a medical call and then it turns into domestic violence or something else and it's unexpected," said Chuck Padgett, who sat down with TMJ4's Ryan Jenkins to offer his expert perspective related to this AP investigation and this particular case out of Waukesha.
Padgett is the former chief of the West Allis Police Department.
"(Officers) have to make split-second decisions that can be harmful to them or to someone else," he explained.
Padgett said when it comes to use-of-force investigations, the public should try to keep an open mind.
"You have to look at the totality of what it is. You don't know if that person was on drugs at the time if they have a heart condition, or any other medical condition. The officers obviously don't know that. I mean they might know they're impaired in some way because of their behavior but they don't really know what they've done and what their medical history is. they're not doctors," said
Padgett.
He also said the public should not be afraid to ask questions.
"Let a good investigation occur and wait for what the results are from that. Sometimes it may come out that the officer was wrong and they shouldn't have done that. That's been done and that can happen," he said.
In Paul Bruner's case, all of the officers were cleared by an investigation. The Waukesha Police Department declined a request for an interview for this story. Perhaps if nothing else, this story and the AP's investigation can both offer a chance to make sure we, as a community, know when and why these "tools" are used.
"Their intent is to help that person. Even though it looks bad because they're in an interaction with this person. Their intent is to help that person."
To find the AP's full investigation, click HERE.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
