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Ft. Worth Man Tasered to Death in Fruitless Drug Raid

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #786)
Drug War Issues
Police Raids
2013 Drug War Killings

A Forth Worth, Texas, man died after being subjected to electric shocks by police executing a drug search warrant earlier this month. Jarmaine Darden, 34, becomes the 14th person to die in US domestic drug law enforcement operations so far this year.

Jarmaine Darden (family photo)
According to Dallas-Fort Worth CBS 11 TV, Fort Worth police "zero tolerance officers" were searching for cocaine when the incident happened. They didn't find any, but they did find Darden asleep on his couch. The 350-pound Darden suffered from asthma and had to sleep sitting up, family members said.

A police report said Darden resisted arrest -- although it is unclear what he was being arrested for, given that no drugs were found on him -- and was shocked at least twice by a taser. He then stopped breathing and died. Two other people present in the home were arrested for drug offenses, but both just for possession -- one for marijuana, another for an unidentified "controlled dangerous substance."

Family members who were present disputed the police account.

"They physically pulled him off the couch because, like I said, he was asleep. They pulled him off the couch and they tried to put him on his stomach. He can't breathe on his stomach. He don't even lie on the bed on his stomach," said Donna Randle, the mother of the victim. "He had his hands behind his back the whole time. But me and about five other people were hollering the whole time, 'He cannot breathe like that. Please handcuff him on his side,'" said Randle.

According to Eric Darden, the victim's brother, a police officer warned Jarmaine that if he didn't get on his stomach, they would tase him, and they did.

"I'm not even accepting the fact that he's gone. I'm waiting for him to drive up any minute. It's just not believable," said Randle, adding that he left behind two teenage sons.

Fort Worth police have yet to publicly comment on the death, but community leaders said Police Chief Jeff Halstead has promised to keep them informed as the department investigates.

Some people aren't waiting for the police. A Justice for Jarmaine Darden online petition asks that Fort Worth police be better trained in the use of tasers "to prevent serious injury and death." As of this writing, there are only 22 signatures on that petition. [Update: As of Wednesday, June 5, there are now 12,993 signatures.]

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Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

Uncle Bob (not verified)

True justice would be for the "officers" involved in this murder to face real jail time for their crimes... of course, that will never happen.  Whatever big settlement the family inevitably receives won't ease the pain of their loss.  Thoughts and prayers go out to them.

Fri, 05/31/2013 - 9:23pm Permalink
Ben F (not verified)

You guy might want to get your facts right and not just go off what someone else reports. Just cause no Cocaine was found doesn't mean No Narcotics were found. If you do a public records search, you'd see that Other Narcotics were found and recovered. So it wasn't a "Fruitless" drug raid. You are in the media, so please do your job and a little research to ensure your reporting the FACTS and not just hearsay.
Fri, 05/31/2013 - 9:58pm Permalink
Matt B (not verified)

We shouldn't be automatically considering a police report to be completely factual, either....

Either way, taking a man's life wasn't worth whatever rotted fruit they collected...

Sat, 06/01/2013 - 11:09am Permalink
borden (not verified)

Ben, there were two drug arrests made, of individuals other than Darden, but both were for mere possession, and the other arrests were also quite minor, one of them apparently an unpaid ticket. There's no indication of anything related to the drug trafficking for which the warrant was obtained. So it was basically fruitless. Agreed that we missed the minor arrests and that they should have been mentioned.

Mon, 06/03/2013 - 1:48pm Permalink
budman (not verified)

Cops are people too. They lie, cheat, steal, and murder like anyone else. What is unjust is that they should be held to higher standards than anyone else. If they make a mistake, they should pay for it like anyone else. When cops do criminal activity, they usually just get fired. They need to share the same jail cell with people that committed the same crime. No protective custody for criminal cops.
Tue, 06/04/2013 - 1:36am Permalink
Tim Nazareth (not verified)

What exactly do you mean by "public records search"?  Since you don't offer any facts or specific details, it appears to me that you simply are quoting from the same article that you are attempting to malign. Are you actually trying to justify the senseless death of a disabled American? Speaking of research, perhaps you should take a history course in 20th century law enforcement pertaining to the use of  'deadly force' in the United States.  Electric shocks as a method to subdue (suspected) criminals, was considered a last resort when the only previous choice was to shoot the citizen dead. Appealing to the humanitarian essence that was prevalent in America after the combined efforts of the peace and civil rights movements, law enforcement lobbied for the use of so called "less than lethal" weapons to avoid unnecessary death and suffering. A simple YouTube search  reveals that Tasers have become instruments of intimidation, torture and often death---Used by lazy, vicious cops in the FRUITLESS war on drugs.

Oh, and Ben, while you're at it;  I would also suggest taking a remedial English class. There's a huge difference between the words cause and because. Also, your use of capitalized letters in mid-sentence obscures the legitimacy of intention.

Timothy Nazareth

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 3:56pm Permalink
habadash (not verified)

These police should be up on murder charges! Not trained on how to press a button on a taser based on their discretion(which is obviously DEAD wrong)...
Sat, 06/01/2013 - 4:21am Permalink
Michelle Holton (not verified)

I had an opportunity to meet Chief Halstead approximately a year ago. I gave him a website for law enforcement against prohibition www.leap.cc and asked him to learn more about the harms of the drug war. Looks like he needs to really look at it. The drug war is an addiction of law enforcement that is a gateway into horrible civil rights violations such as this. Michelle Holton RN Former Public Safety Officer
Sat, 06/01/2013 - 10:39am Permalink
richard pendygraft (not verified)

It should be murder 2nd degree....or at least fire them and deport them all to Nkorea

Mon, 06/03/2013 - 6:37pm Permalink
dailylarrna1 (not verified)

lets wait until the coroner tells us how he died

and gee cocaine for all grade schools kids sounds like your website slogan

I wonder how many times he was arrested before this and how many other chances he had

PS lose the weight and LIVE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tue, 06/04/2013 - 7:06pm Permalink
Angela. Darden Tyson (not verified)

For those of you who didn't know my brother, or his health problems, for those of you that weren't there on that day ,and for the person that said he should loose the weight and live (FYI) what part of tased to DEATH did you not get ! And what gives you the right to speak ill of this wrongful death ? TELL YOU WHAT GET A HEART AND LIVE
Wed, 07/24/2013 - 7:48pm Permalink
borden (not verified)

Thank you for finding our web site, and our condolences for the unnecessary loss of your brother. Please feel free to contact us anytime.

Sun, 07/28/2013 - 3:28pm Permalink
Jillian Galloway (not verified)

So in order to protect him from the harm associated with drugs they killed him. I guess in some (macabre) sort of way they succeeded.

Thu, 06/06/2013 - 2:40pm Permalink
Rog in Miami Gardens (not verified)

We should all encourage as many people as possible to sign this petition. 

Sun, 06/09/2013 - 11:00pm Permalink

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