Didnt the DA just say the taser was a deadly weapon in the incident with the car two weeks ago
Quoting a post I made elsewhere.
ThePieReborn posted...
There are wrinkles to this, as I found while perusing Georgia case law. "Per se deadly weapons" are those whose innate use carries with it risk of death/severe bodily harm, etc. A taser would qualify under this when used as intended. However, here's a case snippet that adds the wrinkle:
Adsitt v. State, 248 Ga. 237, 240, 282 S.E.2d 305, 308 (1981) We hold that if it reasonably appears to the assault victim that the firearm is or might be loaded then the assailant should be held to the consequences of using a deadly weaponwhether or not the weapon in fact is loaded.
This would give the impression (although within the aggravated assault context rather than estimation of force needed by a LEO, but it's easy enough to transition since the standard wouldn't change any) depends, as I've stated previously, on what the officers knew. DA (notwithstanding accusations of political motivation and other issues) stated that the officer gave a statement indicating he knew the taser had been expended.
If that statement is true, it's easy enough to distinguish between the previous use (if I recall, that was with the driver or passenger in a vehicle was hit with the taser? My memory isn't good at this point in time.) and the current use if the officer knew the taser could not be used as designed. Use as a bludgeon requires similar analysis in that it would be based on reasonable beliefs re: what Brooks could do with it.
As to whether this would impact whether the action would survive muster under Garner and Graham, I do not know. I'm not inclined to treat it as though a dismissal or directed verdict would be guaranteed. If the shooting occurred strictly in a vacuum, I'd give the defense 35%~ on dismissal and a 65%~ chance of successful directed verdict (numbers pulled out of my ass and mean nothing other than sleep-deprived me's gut instinct, and I'm known to undershoot strength of arguments).
The post-shooting actions I'm even more unsure
---
Party leader, passive-aggressive doormat, pasta eater extraordinaire!