Homer Taylor Jr., Recent Parolee, Tasered to Death By Chicago Police

I am not going to condone the actions of people who break the law, but it seems that we are hearing more and more about people being tasered to death by the police. According to the Chicago Sun Times, Homer Taylor, Jr., 39, was paroled from prison a little more than a week ago. He clashed with police again, with deadly results.

The Chicago Police said that Taylor threatened officers with a sharp object as he walked, open beer in hand, in the 5000 block of West Washington on Saturday afternoon. They tasered him and he died a short time later. According to the Cook County medical examiner's office, an autopsy conducted Sunday was inconclusive, and further tests will have to be done to determine how Taylor died.

Taylor was paroled from the Illinois prison system on October 10, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections and the man's family. He had been serving a sentence for drug and forgery convictions and his prison record dates back to 1999. According to the Sun Times, he was concerned there was a warrant for his arrest on another matter.

The police said that when they approached him, he seemed erratic and he threatened officers with what appeared to be a sharp object. When he resisted arrest, officers used a Taser gun. Taylor died at the scene. Police said it appeared he had been under the influence of drugs.

While I believe that we ought to wait for the findings of the medical examiner, it seems that there is a growing list of taser deaths. While I am not condoning what, if anything, this man did, I believe there should be some investigation into the high incidence of people being harmed or killed by being tasered.

So, here's the part I really hate when families talk about their loved ones who were career criminals. According to the Sun Times, Taylor's family has plenty of questions about his death, particularly the part where he's accused of battling with police. His sister, who refused to identify herself said, "He had his issues, but he was a loving person -- he never did anything to harm others," Taylor's sister said. "He wasn't a fighter -- if there was ever a problem, he'd walk away." So, if he wasn't a fighter and walked away from a problem, how come he had a rap sheet for drug and forgery convictions that dated back to 1999? Is this the best example he could set for his daughters? He had issues, then why didn't his family seek some type of intervention for him? Seems to me that he got his priorities totally mixed up and his children are paying the price.