Superhuman Attorney Angry At Board's Ruing

A panel of Metro department personnel and civilians has concluded that Officer David Gilbert was justified in Tasing local attorney Raymond James Duensing then shooting him three times after a traffic stop got a little out of hand back in November of 2009.

Duensing, who is represented by attorney Mace Yampolsky, still faces several felony counts in connection with the incident. Mace argued that the Officer Gilbert should have used pepper spray instead of the Taser. (Not really)

From the RJ:

Police said Duensing was Tased after his vehicle was stopped . They said he was shot after he reached toward his front right pocket for a .45-caliber handgun. Police also said Duensing reached for a folding knife.

Yampolsky said he is stunned that his client, who three times unsuccessfully ran for Congress on the Libertarian ticket against Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley, was shot after a traffic stop.

"He's a practicing lawyer who committed a traffic offense," Yampolsky said.

Yampolsky denies Duensing ever reached for a weapon while fleeing from police.

"According to my client, he did not," Yampolsky said.

In our opinion, it's never a good sign when you have to start a sentence with "according to my client ... "

If you recall the story, Ray claimed that he was able to remove the Taser barbs from his chest with his bare hands, fearing that the shock may affect his heart condition. That's hard to believe:

It's difficult to tell from that photo, but Ray doesn't look like he's in better shape than Mr. Cage Fighter who's writhing in the fetal position up there. We're going to need to see him pull off this feat in person before we're convinced.

(LVRJ)

Who Do You Believe?

By now you've heard about local attorney Raymond James Duensing, the man who was shot by police last week after fleeing on foot from a traffic stop. Here's what police say went down according to the LVRJ:

Police said the officer fired his weapon after Duensing was asked to get out of his Pontiac rental car because a record’s check indicated he had a warrant for his arrest. Police said Duensing then fled and was unsuccessfully Tased and shot after he reached toward his front right pocket for a .45-caliber handgun. Police also said Duensing reached for a large folding knife.

Apparently, not Everybody Loves Raymond. [Rimshot!] However, Ray (who goes by 'Jim') told a different story in his comment to a post published by the Independent Political Report. Here's how it really went down, According to Jim [ok, we'll stop]:

I was pulled over for driving straight through an intersection in a right turn only lane. I did signal for my lane changes to the left.

After exiting the vehicle at the officer’s request, I was standing with my back to the vehicle. The car’s open door was to my right. My hands were raised above my head. I was calmly speaking to the cop attempting to talk my way out of being taken to jail over an unpaid High Occupancy Vehicle ticket.

With my hands raised above my head, the cop shot me with a taser in the chest. As I have had heart problems since my premature birth, I believe a Taser to be a lethal weapon. Several people without heart conditions have been killed by this weapon.

When the taser began electrocuting me, instinct took over. I have been shocked by standard 120 volt electricity, which is what is used in your home. That was bad enough. Metro’s tasers contain “50,000 volts of pain compliance” according to one of the cops at the family law court who was operating the checkpoint.

Let me tell you, it is quite painful.

I immediately turned to my left and began moving away from the source of the electrocution. By the time I got to the back of the vehicle, I had reached up with both hands, grabbed the electrodes, and pulled them away from my chest. The juice then flowed through my arms - not my heart. As I lay here in my hospital bed, I firmly believe this instinct saved my life.

I continued running away from the taser. I heard the cop fire it again, but did not feel an additional shock.

I was running down the sidewalk with empty hands. I heard three pops from behind me. At first, I thought it was another taser shot. Then, I saw my left arm dangling.

I was taken down by a second officer - who was nearby conducting a separate unrelated traffic stop. He had me lying facedown on my broken arm. It was at this point that he found my licensed and registered pistol in my right cargo pants pocket and my Emerson folding knife in my right front pocket.

Let me reiterate. I am a firearms instructor at the world’s largest firearms training facility. I always carry a gun and at least one knife. I NEVER pulled either of these items out of my pockets.

The shooter was on my right side and from his perspective had to have been able to see that my right hand was indeed empty. The officer that I was running toward never reached for any weapon.

We've never been tased, but it seems like some super-human strength would be in order to reach down and pull out the probes. Then again, it does seem a bit excessive to start firing at a fleeing suspect after a routine traffic stop.

So, who do you guys believe? Is it counsel-hunting season for Metro, or did Jim do something that screamed Just Shoot Me? [last one, we promise] One thing's for sure, we could all benefit from reviewing Chris Rock's advice. (NSFW)

(Thanks, commenters!)