BANGOR, Maine — Officials from the Bangor Police Department and Eastern Maine Medical Center both said Friday that they are conducting internal investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death of a 28-year-old Bangor man who died while in police custody.
Phillip McCue, who had a history of mental illness and drug use, reportedly was shocked with a stun gun by a Bangor police officer last week and later died at EMMC after having two heart attacks, family members said Thursday.
McCue’s death now is under investigation by the Maine attorney general’s office, Brenda Kielty, a special assistant in the attorney general’s office, confirmed Thursday.
In an interview on Thursday, McCue’s stepmother, Patty McCue of Jackson, said McCue was taken to EMMC after a confrontation Sept. 12 with a Bangor police officer and remained there in a coma and alone until she and his father, Michael McCue, learned two days later that he might have been arrested and started looking for him.
After calling Bangor police, the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office and The Acadia Hospital, where Phillip McCue had been treated for his mental illness in the past, Michael McCue placed a call to EMMC and was told his son had suffered cardiac arrest and was in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
McCue’s father and stepmother said the state medical examiner’s office told them a Bangor police officer had stunned McCue with a Taser.
Even though his father was listed as his next of kin in his hospital file, the family wasn’t contacted, Patty McCue said.
Phillip McCue, who had no known heart problems but was a recreational drug user, according to his family, had a second heart attack Monday and died at the hospital. Family members said McCue had recently been hanging out with a known user of the synthetic drug bath salts, and possibly was using the drug himself.
In a statement issued Friday, Bangor police Sgt. Paul Edwards said the incident “remains under internal review.”
“We have notified and remain in contact with the office of the attorney general,” Edwards said. “The attorney general’s office has indicated that they are conducting an investigation into this matter which we will fully cooperate with.”
“The Bangor Police Department expresses its condolences to the family of Phillip McCue,” Edwards added. Edwards did not return several messages seeking further information Friday afternoon.
Meanwhile, EMMC’s new chief nursing officer said the hospital is conducting an investigation of its own to determine why McCue’s family members were not notified.
“It’s a tragedy when any patient in our hospital dies,” Jodi Galli told reporters during a news conference Friday afternoon at the hospital. “We’d like to let the family know that we extend our sincere condolences and our prayers for their loss.”
“It is EMMC’s responsibility to ask each and every one of our patients on admission if there’s a family member that they would like us to notify, and if a patient isn’t able to give that information, it’s our responsibility to do our best to locate a family member to notify them of their loved one’s admission into the hospital,” said Galli, who joined the hospital’s staff three weeks ago.
“Unfortunately we regret to say that in this case, that did not happen and we’re currently investigating to find out why,” she said.
Galli declined to answer questions about the investigation and what steps, if any, EMMC staff took to locate McCue’s family members.
McCue’s body was taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Augusta for an autopsy. The cause of McCue’s death is pending the results of toxicology tests, Mark Belserene of the medical examiner’s office said Thursday.
The McCues said they have asked the police department for a copy of the police report and hired a private investigator, but were told they will have to wait until after the investigation is completed.
Phillip McCue is survived by a 4-year-old son. His funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at Unity Centre for the Performing Arts, 42 Depot St., Unity. Afterward, he will be buried at Center Cemetery in East Thorndike.
BDN writer Nok-Noi Ricker contributed to this report.
This is a sad story all around. I feel sorry for the parents of the guy. And also the officer that felt that he had to use thier stun gun for both parties safety.
wanted to use it or had to use it?? which one?? I heard he was in the back seat of a police car when it happened.
BAHAHAHAHHA. I doubt you “heard” anything. Your true colors are pouring out.
You a cop Bully? You are trolling on here ramming everyone. Just state your position and move on.
The Bangor Police Department expresses its condolences to the family of Phillip McCue,” Edwards added. Edwards did not return several messages seeking further information Friday afternoon. Wonder why he did not return messages, he probably set in his foffice most of the day, time for Colley to be promoted
“set in his foffice”?
Sounds like a fpeech impediment…
No need to watch for spelling errors, no one is perfect
If your a conservative participating on this board, you had darned better have your spelling and sentence structure down to a science, because there are a host of people here willing to point out your shortcomings in the use of proper english and insinuate that you are a total buffoon.
“your”
English majors come close!
My sincerest thanks for taking the time and effort to point out the smallest typo. It really took the discussion to a higher level.
This is all Patty and Mike wanted. A search for THE TRUTH!
Philip will be laid to rest tomorrow. Rest in peace little buddy.
We all want the truth. Even if that makes this man look badly.
You’ve already tried and condemned him. Talk about the truth
you don’t want the truth.. you are looking for an excuse to blame the victim.
I look only to blame the responsible and those who try to pin their blame on everyone else.
They know the truth. All of us who knew him and his brothers knows the truth.
Very sorry situation for all parties involved. No winners here.
Poor guy never had a chance. I hope the parents get to the bottom of his death and get the answers of what happened and pursue any action they are allowed.
For what ?? Letting him use bath salts?? I hope this inspires parents to do their job.
Please call the police with the proof that his was on bathsalts…
YES! Good idea. I’ll run right down there and tell the cops how to do their jobs. It’s comical to suggest that the cops are not already the best trained people in this area and certainly the ones with the most experience to identify the symptoms of bath salts use. I have NO doubt that they identified immediately that he was on the drug. I’m sure it contributed significantly into why he got stunned.
And then I’ll run right down to the hospital and tell them how to do their job too. I’m sure they’ll need me as well to identify their bath salts patients too.
You people really have no faith in the professionals around us. News Flash. They don’t need our help. When they do, they will ask for it. We aren’t that important.
No, not after the Bob Carlson debacle. Law enforcement in Bangor let it go on for years and years and did nothing. How could they have not known and pursue action to stop him?
With the exception of one or two people, law enforcement in the Bangor area did more than anyone else in the world to stop Carlson. Ask anyone at Bangor, Brewer PD’s what they thought of Carlson. The vast majority of them would have LOVED to have had enough evidence to charge Carlson wjth anything. Your motives are clear and my facts are solid. Until the anonymous letter days before Carlson’s death, there was hardly even an ounce of circumstantial evidence to support even questioning Carlson. Keep slandering but you have no facts to support your statements.
what does carlson have to do with this case. you have to admit carlson did it quietly . no witnesses. he knew what was coming . he tried to spare people
I agree, it has absolutely nothing to do with this case. I was replying to the insinuation that Bangor cops are corrupt, the evidence being somehow connected to the Carlson case. Comical on both accounts.
I am not buying it. They could have put 24 hour watch. They would have seen something like in the parking lot at night across from the retired police officer’s house. Why wasn’t that situation even followed up? They could have caught him in the act.
If you read the full report, you would know why they didn’t. Regardless, you would believe what you want to believe. Reasonable people (not you) need to remember that what was gathered AFTER Carlson killed himself was the compilation of thirty years of concerns spread out over multiple departments and generations of officers combined with civilian concerns. Its easy now that there is an anonymous letter( and now that he’s dead, )and a cooperative victim, to put a case together. Prior to that, there was nothing more than a concern that there might be a problem. Again, spread over multiple agencies and generations of people who likely have never even spoke to each other, much less about this case.
Twenty four hour watch?! How many police officers do you think Bangor has? As much as they might like to “tail” someone for 24 hours to “catch them in the act” they do not have the manpower to do such a thing.
Right, it is about priority. Allowing a pedophile to continue his devious acts was not a priority. We do not have the coverage so we will let this pervert continue to perpetrate young boys for his jollies and do nothing. Nothing. Law enforcement just didn’t want to do a thing. I think they were afraid because of false stature. This ol’ I don’t want to get involved. The wrong choices were made with Carlson by law enforcement.
Priorities you say…officers are responding to burglaries, bath salts calls, disorderly conduct, car accidents, domestic abuse calls, OUIs, fights, homicides, etc…and you think there are enough officers to go around to watch anyone 24/7?! It sure would be nice but it is not reality.
What exactly did law enforcement do to stop Carlson? The MSP report says they didn’t use surveillance cameras on Carlson’s activities in the parking lot because “Carlson always parked in the darkest areas and they felt that because of this they would not be able to get any useable pictures” If LE could not be creative enough to come up with some other way to ascertain what was going on in that car than it is no wonder that they are unable to do anything to stop the drug traffic and related crime in this city.
I’m not saying they bent over backwards, I’m saying they did more than anyone else. That one incident you cite is from a retired bangor cop, at home, in his living room occasionally noticing Carlson’s car out there. ONE TIME did he believe that he saw a child in Carlson’s car. While they would have loved to know more, that is no reason, in and of itself, to start aaccusing a man with a little bit of pull of being a child molester.
You’ll also recall according to that report, that same retired cop, called MSP himself when he heard of the investigation and offered what he had. If there was a great cover-up, why would he do that? To make himself look bad? If he went rogue, why wouldn’t he tell all the other details too?
I asked what exactly LE did. You’re not providing an answer.
I didn’t say there was a cover-up or that anyone went rogue. I’m saying that there were enough little bells being rung that an investigation was warranted years before that letter was sent.
Exactly. They could have investigated a long time ago instead of do nothing. He had so many victims someone would have spoken up. They could have put a recording device in his cop car which he was seen with many young boys in the car with him and picked up evidence.
Irrelevant! This story is not about Carlson. You wanna talk about Carlson, go find one of the stories publish about him and post away.
Actually, Xerxies, I’m talking about LE, not Carlson. The Carlson case is just an example. As I said above, LE lacked enough creativity to figure out how to investigate Carlson so how is there any hope that they will be able to stop the rampant drug traffic and related crime in this city? Is that relevant enough for you?
I agree……but Carlson has nothing to do with this story… keep the comments relative to the subject contained within the story here.
Hey! Everyone here has a Masters Degree from Googleversity! Everyone here is an expert, and knows how to do everything better, faster and sexier. You doubt? Just ask them!
Many people on here are posting like there is proof that the police and hospital are clearly to blame because a druggy died of a heart attack. Given what we do know, it sounds more like this guy had a pre-existing heart condition that nobody knew about. We see that sort of thing from time to time. That makes the most sense, given the information available in the articles. Maybe his heart was damaged from much more than “recreational” drug use. We don’t know. The autopsy should hopefully clear up the cause of death.
It always seems whenever somebody dies, they were the “nicest person ever,” and the cops overreacted.
We put Phillip to rest today. Please stop slandering him by calling him a druggy. He was a brother, son, uncle, nephew, cousin, father. I will tell you that they found his heart was healthy before this happened.
I am sorry for your loss. This is a tragic situation.
It was in one of the articles that a roommate had ventured that Phillip may have been using bath salts, and from the article it seems his behavior that night, was not inconsistent with drug use, although any number of issues could just as well have caused that agitation. It would appear that he failed to yield to any request to cease that behavior, which is what led to his being Tasered.
Even a healthy heart, i.e. no coronary disease, can have a heart attack, I know, because it happened to me. I was told I was a very unlikely candidate for a heart attack, but something caused my coronary arteries to go into spasm and shut down, damaging the heart muscle. There is no way to prove this, except to stress the heart to make it happen again, which, to me, they were able to do. It can be reversed under a controlled situation, but in Phillip’s case, with his condition, they would not have been able to do that, nor could the ME tell later, after the fact. It it possible that just the stress of this situation, with elevated levels of adrenaline, caused such an event. This is usually the situation when the Taser is used, so it can be ruled a contributing factor, maybe, but not the cause.
I am not sure I believe that the Taser has never been responsible for a death. I do believe that delivered to the right location, at exactly the right moment, it might interrupt the electrical signal to the heart, but this has never been proven either, and it is one of those things that it difficult to prove after the fact.
Again, my condolences to you, the rest of his family, and his friends. This was truly a tragedy.
alot of stress can do things. he had mental illness. dont know if he was diabetec but that can do things low blood sugar high blood sugar. you can go into a coma with low blood sugar. it can cause you to act crazy as your blood sugar bottoms out. you can go into a coma and cardiac arrest. was he diabetic
May he rest in peace.
You saying <"the druggie died of a heart attack" is beyond irresponsible; before you know the results of the horrific situation. This deceased young man has a family, who loved and cared about him, and make no mistake, they probably tried everything in their power to help him along his chosen path, to no avail; with that said, it does NOT warrant your descriptive adjective of the deceased!!! I"d say an apology on here is owed the family!!! God Bless l the family!!
Oh stop! He was a drug user, it sucks that he was, sucks that he died, I feel for the family, but, he was a grown man, who made poor choices, and ultimately, it may be that he died as a result of said choices. The term “druggie” may be crude, but nonetheless, its accurate.
it has been my understanding in life, that ignorant uneducated people use labels(name calling) to describe people!!!
Where in the article does it say he used Bath Salts? The Tox Report isnt completed yet
The article doesn’t. I never said it did.
His past criminal history is indicative of habitual drug use, but I don’t recall if bath salts were specified in any of his past arrests.
Like children, once adults only go the wrong direction if the parents DIDN’T do their job? What an ignorant statement.
How do you know the police and the hospital are to blame?
Well, the police tazed him (whether or not he was on drugs which may have played a part) and he became very ill and went into a coma. Then the hospital did not inform his family he was in a coma. So sad he died alone and nobody knew to be there.
You forgot the part where he was all jacked up on a drug which killed several people that the police had nothing to do with.
Oops, Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.
How do you know he was all jacked up on drugs? That has not been reported.
Using an authorized form of force (taser) now gets the police sued, and you now know that the hospital must have done something wrong?? Yeah, ok.
There are numerous situations where people have been killed by being tased. Why did they have to taser him with multiple police standing around. They could have all pitched in and got him in the police car instead of tasing. As for the hospital, this guy is in bed dying and they did not let his family know. Don’t you think his family wanted to be there? Wouldn’t you want to know if it was one of your own?
How do you know there were multiple police standing around when he got tased?
A poster here saw the arrest with the guy down on the ground and said there were other police standing around.
Yeah, the “posters” on the BDN haven’t proven to be very reliable. Example: The recent Broadway fatal accident.
Yeah, it makes so much sense to sue the police dept. and hospital for “something going wrong” while using street drugs.
Amazing thought process.
the hospital did not notify next of kin when they were supposed to they waited two days. the parents put two and two and came up with 4. if they hadnt called . they never would have known which would have made for a bigger reason to sue
He had many many many chances. His parrents have bailed him out of trouble for many years. He is a long time drug addict who has has many interactions with the police. He has attacked and beat a Bangor officer on a previous instance with his brother. He has been in and out of mental insttutions many times. He fathered a child but provided no support for him.
Wow, so you think he deserved to die because he may have been a loser?? Sounds to me he was a lost soul who may have come around to be more productive had he lived.
If he had killed a innocent person while he was in this state would you be saying it was not his fault? Deserve is not a part in this. His death while a tragic thing was in the end his own doing. How many chances do you give a person before you say enough. The fact that you think he would or could “come around” tell me you did not know him or his family.
I wonder why no one is investigating EMMC Wealthcare. He died in the hospital. He was brought in by the police so he was pushed to the back and left. that’s what they do with anyone brought in by the police.
You have no idea what you are talking about.
clearly
the did not notify next of kin when they were supposed to they had the fathers name they should have called it.
What was Philip doing that lead to him being taken into custody but no actually arrested? And if he was taken into custody why was he not being charged with any crimes? And why was a stun gun used? It all sounds very odd. I truely hope this family gets the answers to all of their questions if nothing more to be able to explain to his daughter some day what happened to her father.
My opinion is, that this officer knew this man, had prior knowledge of his mental illness or behaviors, and/or had dealt with him in the past, and stunned him because of what he knew about him or had dealt with in the past. I just think it is all so strange that he was stunned, that he was not being charged with a crime, was taken into custody, not arrested, and no one at EMMC knows why his family wasn’t notified…..so sad.
He may not have been charged because he was taken to the hospital before he could be booked. It takes a lot of resources to keep a subject under guard 24/7 and that is usually not called for if someone would have been charged with disorderly conduct, which I believe, is as far as police got that night. If they did decide to pursue charges, they could have picked him up on discharge, if this outcome had been different.
I am so sorry for this man’s family and his friends. However, IF he was under the influence of bath salts, then the Taser may have been the most appropriate measure. I hate seeing a Taser used inappropriately, that is, after a subject has been restrained and may be being verbally abusive. Then it is not right. Having a Taser available is better than having to use deadly force, i.e. shooting, against a subject, but the police officer is not the one violating the law and he/she deserves to go home at the end of his/her shift.
There is a lot of debate about the safety of the Taser and there have been a number of deaths associated with, but not attributed to, their use. Another poster put that number at 600. I think in time it will be seen that the Taser has the capability to interrupt the electrical impulse that causes the heart to beat. However, this has never been proven as most subjects, even healthy, have had other contributing factors.
It is difficult to comment on the specifics of this particular case, except to say IF, because no hard facts have been revealed. Just as I refuse to judge the young man who lost his life, I will not judge the officer who decided that the Taser was necessary because I was not there, and I do not know what happened.
if he was on bathsalts the combination of the taser well that may be your answer
Police can take a person into protective custody when they are a danger to themselves or others. Such as someone who is suicidal, someone who is high on drugs, someone having a mental break. These do not result in a arrest but the person is taken into custody so they can be delivered to the hospital. If a person is in this state and refused to comply with the police then they use compliance tools to get the person under control. In this story a taser was used. Bangor will do an internal investigation and the AG’s Office will also investigate. The Medical Examiner’s Office will also have a part in the case looking for medical reasons, heart damage, drugs, etc. It will take time but the truth will come out.
As to calling the family, you can only do that if you know who they are. Was this on record with the police of the hospital. If they had no record of who the family members are then they can’t contact them. If they did mess up it has no baring on his death.
they have done that before from what i understand and read from other people that posted. i hope EMMC learns from this and does notify next of kin in critical situations where the patient is incapacitated or cant speak for himself . actually it would be a good practice notifying next of kin that their loved one is being seen in the ER especially if it is decided the patient is hospitalized and the patients well being
Yes, the police just go around tasering people….
It is the new thing….
Come on people…
His family did not know what he was doing that night, but you did and what did you do about it? Thats what I thought. Nothing. So chat all you want here and reach out to hurt people like a typical bully. Yeah, your someone to listen to.
You’re making some assumptions. I didn’t say I knew it as he was doing it. I said I know it. As in now.
I’m not looking to hurt anyone but I’ve never been one to stand by and allow misinformation and lies to be spread.
You don’t know the reason for the mutiple heart attacks. And how can you assume that a family can just accept that a 28 year old male can use drugs. You know nothing and you are blaming the family. Do you have any idea what a family goes through when someone is mentally ill or addicted to drugs. Hell. So look at yourself in the mirror and ask God who let you judge everyone
I don’t believe in god, just people holding themselves accountable for their own actions. Foreign concept these days.
Can’t hold yourself accountable if you are dead
Dave thinks it’s OK to kill the poor and mentally ill.
sick
There are many people who can’t be held accountable for their own actions.
If he had been accountable for his actions he would not have out in public but in jail.
and when the family say he was “a recreational user” of drugs……in reality, it was probably MUCH worse than that, but the family can only bring themselves to admit that it was just recreational…coping skill more than anything else.
Ask the alcoholic how much he drunks a day, and he/she will usually under report.
As for judging, people are judged by their actions every day…..bank tellers, police officers, politicians, EVERYBODY, and that has zero to do with God
That’s a huge assumption on your part and you have to be one of the most judgmental people here.
What are you gaining from this site. Does it make you feel good to put people down. Does it fill a void in your life. My nephew made mistakes and we never said he didn’t. We the family aren’t blaming anyone at this point. We just wanted facts and by going to the paper was the only way we could get some. Not for the fame or the glory or the money or the cruel remarks and opinions of people like you.
I am sorry for your loss. I hope that you can find closure to this sad end of your nephew’s young life.
Guess you don’t really know the family or you wouldn’t be assuming anything. and if you know what he was doing can we assume you were doing it to
No assumptions here. I like how you follow the accusation of assumptions by making assumptions.
We should be very clear here. The family does not BLAME anyone, the police or the hospital for Philips death because we do not KNOW the facts. We are upset that it took too long to find out where he was and he was in a coma for two days with NO family around. Yes, we are upset that he is gone. Yes we have a million questions. That is all. I remember my nephew as a little boy that went fishing with me and my boys and other special times. Labeling him after he has died as nothing more than a drug abuser is selling him short. He had problems and issues and when children reach a certain age they do what they do. Try, try and try again thats all that can be done. He was a father, brother, son, cousin, nephew and so much more, so focusing in on his problems as the way to remember him now is mean and rotten. Don’t put words in the family’s mouths, we can speak for ourselves.
in situations like his his fathe should have been call ASAP
Sorry for your loss. I have to catch a flight back to BGR in a couple hours so I am checking the stories before wheels up and heading home. Then I’m on a plane for 6+ hours so I can’t respond to any comments. I have been in contact will some folks back home so I am staying in touch with whats happening on the homefront.
I will say this katahdinfan, I really am sorry you lost a loved one. Nobody deserves to die at such an early age, we know that. It seems that anyone that knew your nephew in his later years would agree problems existed with drugs. That said, many of us had problems with our environment in our day and many of us lost many family and friends along the way. Many of us only escaped death by the grace of God.
Personally, I don’t think this story should really be about tasers but more about teaching the ones left behind the dangers of dangerous choices. Taser studies have been done for years. I used to sit down with my loved ones and relay incidents like this to them when they were young to try to convey to them that it can “happen to you”. It may have saved some, who knows.
The family deserves answers and the family will get them. My guess (call it a strong hunch) is that the family and the PD and EMMC might all want to keep this case between themselves and not in the eyes of the general public that doesn’t really have any emotion regarding any party.
Were parties at fault, yes? Perhaps all 3. Will law suits surface, probably. Will they get settled out of court, probably. Will families be awarded financial settlements in order to keep what occurred out of the spotlight, probably. Will insurance companies weigh the risk vs reward of taking this to a civil trial…..always.
I don’t have to tell you that no matter the outcome your nephew is gone. It was a horrific day for him, it was a horrific day for the family once notified and it was a horrific day for the man or Woman police officer that felt a taser was the only option and will second guess that call.
Like I have said before, nobody wins here.
Again, sorry for your loss.
I really doubt that they are second guessing that call. They know what they’re doing, and why. They do what they need to do, and move on to the next case. And that’s exactly how it should be, and needs to be.
Recreational drug use is NEVER a good decision. Period.
Oh please. You lose all credit when you make a statement that implies police are infallible.
Didn’t imply that they are infallible. I was talking about them second guessing their decisions. I just don’t believe that they go home after every incident second guessing their decisions. They are presented with tough situations and have to make tough decisions quickly, during every shift. If they were “second-guessers” they wouldn’t be able to stomach the profession. I’m certain they feel bad, at least on a human level, whenever someone dies, but they know what they were presented with, and why they made the decision they did.
All humans make errors. Police Officers are screened, and trained before hitting the streets. Hopefully, they never make a mistake, but it’s always possible, as they are human beings. If there was a pattern of errors, they wouldn’t be able to keep the job. The public is always ready to pounce when they think an officer has made an error. They don’t consider the seconds they have to make their desicions.
Tasing someone usually doesn’t result in their death, so I doubt the officer went home second guessing him/herself. On the other hand, bath salts can certanly lead to death.
there is never enough training.. using a taser on anyone can be problemanic. they know that. but it makes them feel better if they accidently kill someone with the taser instead of their issued weapon…. over the course of a year in the USA, this non lethal devise has killed over 300 people. some for doing practically nothing … as far as breaking the law.. the UN has declared this as a tool of torture… learn a little self defense . call for backup, wait for it, for crying out loud find a better way to disarm, or disable a combative person… get more training and then get some more training…
What is difficult is that those persons who are unruly due to drugs and/or alcohol are already at high risk due to the strain of a struggle. Taser use can, therefore, be detrimental. The difficult part is that if someone is out of control, they aren’t always able to be subdued with ‘a little self-defense’.
You have no idea what your talking about. Stick to what you know, leave the other stuff to the professionals.
Well how would YOU handle a known drug addict with mental health issues that has on previous encounters with the Bangor police attacked and beat one of them?
well .. a cop would know the answer.. but I doubt killing them would be an answer
EXACTLY they TAZED him. He likely died from the many years drug abuse has effected his body. The cops did the right thing dealing with a known combative person.
My prayers goes out to the family, Plus if a person is doing any kind of drugs you don’t Taze them as it would race their heart faster.
What would you do to stop a person who you could not gain control of? They can jump him thsi woudl shurly injure him or the officers. They coudl use a night stick but most le do not have them anymore. They coudl shoot him but we all agree that shoudl be a last resort. Or they can use the tool they have to subdue the person with the least chance of anyone getting hurt.
I think people need to do some research on how drugs, like bath salts, can make the user react. There is no pain compliance and the effects of bath salts on a user can cause cardiac arrest.
O ok when a person is acting out next to where YOUR kids are and the police show up make sure you stop them and ask them to determin IF the person is on bath salts BEFORE they act to stop him.
You misunderstand me. I am saying that the only option here may have been to use the taser. Other methods do not work on bath salts users. If people would educate themselves a bit more about these types of drugs they would realize that the police acted in an appropriate manner. If this man was on bath salts it is likely the bath salts caused his untimely death.
Roger I think you need to get your facts straight about the police beating. Phil may have been a lot of things but he was NOT the one who was part of the police beating. If you want to spew things at least know what you are talking about!
I believe that would have been James, that was part of the police beating…correct?
Well said, but bath salt and all the drugs involved are out of control people have to understand police officers are looking out for there own welbeing.So can you blame the police or the one on drugs???
It is quite amazing to see all the comments condemning the Police, I’m sure the true facts will come out. People need to understand all points prior to making any judgement. I must say that the haircut sported by Jodi Galli is all the evidence one needs to see that Bangorians are out of touch. IT’S THE WORST.
She has the same hairstyle that she did before she came to Maine from California. I don’t see how this is at all relative to the story.
Well hopefully she will change it now!!!!!
People always looking to blame someone else. This guy was bad news. Involved in drugs, fighting, and overall bad behavior. Cause and Effect. Did someone here think that this individual would ever end up being a productive member of society? It’s always easier to blame someone else. I bet you all will vote for Obama too!! Simply unable to understand.
it is not a good thing to taser someone. it isnt also good not to notify next of kin in a critical situation usually social services case management or registration does that. the kid was critical it should have been done
Are you blind? Its pulled back not cut around her ears (ie, mullet). It may be a dated style but I don’t see how its at all relevant.
Wow what a mug on her
not revelant .. has nothing whatsoever to do with this event
It’s a mullet haircut
where was Gilligan?
I remember him a drug addict who’s parents spent a ton of money to save him and his brother time and time again. Like when he and his brother beat a Bangor cop for example. Or the countless arrests for drugs and so on.
and that, Roger, is the nature of addictions… sometimes they work it out .. mostly they don’t.. but they try and try and try…
No that is the nature of our courts who let people they know present a danger go free because they had a good lawyer. No matter how many times they get caught.
Roger, For one who thinks he knows so much you certainly seem to be getting a great deal of information WRONG!
God bless you in your time of sorrow and send you and your family His peace and comfort.
1) We had a similar problem concerning notification almost 6 years ago when I was in a MVA and unconcious. I was extracted from vehicle by the local (God bless them but I will not name them here) rescue squad, taken to EMMC by a well known ambulance firm, and taken the EMMC emergency room where I was worked over and taken to ICU where I stayed for a month basically unconcious. Although my wife was at home the entire day, we had an answering machine, and I was full of ID of various kinds, none of the parties involved made an attempt to call my home. My wife found out around 5PM when a fellow employee called home to see how I was doing. How my employer knew is too complicated to go into. What agency is responsible in these cases to contact patient or victim next of kin or other party?
2) How many Tasers does BPD own? How much has BPD paid for Tasers since Tasers became available? How long do Tasers last? How much is spent to maintain and/or replace them? How much, if at all, do Tasers cause added insurance for the people of Bangor to pay? How much paid personnel time is spent to train on and maintain Tasers? Does BPD pay to send personnel out West to Taser headquarters? Do Tasers add to a police officers responsibility, need for training, etc. making his job even more difficult than it already is? How many police (not BPD I am certain) use them as a punishment device and not a compliance tool for dangerous situations?
I can’t answer anything on question one but question two I know a few things.
Tasers basically never go bad. The cartridges they fire to deploy probes arent very expensive. The taser itself is around the price of a new duty sidearm. The insurance actually goes down having tasers as they have been found to reduce subject/officer injuries by 65% in incidents were force is used.
Maintaining tasers is about as simple as maintaining your ipod. just wipe em off every now and then and plug them into the USB/charging station if needed.
Typically when a department adopts tasers they have one officer go to a taser trainers course and then that person comes back and trains the department. I don’t think anything can add to their responsibility at the end of the day they are responsible for life and death decisions the taser is just a tool to help make them decisions in favor of life!
Abuse of the taser is like abuse of anything else and it might happen because there is danger of having corrupt sadistic police officers. However the taser has a memory module which records dates and times of use as well as how it was used, so as opposed to a night stick there is a lot more accountability.
And officers need to be tased themselves as part of their training so they KNOW what it feels like and will be less likely to mindlessly tase suspects before trying any other methods to subdue them.
I had a sister who suffered from mental health issues as well as alcohol abuse. Thank god she never used other drugs, but the alcohol was bad enough. As a member of her family, at some point, we had to accept that she had problems with alcohol. We would try to make her get help, check her into programs, but unless someone wants to get help, they are going to continue whatever their drug of choice is. We had to learn acceptance of her disease, or it would have killed us too. This sister recently overdosed on medication. I didn’t know that she was in the hospital until I called them to check (I couldn’t get a hold of her and she always answered her phone for me). I don’t know if they would have called me before she made it ICU or not, even though I was listed as her family member. Sometimes the hospitals are too busy to call family members to inform them that they are there. I was just glad that they were taking good care of her.
For you to say that “someone should smack this guy’s family around for just accepting that he used drugs recreationally”, I think you should walk a day in their shoes to see how it is to live and love someone who has substance abuse as well as mental issues. There is nothing they could do to make him stop using drugs if he didn’t want to. They had to accept this at some point, but love him anyway as best as they could. I know that this was true of my sister. I would have done anything for her if I thought it would make her sober, but ultimately, it was up to her to quit. I would give anything to have her back, but I have to hope that she has finally found some peace in her next life that she didn’t have here.
they are supposed to notify next of kin
Not a very therapeutic reply to someone telling their tragic story.
The frequency and the shape of the pulses generated by stun guns are designed to incapacitate the target by electrically overwhelming his or her control of the skeletal musclesm, not the heart muscle. Phil probably had pre-existing heart problems that he or his family were unarware of, and the stress led to heart failure. A mentally ill person on drugs is not a good thing either. May he rest in peace.
Was it really necessary to rehash almost word for word (if not word for word) the original story, with only a few things added?
I actually drove by when he was arrested. At first I thought I was coming upon a car crash because there were several police cruisers along Main Street and a fire truck. He was on the ground, facing the street, with his hands cuffed behind his back. One officer was holding him down while others just stood around. I had my camera with me, but not a lens that would have given me a clear shot of the scene without having to walk practically right up to it. The ambulance was not out.
This is all pointless information.
What if the officers standing around helped put him in the cruiser without using the taser and the same when they got to jail. I would imagine people on bath salts (which really messes up your mind and body) and with heart conditions could easily be hurt worse by being tased.
What if??? How about this? What if the officer was a 120 lbs female dealing with a drug user in a highly escalated and out of control situation.
You know NOTHING about restraint and control people who don’t want to be and reasonable use of force. Tasers save lives, Tasers save millions of injuries a year.
What if….You did some homework before running your mouth. Never mind. You have an agenda and nothing will change your mind, including the truth.
Taser did not save life in this situation. Taser killed someone.
Tasing did not kill this man.
Where does it say he was on bathsalts?? I know you needed to throw that in there to diguise you hate for poor people… quick make him look like a wacko because its a good excuse as any I guess to kill him.
There you go again. WHO is killing ANYONE???? The closest you can come to that is that he killed himself with drug use ….
For someone who says that they know for sure it was bath salts. You don’t know the truth. I put my nephew to rest today. We do have information that you don’t have. It will come out
I’m sorry for your loss. Hold Ben and James tight. Get Ben out of Wally’s apartment and give them both the help they need.
I stand by my words and I know time will show me to be correct. Good luck.
Yes because his borthers James and Ben are also such good people. Both been arrested for drugs both have been in Acaida many times. Of course each time they get into trouble there parrents spend lots of money on high priced lawyers to get them off.
Please remember addiction is a disease, not a choice. Yes, it starts with a choice, but nobody believes they are the ones who will become addicted. Addiction is a very selfish disease, and more than any other, it defends itself. It struggles to keep itself alive, beyond all endurance. Addiction, substance abuse are always accompanied by mental illness. Sometimes, it is hard to know which came first the chicken or the egg. Many people with mental health issues use drugs or alcohol to self medicate and become addicted because it actually seems to help for a while. Addiction brings a whole new host of problems.
Instead of judging those who have fallen victim to substance abuse, we as a community, should be working together to find solutions. We need to identify and jail suppliers, we need to find adequate help for the addicts regardless of the cost. The cost of human suffering, like the McCue family today, knows no dollar limit. If we do not, as a society, choose to eliminate illegal drugs, then this scenario will play out over and over again.
Ok Raysgirl lets say I buy that. Then it is choice to allow it to continue. It is a choice to pay lawyers to keep them out of prison to do it again and again. It is a choice to ignore mental issues and let people like this roam free. It is a choice to give a adcitive person money form taxpayers they use to support there habbit. It is a choice to IGNORE the police to the point hey have to taze you to gain control.
I have lived with it. I have lived with a person who wanted to stop using so badly, he tried over and over and over. Only to relapse, over and over. It was NOT a choice, but a deadly disease. It came on slowly until he was destroyed completely, then it took his life.
It a choice to pay lawyers to keep them out of jail? Is someone who is so ill not entitled to a fair trial? If someone was going to die of cancer and found themselves in trouble, do we say, hey, that person is gonna die anyway, let’s not bother. Is that fair? Fair to a subject, to his/her family? Then do we begin to call an age and say, hey, they’re too old? You can see how that becomes a slippery slope.
Is it a choice to ignore mental health issues and allow people to roam free? Yes, that is a choice, and we as a society chose NOT to spend our tax dollars on them. Now, there are fewer services than ever available to those who need it most.
Is it a choice to ignore the police to the point of being Tased? For you and I, it probably would be, but for those with substance abuse issues and mental health issues and worse, even both, it may not be a choice, for they are not capable of deciding. Irrational fears, delusions etc make things so different from what we see from our perspective, that actions and reactions are going to be very different too. That is what happened to Phillip McCue that night. For reasons that still remain unclear, he was UNABLE to conform his behavior to that of a more rational person, at that point in time. Maybe it was drugs, or maybe it was some form of sheer panic. Maybe the officer who deployed that Taser really did not have any other choice. There are not enough facts here to judge this specific incident. His family wants answers and we, as a society, should demand them. If McCue was not on drugs, we need to come up with better ways of dealing with the mentally ill. We need to demand our police use their Tasers appropriately (and I am NOT saying this was the case, I don’t know.) There have been at least 600 deaths associated with the use of Tasers. That is a lot of deaths. If each and every one was truly unpreventable, that would be one thing, but not all of them were.
Mr. McCue’s death at such a young age is tragic, no matter how it occurred. We, as a society need to sure it was not preventable, because the next time it might be someone that I, or you, care about.
We pay tax dollars to the police to keep dangerous people aways from those of us who are not. They did that. As far as drugs being a “disease” that is bs it is a choice. They do it because it makes THEM FEEL GOOD. I have had dealings with many addicts in my life. Also from your writing I would bet you did not know Phil nor the numours issues he had.
Tasers are a tool. If it was not for them the police when dealing with such a combative person have two choices beat them into submission or shoot them. Being that people are not just tased without reason then while there is a risk to the person being tased it prevents injury to those around them. If someone has to take the risk or injury of death better them then the innocent bystandards or the LE doing there job.
Please fell free to tell us how you would want this type of person stopped if he was on the playgound with your kids or in front of your house? Would tell the police not to tase him? Would you tell them not to use there night sticks? My kids family or any innocent person I say do what you have to that is fast and the least risk to the innocent people around the suspect.
No, I did not know Phil. But I know so many like him. Most of them had issues to start with. The person I mentioned in my earlier post had been beaten bloody as a kid, his own father tried to drown him. Later he was victimized by Roman Catholic Clergy in another country where child protection was non existent at the time. He started drinking at a very early age, far too young to understand the possible consequences of such a decision. Way before DARE programs or any kind of substance abuse education. So is it still a choice? You have no idea how many times this guy tried to kick it. Drugs came later, after major surgery for cancer, which ironically was probably related to his drinking. He wanted nothing more than to be like other people, those for alcohol does not sing all day long, seven days a week. They don’t want alcohol and/or drugs, they need them, just to feel human. Then they need them not to be sick all day long, not to be in pain all the time. Trust me, it is not a choice.
Please note, I never said Phil should not have been Tasered. I wasn’t there. I didn’t see what the police saw. It may have been very necessary to prevent Phil from hurting himself or others. I have been saying all along, that for those on bath salts or other drugs, it is probably the best choice. I have many friends in law enforcement, I want to see every one of them come home to their families at the end of the their shifts. Even if it means they have to Taser or kill someone in self defense. They have that right.
What they do not have a right to, is to use a Taser on a drunk, seated on the ground, in cuffs and being verbally abusive. The Taser is a good tool. But it can be easily abused and I am not saying that is what happened to Phil McCue. I wasn”t there. I have no facts. I will not judge either McCue or the officer who deployed that Taser.
I’m sure when the Foxes report on how the chicken died everyone will be satisfied.
Cute saying. Not sure what it has to do with what you replied to. I’m sure your foxes will provide all the evidence that will be had, even if it makes them look bad. I’m sure the chickens family will be 100% objective too.
So he would have died the same way and day without a tazing?
Very likely. Yes
Hilarious. Some people are truly amazing in their ability to invent facts and statistics on the spur of the moment. You are one of them.
Invent? Who is inventing facts? I know for a fact that there have been multiple bath salts deaths in the last three weeks after a bad batch of bath salts hit the town. Not to mention two or three times as many who got hospitalized for days if not weeks. Informed people don’t have invent facts. You on the other hand are spewing rhetoric about something you know nothing about.
Does anyone actually think that this investigation will be above board??? I’m betting the cameras weren’t working at the time, They seemed to stop 15 minutes before the incident, on all 5 cars.
Cameras were on.
redbutton just wants to make this into a rodney king case.
Nope. Truth. tazers kill is the truth. not the officers fault
shouldnt use tasers then if they kill
Cops shouldn’t carry guns either than, I guess.
tasers do not kill. 3 million deployments of it world wide and there isn’t 1 proven fatality that can 100% be linked to taser. there are around 600 instances where taser was used and the subject later died but drugs/alcohol and pre-existing health conditions were a factor in many of these cases.
Who would determine if a tazer wasn’t the cause of death?
What “5 cars”?
There has been nothing in either article about “5 cars”. And the number of officers on the scene has been referred to in the singular, i.e. police officer.
I have read all the input on this board this morning in regard to this tragic incident. Your comments have all been very derogatory toward everyone but the recently deceased, Mr. McCue. It appears that McCue was, out of control and under the influence of something (I dont know what it was as I am sure you don’t either). Police were called to restrain him and take him into custody. He was taken to EMMC alive, spent several days there and then passed away. My question to you is how would you restrain an individual who was essentially, out of control. Would you rather they strike him, pepper spray him or taze him. If you were a police officer you would have to choose one of the previously mentioned methods. It does not sound like deadly force was or should have been an option. When given those three choices, a police officer has to pick one of the three. The option of pepper spray on an out of control individual rarely works because the next step would be striking the person. We all know that striking a person brings out the cell phone cameras immediately because its great to Monday morning quarterback a situation with zero knowledge on how the use of force is to be implemented. Striking people with a stick (another option police are trained in and completely acceptable by use of force standards) is known to cause other injures like bruising, abrasions and broken bones. If an officer uses that method, everybody assumes it is a beating and unintended consequences soon abound. Sometimes the tazer is the best and safest option. If the officers had used sticks or fists, someone would get their panties in a bunch and scream police brutality, even though that is rarely what it is. After reading one of the comments it appears that McCue was under control and handcuffed while police held him still prior to being transported from the scene either by an ambulance or police cruiser. I guarantee that peaceful moment was preceeded by the use of the tazer. I guess the tazer worked well. If it caused other issues later or if the issues were caused by the chemicals ingested by McCue earlier, you and I dont know. I would think it possible that McCue might have had a heart issue that no one knew about either. Either way, a rational person that does not have a beef against either the police, McCue or EMMC might find that everything was under control after the tazer and have no idea why McCue died. I say rational person because we all know everyone has preconceived notions based of prior experience. I am only guessing that you have had prior experience with law enforcement and find anything they do unacceptable. If that is the case it is the same reason why the police dont make comments until the investigation is complete. It just adds fuel to a fire and one misspoken word can cause issues down the road. It is safer to say nothing because society is made up of people who only want to blame and never stand in front of a mirror to actually see who or what the problem really is.
Also, people need to keep in mind that bath salt users do not feel pain…so striking them or even restraining them forcefully does not work. A taser may be the quickest and safest way to get a suspect under control in bath salts situations and once they are under some control EMS then can step in with medical help.
fishing net.
unfortunately this guy went into cardiac arrest
That seems to be a fact…but tasers do not cause cardiac arrest. If this guy was on bath salts, particularly the nasty stuff that is out there now, it is quite probable the drug caused the issue. I guess we will find that out when the toxicology results come out.
I respect the Bangor Police Department.. I do not have a beef with any Poilice department… OK . What I do want is the Truth. From what I understand is the man hadn’t broken any laws. I have a job for you Penobscoteer, sinece it has been proved that Tazers can kill and have killed, I want you to choose out of the next 15,000 people tazed in Maine the one to die.. You pick him/her, which one Deserves to die the one who hasn’t got the RIGHT to live.
The police officers don’t get to choose, nor do they want to. I don’t think any officer would stand and say that Phillip McCue deserved to die. He was Tasered because he could not and would not conform his behavior. What his family would like to know is WHY he died. He was seemingly healthy up until this event. A family member has posted that the ME found no contributory heart disease, they just want to know why.
I have posted that, IN MY OPINION, the Taser, because so many deaths have at least been associated with its use, should only be used where no other options exist. That may have been the case here. Bangor PD is still investigating and no facts have been released. So we should all reserve judgement until all the facts are known. I think it is safe to comment on Taser use in general, but I would not judge Phillip McCue nor will I judge the officer who deployed the Taser.
Why didn’t they just hog tie him (cuffed hand and legs)? The taser did not work here for whatever reason. It is crucial for police to try other options before tasing. It needs to be the last resort before shooting a person. In this case, McCue would have been better off with a shot in the foot than being tased. He may still be alive.
they could have shot him with a bean bag round. but that is a 8 oz projectile moving at 450fps and is capable of breaking bones…
Police officers have to be able to safely get close to a subject in order to restrain them. I don’t know what Mr. McCue might have been doing or saying (threats?) that caused the officer to deploy the Taser.
I believe the Taser should be more of a last or only resort and I beleive that for most good officers, that is the case. It may well have been necessary here to protect McCue, the officer, or other citizens in the immediate area. Police rarely shoot in the feet or legs, especially with an extremely agitated subject, as they may charge and attack. Usually when officer pulls his gun out, he needs to effectively stop a subject, which a shot to center mass and the head, either of which are likely to be fatal. The real danger in being Tasered lies not in being killed, but the multiplicity of injuries that can occur when a subject is dropped abruptly to the ground.
It is nice to see someone else thinking rationally without automatically thinking the police are all jacked up to tase someone willy-nilly. They are looking to protect themselves as well as the suspect. He was a young man. What were the chances he’d have a potential tragic ending to being tased?
RN, What do they do in the hospital setting when you a crazed, psychotic person on bath salts flipping out? How do you bring them under control?
OK, here’s the facts. Stun guns don’t kill. There are always other factors which result in death from using these non-lethal weapons. He was using bath salts, a lethal drug if used too long and in large amounts results in death. Bottom line, I am sure the facts will show that he killed himself from using drugs. I wonder why his dad/ attorney dad did not care to get involved and get him off drugs, and did not not know his was in ICU for 2 days, but immediately started a fact-finding mission to pad his pockets with a multi-million dollar future lawsuit against EMMC, BPD and the City of Bangor. Totally trying to profit off his son’s death which he did not care about. So sad. A typical lawyer…
emmc knows better they had the contact number they had a very critical patient they knew better . social services case management helps out in matters like that
The original article says they had a name….nothing about a phone number or even an address.
they ask for a phone number when you go in
Yes they do and…
if the person gives one they record it.
We don’t know if he gave one on prior admissions, or if one was given that it was recorded correctly or assuming that one was given on prior admissions that it was still in service.
One thing we do know that he was able to give one this time as he was in cardiac arrest.
I think the very first article indicated that the hospital had the contact info already recorded. I might be wrong, but that was my understanding. What I am wondering about, and you may know better than most, because the patient was over 21, does HIPPA prevent the hospital from calling the contact listed from admissions?
Excellent question raysgirl
The first article mentioned that the father was listed as “next of kin” but made no mention of address or phone number.
EMMC next of kin information is very comprehensive. It includes places for more than one name. Temporary, home, work cell numbers and addresses. Even contact information via texting is included.
So the question is why didn’t EMMC make or attempt to make contact? Those are questions I don’t have an answer for. HIPPA does come into play if on a prior admission he made it know that he wanted no information released to anyone. But HIPPA does not prevent BPD from attempting to locate next of kin.
I wish I had an answer to why EMMC didn’t do more in attempting to locate this mans family.
Thanks, jd2008jd. When my daughter was in EMMC for several weeks for premature labor, I stayed with her 24/7 sleeping on a cot in her room. She had to sign a consent form allowing the staff to speak with me (and in front of me since I was always in the room). My daughter wanted me to stay with her and had so indicated to the staff, which is what prompted the need for the signature. I was under the impression it was a HIPPA rule.
I think the regs for disclosure of drug abuse, suspected drug abuse, and mental health issues are even more stringent, even though he was admitted for a cardiac problem, there may have been believed to be other issues.
Maybe it was just a case of each person thinking someone had already tried to locate family.
HIPPA was a well intentioned law that was designed to protect against the release of personal identifiable information. The problem is, like many laws you cannot legislate a) common sense and b) when the federal government tries to legislate common sense you end up with laws like HIPPA.
So very true.
If the hospital had a name they could just google white pages. It would have given them a phone number to start with and people associated with the father.
Not if the patient on a prior admission had stated that he wanted no information released. And we will never know if that was the case of not because that piece of information is protected by HIPPA.
if you know an addict, and we don’t know for sure he was, you can’t force someone to get off drugs. the only reason the family went to the paper because noone would talk to them. if you read what they told the paper, they called the police looking for him and was told nothing.
Why do you say his father is an attorney? There is no Michael McCue licensed in Maine.
Carl McCue is his uncle he is an attorney in Hampden.
Hmm, apparently CopSmack got his facts mixed up.
I think it’s fair to say that none of us truly know what this young man’s parents or family members tried to do to help him with regard to his mental illness and drug use. You cannot will or force someone who is addicted to drugs to stop taking drugs- THEY have to want to get well and stay clean or it won’t work.
I can also tell you from personal experience with a hospital was horrible when it came to contacting family members – at least they were with me and my family. My 75 year old mother fell down the stairs and was admitted on a Monday and SHE called me from the hospital on Wednesday. I resided in Portland and didn’t always talk to my mother on a daily basis. The hospital had her next of kin information (which was me) her advanced directives on file, her DNR order on file, and her living will directives on file…and no one from the hospital ever bothered to call me about my mother’s fall or that she was admitted or that she needed to have emergency vascular surgery to save her leg that she severely cut during her fall, as I said it was my mother who called me- 3 days later. When I arrived in Bangor on that Wednesday after my mother’s call I requested to know WHY the hospital had not contacted me and no one seemed to have an answer- everything was on file so they told me. Needless to say we use St. Joseph’s Hospital now and have had much better results regarding communication.
All I know is if I had a loved one who had an interaction with the police or a hospital and had such a negative outcome (death)…I’d be asking some hard questions as well…and if somebody screwed up or used excessive force or whatever…..I’d be hiring an attorney as well….a big, ugly attorney….because THAT’s the only way these types of institutions (police, hospitals) pay attention and make changes. Dent their pocket book and you get their attention… other than that you will not get their attention and they won’t make any needed changes. Sad but true.
I had a similar situation with a hospital in Massachusetts. It was only that the billing office contacted my nephew who was 17 and he gave them my name, which was on file as a contact. My nephew lived a good distance from his grandmother who was clearly ill, and he called the police in our town. Police and fire made the transfer to the hospital without calling any family, apparently thinking the hospital would do it.
I could get NO information over the phone, and had to leave work and drive there to find out, because no one had called they had done nothing to treat my mother in law. I immediately had her transferred to a facility better capable of caring for what I suspected was wrong with her. I had done a better job diagnosing and getting treatment for her than the original facility. That hospital had cited patient privacy concerns as the reason for not calling or giving any info over the phone. The second facility had no such problems. All of this was before HIPPA, which may be a factor in such situations.
She was obviously sick enough to admit. They cannot admit people for no reason. As for ‘not doing anything’, I’m sure they did something. People do not just come hang out in a hospital bed to sleep and get fed without treatment. She obviously was able to talk and make some decisions for herself. Like I mentioned to another, the numbers listed on the contact list are for EMERGENCIES. Hospital admissions aren’t always for critical reasons. Yes, it means someone is sick, but it is not always a life or death situation. Again, if someone is able to make decisions on their own, is a legal adult, and is of sound mind they do not need family called for permission to treat them. Besides, how do they know you aren’t Mrs. Smith’s nosey neighbor calling to get info after seeing she was taken away by ambulance that morning? People need to think rationally, not just out of emotion.
I hear you. In this young man’s case, it sounds like he could make no decisions. His family may have requested he be transferred to Mass General or some other place. Unfortunately, the family never a chance for a decision because EMMC never let them know he was there and his condition.
She had a stroke. One in a long chain. When I got there late the next afternoon she was barely conscious, mumbling incoherently about the people in the lights above her head. She had not even had a CT scan and her breakfast and lunch trays had come and gone untouched, so she was not fed. She did not even have an IV, because they didn’t know what they were dealing with. The nurses thought she had dementia.
I arranged for an immediate transfer, and the hospital refused to help me with it. I called the larger teaching hospital and spoke with the ER attending. I called the ambulance to arrange for the transfer and I signed her out AMA, with the treat of a court order if I needed one. I already had medical power of attorney.
It was no violation to call and ask about the money, and I understand when someone calls they don’t know. But they called me, and then transferred that call to her floor.
I do realize, and most people should, that this does not happen all that often, that someone just gets lost in the shuffle, but it does happen. It may have happened to Mr. McCue. It did happen to my mother-in-law. I remain eternally grateful that someone did call, even if for the wrong reason, because she ultimately good and timely care. We all need to be our own best advocates and we need to be sure that we have these powers of attorney for our relatives who cannot advocate for themselves.
If your mother lived alone, was able to care for herself, was mentally alert and oriented at the time of her admission, and capable of making her own decisions then the hospital doesn’t owe you a call. The contact numbers are emergency contacts. Regardless of her having advanced directives or living wills on file, if she was capable of making decisions than she can do so without family members being conferred with. Those pieces of paperwork are for when, and if, she was every incapacitated and the physician deemed her UNABLE to make decisions rationally on her own. If I was admitted to the hospital but was awake and in my right mind, I would not expect the staff to call my family unless they asked me first.
Here’s the issue……I’M the one who has durable power of attorney, I am the one who decides to ‘unplug’ her if something were to occur medically and she is left incapacitated, I am the one who is to make sure that her DNR order is followed, I am the one who is to make sure her advanced directives are followed, I am the one who decides medical decisions for her if she is incapacitated, not to mention we had a release of information already signed by my mother in order to insure I have the ability to speak with her care givers at the hospital…. that would all be me…. and MOST importantly I am her only child- her only family who could have been with her 3 days earlier to lend her comfort and support and love while she endured the surgery and pain and fear she had….again that would be ME……and still no body called even AFTER she asked them to contact me….but of course this is the same hospital who wanted to discharge her with no discharge plan or follow up plan or collaboration of services set up……and having worked in a hospital for a number of years….this was NOT acceptable or what was supposed to happen. So perhaps having a major limb injury and possibly not surviving the emergency surgery to either restore her pedal pulse or amputate her foot is NOT considered an ’emergency’ to you …..I can pretty much guarantee you that for the rest of us…. it would be considered an emergency.
My mother is now 80 and I currently have to reside with her due to safety reasons. I attend all her medical appointments….and I can again assure you that when someone doesn’t do their job or tries to due the bare minimum…it doesn’t fly with me…why you might ask? Is my mother ‘special’ well clearly not to you or anyone else….but yeah she’s kinda special to me and I am the one who will make sure she gets the treatment she needs and requires….period.
the big thing is why didnt the hospital contact his father they had his number
It is unfortunate for any one to loose a family member or friend, however I see a light here. We need an electrical engineer who can design data recorders for stun guns (tattle tale boxes). Simple data collection not accessible to field officers. Date, time, location, settings, time stamps for operation controls and duration of output.
Information like this could be extremely valuable in any incident requiring investigation or discovery.
I’m not sure what a data engineer would do for you but most of that information is already available on the units. They also have tasers with video camera’s on them. Prosecutors and cops love them because the tasee is shown in the environment as opposed to standing in court all cleaned up in a shirt and tie. The problem is that they cost a lot more with the camera’s.
this is bull, no person should die this young, i hope the parents get everything they can get, maybe it will teach a few people something but i don t beleive it
Well as the cause of death hasn’t been released what this could “teach” is open for debate.
its hard to tell maybe it was busy in the ED that night and it fell through the cracks it happens.
Are they gonna be able to come up with a cause of death, is the next question
Toxicology reports (which take a while to get back) will show what if any medications/drugs/alcohol was in the body at the time of death.
Any congenital issues should be found too.
I hope they look what caused the man to die of a heart attack. rather than just resons why he should die. The test are excuses why it was OK to terminate him, it seems
hope all goes well
Helicopter
A friend of mine who works for the Dept. of Corrections told me that part of his taser training consisted of being tased himself. Knowing how it feels, he would be less likely to tase someone unless it was absolutely necessary. Are all law enforcement officers required to be tased before they are able to carry a stun gun? And if not, should they be?
I mentioned this earlier. I believe they all do, in order to be certified to use them.
If these things ever cause death they should not be used, since the officer can’t know if someone is susceptible to cardiac arrest, is pregnant, or anything else medical before they deliver their message. Hitting someone, overpowering them with numbers of officers, pepper spraying them is much preferred because they will be able to gain control of the individual without the risk of KILLING them. Fighting back with fury is a relatively modern concept due to television, movie and video game brainwashing of the masses. If you don’t believe me, go back and watch police interactions with the public in old movies and tv shows.
so what you are saying is…………ok i give up,what are you saying,watch the old brainwashing to understand the new brainwashing? neither reflect reality and the use of overwhelming force would probably have you yelling about police brutality.picture six or seven policemen beating a man into submission,that would make a viral youtube video especially if the person was a minority.
Neither reflect reality, but you can bet that the entertainment (also advertising) brainwashing creates attitudes out in the public and these people know how to manipulate human beings very very well.
“old movies and TV shows” do not reflect the reality of the times then anymore than current “television, movie and video game” reflect the reality of the times today.
While I understand where you are coming from, I think you have idealized the circumstances. Ideally a LEO would refrain from using a Taser, but snap decisions sometimes need to be made to protect the public safety. The police don’t allows have the luxury of time or back-up officers when they defuse a public incident. This being said, nobody deserves to die on the spot for breaking the law. So while I consider this a tragic event that is regrettable, I also think it’s fairly rare. It shows no matter what system, policies or personnel that are in place, human beings are not machines. All of us are fallible, though most of us don’t work jobs where our actions are as high-stake as those of law enforcement officers.
beating someone who is already in a elevated state runs a much higher risk of killing them. Pepper spray (OC) poses serious risks to people with respiratory conditions such as asthma which is far more common then heart problems.
in the past he would have been beaten down with a billy club,and could have died from head injuries,mace or pepper spray can cause an allergic reaction,or trigger an asthma attack. if he had a knife or some other weapon in his possession he might simply have been shot,and rightly so. so the lesson here kiddies is this: do not do drugs and get into a confrontation with police. it is regrettable,however, that his parents were not notified that he was in the hospital.
Not for nothing, but let’s get someone to examine the body who is NOT connected!
An article that may shed some light on whether or not tasers are safe.
http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2012/05/15/new-research-suggests-tasers-can-be-lethal/
Other articles are available from more recent research.
Tasers are over-used and not safe. Perhaps the Bangor PD will re-evaluate use of tasers.
The article is from England and makes references to “animal studies” in “peer reviewed journals” but does not name the studies, the journals or provide links to them.
Go back to that article written in the UK and click on some of the words/phrases in blue and it will take you to other articles. Also don’t neglect reading the information regarding the misuse as well as over-use of the taser. A moratorium is called for. Even a town in North Carolina got rid of the taser due to two deaths. The old research protects the manufacturer which is making a lot of money with these units. Why would a manufacturer admit that their money-maker is lethal more than first thought? Business is business—they did a huge sales pitch to law enforcement and ship them all over.
I am not against most good law enforcement officers, but I do not want the taser in the hands of the overzealous ones who inflame rather than diffuse even minor traffic stops.
Even the dashboard camera does not deter some of them.
OK
First link “figures” took me to a news item written by Amnesty International that quotes it own studies.
Second link “U.S. Department of Justice” took me to a NBC article (2006) written by the Associated Press which quoted Amnesty International and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Third link “excited delirium” is nothing more then a list of case from England.
Fourth link “interview”…now we are getting somewhere. I will read the actual study in the AHA Circulation journal but one thing is troubling me. The author of the study, Dr. Zipes has been “paid to testify against the weapon”. That is a conflict of interest. People scream every day of the week and twice on Sunday when a doctor writes an article about a medication and it is revealed that they are a speaker for the company making the medication. What is different here?
The last link “158 people” is just a link back to another article written by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
I still didn’t find any links to the “animal studies” in “peer reviewed journals” that The Bureau of Investigative Journalism mentions in your original link.
http://jonathanturley.org/2012/05/04/dont-taze-kill-me-bro-new-study-refutes-claim-that-tasers-are-non-lethal/
Go to the short article above. At the end, click on AHA and it will take you to an abstract of the research.
Dr. Zipes lists his Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN affiliation in the “Author Affiliations” but not the fact that he testifies against Taser. That smacks of a conflict of interest and the non-disclosure is troubling.
Can you please tell me what the alternative is to using a taser? I think that might be called a gun. Oh wait…I forgot about the fish net theory.
i am curious did they taser him on the scene of the incident or at the hospital
I see alot of comments that people think it’s OK to kill drug users,, I think you drinkers are next.
That hairstyle is soo dated. Somebody HELP her out!!
When it is all said and done you will find the drugs he was taking killed him, maybe he shouldnt of been a bad boy to warrent being tased????
From all we can read, Phillip McCue was seriously agitated that night. That in itself is not a crime. Was he agitated because of bath salts? That answer is not in yet. It will be interesting. I would have hoped if there were more than one officer at the scene that they would have taken him down together, although this may not have been possible, I was not there.
There was a case in Boston where a young man died being taken into custody and no Taser was involved. Apparently, an officer or offficers sat on his chest, cutting off his ability to breathe. So even with multiple officers, there is still a danger. I wish we had a better way of controlling individuals displaying this type of behavior, so far nothing is perfect.
Even if he was on bath salts is that a reason to be terminated.. Fish nets will disable anyone.
I have never suggested that Phillip McCue should have been terminated. That should NOT happen to anyone. My point was, while I believe the Taser may have a great deal of danger associated with its use, other methods do as well.
While I agree fishnets might be effective, I think they would be difficult to use in a time sensitive situation. I also doubt they would be effective with a crowd.
Another unknown in this situation was whether Mr. McCue might have been a danger to himself or others that had gathered. I never said he was on bath salts, although someone in a previous article did allude to the fact that was a possibility. I did not know the young man and I was not there, so I cannot judge. But if he presented a danger to himself or others, then he needed to stopped quickly, and possibly the Taser was the best choice for that. No one could have predicted this outcome. However, if was already contained, and officers used a Taser because he was being verbally abusive (and no one has suggested that was the case for Mr. McCue) then the use of the Taser, regardless of the outcome, would have been incorrect.
Through all my comments on this and related articles, I have said only, that I hope that something positive might come from this young man’s death. I hope that police departments look at their policies regarding the use of Tasers and make sure all officers are adequately trained and know the policies regarding the deployment of the Taser.
Using tazers is like play Russian Roulette.. You never know what neurological damage it can cause… They should be outlawed..
They can use fishing nets to subdue a criminal…
And don’t forget about bean bag guns.
They have that ambulance that knocks you over it’s so loud. They could’ve driven that out and turned the noise on.
It could be he was subjected to Ice Cream truck music and he went over the edge, so yes noise would work.
sonic complicance devices could become the new taser. They also have a device that uses intense pulses of green light. the ADS heat ray is a neat idea but is only useful for riot control and it has a potential to burn a persons insides lol.
Long Range Acoustic Device may one day be used for individuals but currently they are used for crowd control, etc…and are individual specific. In other words they affect more that one person.
Intense pulses of green light – “Should police and coastguards use laser dazzlers? Devices that temporarily blind people can now be used by US police, but are they worth the risks?” http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328516.400-should-police-and-coastguards-use-laser-dazzlers.html
ADS heat ray – The Active Denial System is a non-lethal, directed-energy weapon developed by the U.S. military, designed for area denial, perimeter security and crowd control. May one day be used for individuals but focusing directed-energy in a directed beam is going to cause some related health issues later in life.
Let’s not stop looking for answers but any device….ANY device will have unintended consequences and for every proponent of a specific device you will have an equal or larger number of opponents.
Phillip McCue R.I.P. I hope the family and friends get the answers that you need and deserve.
In the case of a sudden death, answers take time. I hope they take the time to look at everything and think about all it. Sometimes more of picture emerges. Right now, family and friends, need to grieve and I hope they have all the support they need during this difficult time.
i dont like to cause trouble here but there is a issue that could affect any one of us should we have a critical medical issue that we cant speak for our selves and the is notification of next of kin.
Our Police forces are getting more and more militarized! What’s left out of their training i.e.Common Sense etc , is killing Citizens!
rules also require paramedics to be dispatched to scenes where it has
been determined through computer record checks that police are dealing
with a person with a history of mental illness, or with other high risk
medical situations.
rules also require paramedics to be dispatched to scenes where it has
been determined through computer record checks that police are dealing
with a person with a history of mental illness, or with other high risk
medical situations.
There are no rules governing when EMS is dispatched to the scene of a person with a history or mental illness, or with other high risk medical situations.
In situations like this EMS might be dispatched to the scene and if they were they would be told to stage in a area safely removed from the incident.
‘tfr
Stories like this and the public’s subsequent analysis make me long for the days when newspapers didn’t have blogs. Everybody wants to play editor today. Perhaps some stories shouldn’t be open for public comments.
Really??? Some stories shouldn’t be open to the public..WOW!!!!! LOL!!!!! and would that protect???
Until you have dealt with someone who is so high and agitated and paranoid and so out of control that they are going to hurt themselves or someone else, do not DARE to judge our law enforcement. They are highly trained and do their jobs well. If he had not put himself in that situation, this would not be discussed. If that person were coming after you or your child, you would have been screaming to do whatever it would take. So be grateful that there are people who will risk their lives to keep you and yours safe.
I think everyone has respect for the Police, Its the tazers that are in question..
What is wrong with the majority of you? HONESTLY!!!!! You judge others based on their appearance, bad choices, or past misdeeds instead of focusing on your own faults and failings. Many of you do not know this man, his family, or what he has been through. your only seeing the tip of the iceberg, that is the whole person. Who made all of you superior or more important. I sincerly hope that none of you or your loved ones ever go through what Phil had in this life. God forbid your skeletions come out of your closets. Yes, phil mad certain choices that ultimately lead to his passing. It was a series of events that played out at the same time. Those who know the family and know Phil will understand. Phil did not wake up one day and say “Gee, I think I want to be a junkie” get real people. and for the record, that man LOVED his son. Again, you are judging before knowing any of the circumstances.
What is wrong with the majority of you? HONESTLY!!!!! You judge others based on their appearance, bad choices, or past misdeeds instead of focusing on your own faults and failings. Many of you do not know this man, his family, or what he has been through. your only seeing the tip of the iceberg, that is the whole person. Who made all of you superior or more important. I sincerly hope that none of you or your loved ones ever go through what Phil had in this life. God forbid your skeletions come out of your closets. Yes, phil made ecerta in choices that ultimately lead to his passing. It was a series of events that played out at the same time. Those who know the family and know Phil will understand. Phil did not wake up one day and say “Gee, I think I want to be a junkie” get real people. and for the record, that man LOVED his son. Again, you are judging before knowing any of the circumstances.
What is wrong with the majority of you? HONESTLY!!!!! You judge others based on their appearance, bad choices, or past misdeeds instead of focusing on your own faults and failings. Many of you do not know this man, his family, or what he has been through. your only seeing the tip of the iceberg, that is the whole person. Who made all of you superior or more important. I sincerly hope that none of you or your loved ones ever go through what Phil had in this life. God forbid your skeletions come out of your closets. Yes, phil made certain choices that ultimately lead to his passing. It was a series of events that played out at the same time. Those who know the family and know Phil will understand. Phil did not wake up one day and say “Gee, I think I want to be a junkie” get real people. and for the record, that man LOVED his son. Again, you are judging before knowing any of the circumstances.
Here we go again, another family that says my child is perfect, I see the lawsuit looming.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder…
I’m going to try to define what your comment means… here goes!!! Only certain people have value…
never said he was perfect just wanted to find out what happened is the only reason we went to the paper and almost everyone on here is making it a huge lawsuit, or blaming someone. If you check family never said they blamed anyone JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED
the young man in question on this thread was unable to speak,therefore; it was on EMMC to notify family!!! no and”s if”s but”s about it!! NO excuses,necessary please!! just accountability!! DARVO !!!
The tazer did not kill him. The fact he dies days after makes that clear. The fact he was a life long drug user and any doc will tell you that drug abuseres have a much higher rate of problems including weakining of organs that only gets worse over time.
“No one could have predicted this outcome.”
Not true lots of people have been expecting this for a long time. It was never a question of anything but when and how. We all knew it was coming sooner or later.
There you feel better. You obviously have some resentments. Now you have trashed the family maybe you can move on and make someone else’s lives more difficult when grieving
He or she obviously has some major issues with the family, that’s a given…now scutter along “Roger”.
His father is not a attorney. Him and his wife own a busniess CMC & maintanance.
In my opinion, a Paramedic, ect. would be more qualified to access the true situation, verses a police officer,who has limited medical training! The rules, and regs had many changes, after the completion, of a 2 year investigation of a similar situation, when a man died, in police custody, from a HA, after being tazed!!
#1 Rule in EMS – Is the scene safe?
If the answer is No – you stage and wait for the scene to be secured by law enforcement.
If the answer is Yes – you treat what you find.
If you want EMS/Fire to begin “treating” patients at scenes that are not safe you better be ready to issue body armor and firearms to them. And for the record I am NOT in favor of arming EMS or firefighters. But in some areas they are issued body armor and in very limited jurisdiction they are sworn “special” police officers which allow them to legally carry mace and handcuffs (i.e. Boston Health and Hospitals were so sworn. That may have changed over the years but at one time they were and it still may be the case).
Agreed. They have to wait before putting themselves in a dangerous position…. Geeh JD I agreed with you for once.
Is this country at the stage where people are OK with Terminating others because they do drugs, If so maybe booze drinkers should be next.
Does anyone know what this man did for a crime, or was this just Tazer practice.
If he was experiencing “excited delirium” here is what Dr. Jonnathan Busko (Regional Medical Director for the Northeast EMS Region which includes Bangor) says about the treatment of patients under the influence of “bath salts”. (Note: emphases mine)
“The treatment of these patients starts with making the environment safe to prevent self injury or injury of others. The ultimate goal is chemical restraint with benzodiazipines (e.g. Versed®). However, to administer those drugs these patients will need to by physically
controlled. If you have been appropriately trained and have sufficient numbers of individuals to perform a restraint, do so. However, as much as possible, you need to involve law enforcement to assist in physical control, particularly if you are not trained to do these restraints. USE OF ELECTRICAL IMMOBILIZATION DEVICE (i.e. Taser ®) OR PHYSICAL CONTROL DEVICES MAY FACILITATE SAFE AND RAPID PHYSICAL CONTROL. Keep in mind that physical restraint alone is not adequate, so you must plan to perform immediate intramuscular chemical restraint. In Maine, this will be achieved with IM Versed ®. Contact medical control as these patients may require multiple and large doses of benzodiazipines.”
http://www.apems.org/resource/blog/
Thank you.
Pontification.
Pontification? No
Recommend and followed medical practice in some areas of this region? Yes
I would believe that since he is a habitual drug user (not a recreational drug user) that his body finally gave with all the abuse plus the stun gun. It is a tragic event. Family should always be notified in any case. I also don’t like EMCC they are a joke tome. Over working and under paying their nurses, something like this will keep happening.
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http://www.dgfirearms.com
I did not trash anyone I simply spoke the TRUTH. I knew all three brothers and the father the mother and stepmother. I know how the boys where raised. I know there history and I have heard what I stated from more then one family member. For some reason when a person dies people forget there actual life and and only want to say “nice” things about them. Well unless you go back before the age of 15 there is not much in the way of nice. Phils own parrents ( father and stepmother) had given up on him due to his repeted bad act’s. The youngest brother being the “baby of the trio” was always given special treatment. Did you know them? Are you speaking from facts and truth or are you just posting to be PC? Search right here on BDN and see some of the things he and his brithers have done. I have no resentments other then people here posting fell good stuff and blaming the hospital or the police instead fo the life long drug addict who in the end did this to himself. So WANT2THE TRUTH is the truth really what you want? I have spoken no lies and just the truth.
I do know the truth and it sounds like you have issues with the family because it sounds like you want to belittle them in public. the family isn’t trying to put icing on it and say everything was great if you had been at the funeral you would have heard the regrets and sorrows of everyone. I just want them my family to grieve and you want them to suffer. What are you gaining from this>
I gain nothing personaly. However I am telling those who do not know the truth. This was not some random accident. This was the result of the repeted failings of the legal system and the welfare system in this case SSI who gave him a check every month he used to buy drugs. As well as his father and stepmother who knew he posed a danger to himself inyet continued to bail him out of trouble. This was not a good person who made a mistake. This was a guy who had made bad choices his whole adult life and was never held accountable for them. The funeral is a bit late to be expresing regrets for actions that all who knew him should have been taken many years ago but instead all those same people let it slide and even enabled his actions.
I agree about Patty and Mike enabling. They would rather use their money to fix problems, instead of being actual parents. Roger is right about Ben being babied and spoiled…for the longest time he could do no wrong. They would use their money and ship the boys off to live with their grandparents or pay for their apartments when they should have been in school.
Who died and left you god. You are gaining something from this and this is to let the whole world what awful parents he had and as you say you know them personally. I hope you feel better about yourself and I am just wasting my time trying to say let the family grieve.
No worries want2. We can clearly see what is going on here. Some people are using this as a way to disparage others rather than looking hard at themselves. Most can relate to this story in some way, and are sorry for the loss you’ve had. People make choices in life and that is their path to take. I am thinking of all of you and hoping that you can allow the good memories to come out in front of the bad ones.
I know all three brothers as well. I also know Mike, Patty, and Susan. I am betting you and I know each other as well. I am not disagreeing with you.
Roger I believe what you say it True I aslo believe most others also believe you.. I believe what most are saying is that everyone has the right to life.. The form of Termination is in question. The use of tazers is in question.. Not the officers which we all agree are professional…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PeAliR2EGQg
In Seattle, bystanders take down gunman and hold him until police arrive. No tasers necessary.
And the Seattle Police wouldn’t have used a Taser either. They would have used their department issued firearm and bullets instead.
So you admit that tasers are unnecessary then. Good. You’re starting to get it.
Didn’t say that at all. You don’t bring a Taser to a gun fight.
And you don’t pull out deadly weapons at a shouting match.
And we don’t know the cause of death or what precipitated the initial cardiac arrest.
I guess when the Foxes comes out with the report on how the Chicken died everyone will be satisfied.
The only thing I gain is the truth. Please feel free to point out anything I have said that is NOT true. So Phil dies and we now say hey he died lets not remember how he got to this point? Lets not blame him and those around him who enabled him! Lets blame the police and the hospital for his death! Come on! Phil was who he was I will say out of the three brothers he was the one who had the greatest chance the other two are worse the younger more so as he has been babied more then the other two. The family can grieve. I am grieving for his SON who he did not support who now will never have the chance to possibly see his dad get better. Maybe now his grandparents will pay some attention to him? His parents if you only knew the home these boys grew up in with there mother and father. Before stepmom came into the picture. I have no dog in this hunt but I am not going to stand by and let people say he was a great guy nore am I going to ignore the things his parrents and stepmother has done. Just because he died does not erase any of that. The fact is now is the time everybody should be worried about James and Ben as this is likely to have a very bad effect on them. So anyone who knows the family shoudl not be grieving but doing all they can to save James and Ben from the self medication both use to deal with things that upset them. Why did you pick that screen name? The truth is what it is no matter how unplesant it may be.
Cincinnati police revises Use of Force Policy, specifically with use of TasersRead more: http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/news/l…
I was not there and unable to assess how he was presenting. Therefore, its difficult for me to form an opinion. I hope protocol was followed before using excessive force. (I do understand he was obstructing a fire truck egress but we do have many fire stations in Bangor.) At least there is a case review and policy will be adjusted if necessary. Condolences to the family. Does this mean everyone under the influence of bath salts will be tased?He obviously suffered from mental illness.He was well known to the community. Where was the mental health team, Act team and of the like. Its a shame this situation escalated to the point of needing a taser.
FISHNET. is also a tool, widely available….use it!!!! two police officers and a fishnet.. you mean to tell me that would not subdue a person safely!!