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Last summer, an unsettling incident unfolded in Mississippi involving 65-year-old great-grandmother Vivian Burks. While sitting peacefully in her car at a local park, immersed in reading her Bible, she was approached by a police officer, Blaine Musgrove. Initially, the interaction seemed benign. Officer Musgrove offered to assist Ms. Burks with replacing her expired tags using the new ones she had in her vehicle. Yet, what began as a routine encounter quickly escalated. The officer claimed to detect the smell of marijuana, which prompted another officer from the Carthage Police Department to demand a search of her car.
Despite her attempts to return to her vehicle, the encounter turned physical. Body camera footage revealed the officers forcefully grabbing Ms. Burks and instructing her to place her hands behind her back. When she hesitated, Officer Musgrove pressed his Taser into her back and shocked her, causing her to collapse to the ground. Over the ensuing 30 seconds, Ms. Burks experienced three additional shocks as she twisted, trying to avoid being handcuffed, all the while pleading for the officers to stop. Her cries of “I’m sick!” echoed through the footage, yet the officers persisted. Only after calling for paramedics did the officers leave her lying on the ground, moaning in pain until medical help arrived.
Reflecting on the ordeal, Ms. Burks later recounted her terror, saying, “I couldn’t breathe. I just thought that they were going to kill me.”
In most parts of the United States, actions like those taken by the officers would likely be condemned as an excessive and improper use of a Taser, especially given that Ms. Burks was not armed, posed no imminent threat, and was largely subdued. Yet in Mississippi, incidents of this nature often go unchecked due to outdated and lenient policies around Taser use.
A State Without Checks and Balances
Unlike other states that maintain clear guidelines regulating Taser usage, Mississippi leaves it to individual law enforcement agencies to craft their own policies. This lack of uniform oversight has resulted in vague, and often lax, standards. An investigation jointly conducted by The New York Times and Mississippi Today uncovered widespread instances across the state where Tasers were used in ways that experts deem inappropriate—without significant scrutiny or repercussions.
Widely accepted national standards recommend that Tasers should only be used against individuals posing an imminent threat. Furthermore, to minimize risks of injury or death, warnings explicitly advise against using Tasers on older individuals, those with certain medical conditions, or for prolonged durations exceeding 15 seconds within a single encounter. However, many Mississippi police departments fail to adhere to these guidelines.
Adding to the issue, Tasers are equipped with electronic logs that record every instance of their use, including the duration of activation. These logs are invaluable in monitoring compliance with safety guidelines. But in Mississippi, many law enforcement agencies neither review these logs nor have the specialized cables necessary to access them. In fact, some departments were unaware the logs even existed until reporters from The Times purchased cables on their behalf to retrieve the data.
Through extensive analysis of over 100,000 Taser log entries from 36 agencies, reporters found at least 600 instances over a four-year period where Tasers were fired for durations longer than the suggested 15-second limit. Additionally, interviews with dozens of Taser victims and reviews of thousands of police and court records painted a troubling picture of misuse. People across Mississippi have been shocked while lying on the ground, sitting in their vehicles, or even while handcuffed. Alarmingly, these individuals were predominantly accused of minor, non-violent offenses such as trespassing or resisting arrest.
One particularly egregious case from 2022 involved 41-year-old Keith Murriel, who was shocked over 40 times by Jackson police while refusing to leave a motel parking lot. Tragically, he passed away shortly after the incident. He is one of at least 22 individuals in Mississippi who have died following Taser deploys. While it’s not always clear whether Tasers directly caused these deaths, their use in such cases raises serious questions about accountability and safety.
Emerging Patterns of Taser Abuse
A disturbing tendency has emerged among some Mississippi officers: using Tasers as a means of asserting authority or subduing individuals who fail to comply with orders. Reports revealed Tasers used on people experiencing mental health crises, sometimes escalating situations rather than neutralizing them. For example, Leake County deputies shocked a man who warned them he had a defibrillator in his heart, while officers in Lee County struck a man for a combined total of over two minutes during an arrest related to hallucinations.
One particularly harrowing example is the death of Jared Padgett. Deputies shocked him 17 times after being called to assist a family concerned about his hallucinations. Fearful and overwhelmed, Padgett fled the scene, and the pursuit ultimately ended fatally when deputies shot him. His devastated mother questioned the excessive force, repeating, “Seventeen times.”
Reports also revealed misconduct in handling Taser logs and incident accounts. In some cases, the reports officers filed were inconsistent with the data retrieved from Taser logs, indicating instances of firing significantly more times than disclosed. For instance, one incident in Pearl involved officers reporting only two Taser uses, while the logs revealed 10. Such discrepancies highlight a glaring lack of oversight of whether officers’ accounts align with the digital records.
Gaps in Oversight and Accountability
Mississippi’s absence of statewide regulations amplifies the risks posed by unchecked Taser use. Unlike states like Massachusetts or Minnesota, where training and usage standards are defined by law, Mississippi agencies often operate without guidance or enforcement mechanisms. Even when best practices are shared, many departments fail to integrate them into their policies.
For instance, a review of 44 law enforcement agency policies indicated that over half did not prohibit Taser use on individuals who are handcuffed, pregnant, elderly, or medically vulnerable. Some policies even allow shocks on individuals who are passively resisting or merely walking away from officers, directly contradicting national recommendations.
Additionally, the fragmented regulations extend to how departments track and manage Taser use. Many agencies lack practices for downloading and reviewing Taser logs regularly. Without systematic audits, concerning patterns can go unnoticed. In one department, over 40 unexplained events where Tasers were fired for durations exceeding 15 seconds only came to light after reporters shared their findings. Similarly, during a suspected overdose arrest, deputies from another department misused Tasers for a prolonged period but failed to document the events accurately.
Broken Promises of Safer Policing
Originally marketed as tools to reduce deadly police encounters, Tasers promised to incapacitate individuals non-lethally. Yet, their misuse has often exacerbated situations, leading to life-threatening injuries, trauma, and even death. Critics argue this reflects a failure of leadership. Clear training protocols, enforceable standards, and regular accountability checks are necessary to prevent future abuse.
Former Taser users have described the weapon’s pain as excruciating: “It feels like fire running across your body,” said one former officer turned instructor. This sensation, while meant to restrict movement, can instead escalate tensions when used improperly. Combined with the risk of falls, burns, or medical complications, the devices must be handled with extreme care—a responsibility many Mississippi departments have overlooked.
Hope for Change
Amid the troubling findings, small glimmers of reform are emerging. After being presented with the investigative report’s results, a few Mississippi police leaders pledged to adopt improved practices. Magee’s Police Chief Denis Borges updated their department’s policies, mandating biannual audits of Taser logs. These incremental changes hint at the possibility of broader reforms, but larger systemic action is still desperately needed.
Accountability for excessive Taser use lies not only at the feet of individual officers but also in systems that fail to monitor and correct misuse. The devastating consequences of unchecked Taser applications ripple across families and communities—leaving parents mourning children, children growing up without parents, and many individuals suffering physical and emotional scars.
Vivian Burks’ story, like so many others in Mississippi, underscores a critical need for change. As experts point out, what’s happening in the state represents not just isolated incidents but a larger systemic issue reflecting a failure to prioritize ethical law enforcement practices. If Mississippi continues to lag behind in adopting and enforcing responsible Taser usage policies, it risks betraying the very communities its officers are sworn to protect.
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