Tucson Police Shoot Latino Man 70 Times with Pepper Gun
Saturday, January 29, 2005 at 11:00PM
TheSpook
A man in Arizona was
hospitalized after he was hit by about 70 rounds fired by a pepper ball
gun when he resisted arrest, according to Local 6 News. A television
news crew captured the incident on videotape, showing Gabriel Gandara,
29, covering his face as pellets hit his chest. Eventually he hit the
ground, face down. Police had been summoned to the scene by people who
said they heard shots. Officers stopped a car leaving the area with
three men. Gandara got out, but he yelled at police and backed away,
police Sgt. Kerry Fuller said. Officers thought they saw a weapon and
fired the pepper balls, intended to immobilize suspects with the
irritating powder. Officers said they spotted something in Gabriel
Gandara's waistband, behind his back, they thought might be a weapon.
It turned out to be his underwear label, said Tucson police Sgt. Kerry
Fuller.Fuller would not say how many balls police fired. Gandara
was taken to a hospital for a reaction to the powder. He's jailed on
charges of assault, resisting arrest, criminal damage and marijuana
possession. No weapons were found at the scene, Fuller said, and police
were conducting a routine review to determine whether appropriate force
was used. Gandara's brother, Carlos, also was arrested. [more] and [more]