The ACLU says Louisville Metro police officers need a new policy when it comes to tazers.
The statement comes after Officers responded to a 911 call of a fight in progress in the Newburg area on July 3rd where officers utilized their tazers to subdue a man who subsequently died.
When officers arrived they found 34-year-old Isaac Bass and his brother fighting. When they attempted to intervene, Bass fought with the officers and struck one officer in the head with a flashlight. He then attempted to take the service weapon of the other officer. The officers then used their tazers to subdue him. Isaac Bass died shortly after the incident and police are awaiting the autopsy report to determine if the tazer was involved with Bass' death.
According to Isaac Bass' brother with whom he had been fighting, "Isaac Bass had been drinking and smoking crack all day long and was extremely violent." Bass also had a lengthy criminal record that included assaulting police officers in the past.
But now the ACLU has taken issue with the Police Department saying that officers use tazers "too frequently" and there are not enough restrictions in place when it comes to tazer use.
Did the use of a tazer contribute to Isaac Bass' death? It's irrelevant. The officers lives were in danger at that point and the use of deadly force was justified. Given the statement made by his own brother, Isaac Bass most likely died from heart failure brought on by severe cocaine intoxication and the fight that ensued.Watch the video...