LAWRENCE COUNTY SHERIFF CONFISCATES DEPARTMENT’S TASERS AFTER INCIDENT INVOLVING GRANDPA WITH LEUKEMIA
LAWRENCE CO.–The deputies of the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department are without TASERs this morning after an incident last night (01.22.10) during which an older man with leukemia was TASERed multiple times after a traffic stop.
Lawrence Co. deputy Hal Pargin
Deputy Hal Pargin, shown left at a county board meeting last summer, affected a traffic stop last night on one Dennis Thacker, 61, who is currently suffering leukemia. With Thacker were his grandson, Blaine Steber, 3, and a neighbor, Abby Organ, 12. They were going from a ballgame to McDonald’s in Lawrenceville and were eastbound on 250 when Pargin pulled Thacker over for speeding.
Thacker provided Pargin his license and Pargin was apparently totally aware that it was Thacker he was dealing with and not some wild crazyman.
However, Thacker didn’t have his insurance proof immediately available. He had reportedly gotten out of the vehicle and was talking to Pargin, telling him he’d go back to get his insurance cards. When he retrieved them from his vehicle and returned to Pargin, the deputy reportedly started yelling at Thacker to “get back in the car!” inexplicably. Witnesses say all Thacker was trying to do was offer Pargin his proof of insurance.
Instead of taking it, Pargin, without shouting that he was about to deploy his TASER (per department policy), simply TASERed the older man, who began shouting “No! Stop it!” and then fell to the ground.
Witnesses say Thacker was TASERed a total of four times, and apparently Pargin was able to reload the cartridges on the TASER gun, as it was reported witnesses pulled a total of eight barbs from the sickly man.
Thacker was charged with ‘resisting arrest’ (something EVERYONE in Lawrence is charged with upon arrest, whether they do or not) and taken to the county jail in Lawrenceville. Abby’s mom Stacy Organ, daughter of county board representative Larry Stoltz, went to pick up her daughter and little Blaine…who was crying and screaming “They killed my grandpa!!”
Thacker’s blood pressure by this time had skyrocketed to over 200 and he was asking to be taken to the hospital; jail staff reportedly refused.
Disclosure called Lawrence sheriff Russell Adams to warn him of the impending shitstorm that was no doubt going to ensue (as Stacy Organ is the kind of person who doesn’t take any crap from anyone). Adams assured that things were going to be taken care of properly…unlike other times when his deputies had abused a suspect and refused treatment for them with serious affects (Nick McQueen, back in September).
Thacker was taken to Good Sam in Vincennes, stabilized and released. He is still under preliminary charges of Resisting, and had to post bond before he was released from the jail.
This morning Adams informed Disclosure that he had taken TASERs from the department (three of the weapons; a fourth remained in the custody of a deputy until Adams could obtain it). Their use will be suspended, he said, until further clarification of the department’s TASER policy can be made.
A TASER; uncertain how similar it is to the ones Lawrence was using
Adams has notified the Illinois State Police and have asked them to investigate the incident. A videotape of the traffic stop and ensuing TASERing is being reviewed by Adams, Lawrence prosecutor Lisa Wade, and ISP. Thacker is reportedly home and is feeling quite crappy, much the worse for wear from his unnecessary experience.
This is the second such unnecessary incident involving a TASER in recent months; Ben Stoltz was repeatedly hit by a TASER weapon by deputy Dennis York last fall and has been suffering health effects since that time. Both York and Pargin have been involved in violent attacks against restrained/subdued suspects in the past—York with McQueen, Pargin with one Walt Gowin two years ago. Almost all the deputies on the Lawrence County sheriff’s department, along with most other police in the county (Lawrenceville, Bridgeport, St. Francisville, Sumner) have been involved in some kind of violent altercation with restrained/subdued suspects in recent years, coverage of which has been given in Disclosure‘s print version.
For a more complete accounting of this incident, pick up your copy of the February/March print version, on stands Feb. 8-10.
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Short URL: http://www.disclosurenewsonline.com/?p=1955
Posted by Jack Howser
on Jan 23 2010. Filed under Lawrence.
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Keep your ass in the damn car! LOL This wouldnt have happened. And that deputy looks so old he probablly was saking. Thats why the guy was shot so many times. Get rid of the old timers.
The deputy is older than Mr. Thacker, who, incidentally, is well-known in the area. There was absolutely no reason for Pargin to have reacted the way he did unless, like York before, him, he just wanted to TASER someone. This wasn’t a case of a deputy not knowing the guy or never having dealt with him before. He didn’t have to ‘keep his ass in the damn car’ because Mr. Thacker is of the old school where it’s fucking retarded to behave like everyone’s a criminal until all their ‘papers are in order.’
This is another case of a Power Drunk Cop.I think tazers should be banded if for no other reason than keep the Deptartments for getting Sued.In the meantime this Power Drunk Cop needs to hand over his badge.He is a bigger threat than most orthers on the street.How many people die each year from Tazsers? Hope the Admin. tells us.
I know of some Cops who just can’t wait to get a Tazer so they can Tazse someone.No they didn’t tell me out right buy they are easy to read.You can even tell it in thier voice as they talk about a Tazer.Worse than a Kid with a New Toy!
I think we’re up to almost 500 deaths from TASERs nationwide since they began being used widely in 2002. I’d have to check for sure, the data is skewed frequently by such things as coroners who are pressured by the TASER company to lie on death pronouncements.
The problem is that there HAS been a TASER-related death in Lawrence, in 2007. Others who have been TASERed have run into health problems. The makers of these insane instruments of torture call them “Electro-Muscular Disruption” devices. They brag that this keeps the ‘offender’ immobilized and easier to control. However, everyone seems to blithely overlook that THE HEART IS A MUSCLE. If people have pre-existing health problems involving the heart, they’re bound to have problems up to and including death. These stupid manufacturers state that it keeps police from using deadly force i.e. guns. What they don’t address is that certain police forces—like those in Lawrence—were already violent and sadistic to begin with. When they had an option of not ‘deploying’ their gun, and instead ‘deploying’ a TASER, they saw it as just another fun thing they could do if someone pissed them off. And this is what we have as a result.
BTW, we use TASER in all caps because it’s an acronym: Thomas A. Swift Electronic Rifle. While these TASER handguns the cops are now carrying are not rifle-shaped, ‘taser’ has come to be in the American lexicon and it’s hugely offensive. Cops don’t regularly use rifles on suspects. They shouldn’t use electronic ones, either. These, we must point out, are not your average everyday good cop that is there to serve and protect. The ones doing this are there for no reason other than to ‘herd and corral…and if necessary, put down.’ Welcome to the police state.
Those poor Children must be in great shock after seeing this. This will stay with them all of their lives and for what. So some Power Hungry Cop can Tazer Grandpa in front of the grandchrildren and then he can tell all his Buddy Cops how the Old Man screamed and how the Grandchildren were screaming so much that he thought he may have to taz the 3 year old and the 12 year old as well.
What a Little Man this so called Cop is.
Blaine is very close to his grandpa. He was a mess last night but I think he’s doing better now. Abby was able to type out a statement as to what she saw and heard. She is an incredibly intelligent 12 year old.
well disclosure all i can say is welcome to lawrence county im so sorry thacker and those kids had to go thru this but what do u expect when i have personally called lawrenceville police department because some 17 year old kid pulled an threatened to use a log chain on my son and a knife on my son all in the same day and when the officers that responded to the call i informed them that if my son came to any harm as the other kid was not charged with nothing i would be contacting u guys and letting the story out how in lawrence county it is completely legal to use weapons and i would also be suing them . they asked me if i read ur paper i said yes they said well there is nothing we can do so if anything happens to my son i will be private messaging u and give u names and more info bout the wimberly guy that supposedly raped that little girl JC……..
something about this story doesn’t seem right? 4 taser cartridges? anyone who has been trained on the use of a taser ™ emd would know that that is unnecessary. once the taser ™ has been successfully deployed, the operator can continue to trigger the device without changing cartridges. that doesn’t make sense….where exactly did you get your witness statements and does the video of the stop back that up? I’m in no way defending the deputy over this, only pointing out how fishy this looks based on the function and workability of a taser.
as far as the traffic stop, the man should’ve stayed in his vehicle. that’s just how police are trained, that the person being stopped needs to remain in their vehicle and not do anything stupid (i.e. reaching for anything). I’m not saying that that justifies taser usage, but the man should’ve remained in his vehicle. I personally would LOVE to see the video to be able to see more accurately and in perspective what happened.
with all that being said….if the man is a crooked deputy, he needs justice just like anyone else. tasers catch a lot of crap because of cops who abuse them and it causes problems for taser use for officers who use them within policy because there’s so much drama (for lack of a better term) associated with their usage. when used properly, tasers are a valuable tool for law enforcement..as long as they’re not abused.
We got the witness statements from the witnesses. Where else would we get them?
Dennis didn’t stay in his vehicle because he was already out and talking to Hal. Everybody knows everybody over there. Like we said, it’s not a situation of a possible high-end coke distributor out on the interstate being stopped for a tail light out. This was over and above any of the paramilitary cop pretenses. It was sheer ridiculousness. And it’s not that Hal is crooked…he just lacks the sense he needs to deal with this “new world” policing mentality.
We’re hearing that there might have been another officer involved and that that was where the other barbs came from. When we get a name and confirmation, we’ll post it.
admin, thanks for actually monitoring and responding to comments on here. I’ve been barred from commenting at a certain MSM site in So. ILL. it seems…none of my comments show up there…guess they don’t like what I have to say usually. Big surprise there. Anyhow, I guess what I was getting it is how reliable are you witnesses to the incident? Like I said, I’m not trying to cover for the deputy, if he screwed up, then he needs to be punished for it, cops that do stupid things make life harder on the ones who actually try to be good cops. The story at first glance seems to be a little…odd…so I asked, and you answered.
Also, I’m not familiar with Lawrence Co., so I don’t know the area or if people know everybody and all that what not, so I wouldn’t be familiar with the status quo there either as far as that is concerned.
if there had been one other officer there, that would account for 2 more probes, but that leaves 4 probes that would be unaccounted for…but it begs to be asked, did you witnesses that provided all of the other information not say if there was another officer on scene or not?
Thanks for taking the time out to do it right……it’s a breath of fresh air.
I’ve added this to a few social media sites (reddit and digg), I’ve always hated the use of tasers.. because there seems to be some many stories like this.
Barney Fife’s bullet, its the same way with ALL tools that the police have at their disposal. How many times have we heard about cops using night sticks, batons, or billy clubs excessively? A ton. Or just jump straight to a gun? A ton. For officers who use them responsibly, they are an invaluable tool to effectively aid in the apprehension of offenders who legitimately refuse to comply with spoken commands. Are there people who abuse them? yes. same as with pepper spray, batons, and guns.
You might want to check up police depts with taser have had less law suits and workmen comp cases seance they started using the tasers. But I guess you can take the tasser away and in stead of getting a 5 second ride with no pain after its over when you act up they can go back using there fist and batons and see how that works out ill take a taser hit any day then a baton hit from some 1
Yeah, you right, your daddy. You’re not going to find a lot of paying out on TASER lawsuits. Why? Because any time there’s a suit, the TASER manufacturer comes running to the defense of the department that used it and is being sued, threatens, intimidates and otherwise harasses the family suing, and the matter is subsequently dropped, or a small payout is made from the bonding agent or insurance company of the department at fault.
“A 5-second ride with no pain.” Right. How many people do you know who have been TASERed? We know A LOT, and to a man they state that the pain is unbearable, and the ill effects long-lasting. Especially for the people who already have medical conditions, which these paramilitary cops seem to have the unerring capacity to find and TASER.
What about all the training the Cops have to take down a suspect?If there were two Cops there and they used Tazers then why did they have to use them.Are they saying that Two Cops can’t handle one Cancer Stricken
Man?
Then maybe we need to hire some Cops that are capable of doing the job without Tazers.
“A 5-second ride with no pain.” My ass!!! That was the most painful 5-seconds of my life, and I have video to prove it. On the bright side, as soon as the switch was turned off, I went back to zero pain.
Most law enforcement agencies have a policy that limits the age for Taser deployment. I believe that 60 is the upper limit recommended by Taser. If the Sheriff’s Office did not provide training for this deputy, they are screwed. If he is outside of their policy, he is screwed.
The company should have plenty of money to spend on research and attorneys, considering the cost of the unit.
What about the condition the man was in Slamdunc?Shouldn’t that be taken into account.I can see if the Old Man was causeing trouble and the Cop didn’t know him.But this wasn’t the case.I think Tazers going to haveing the Law Bidding Folks to turn their backs on Law Enforsement.
Would this officer have shot this elderly man with his service revolver if the Taser had not been at his disposal? I bet not.
Tasers should be banned by law because they make a decision to “shoot” someone much easier for the “law enforcement officer.” They are extremely painful and can kill. Tasers allow the police to be dignified cowards.
In my opinion, any attorney who takes the case of this elderly man as a plaintiff against the deputy and his department would be performing a valuable public service………….for Lawrence County and for other counties, as well.
“Dignified Coward” !!!!!! I love it JV.May I use this term of yours?
I said no pain after the 5 seconds are over yes it does hurt like hell for 5 seconds but you dont have the pain for hours or days like other tools used
Top Cat; I didn’t defend the deputy’s actions in any way; not enough information, & I wasn’t there. As for his condition, his age alone, would make me real apprehensive.
JV; You posed an interesting question. Under the same circumstances (sans a Taser), would the deputy have shot him? Did this guy’s actions dictate an escalation of force; hard to say, but from the information given, NOT.
Misuse of any tool of law enforcement (OC spray, Taser, baton or other impact weapon, or deadly force) is a big problem for everyone. It makes the police look bad when someone does something stupid. Somebody inevitably got hurt, it is just bad.
I understood that you wan’t defending him slamdunk.I was really asking a question.Evidently the Deputy knew the subject and his condition and tazed him anyway.But my question was about the condition the guy was in and still get tazed.Would be be worse for him than someone heathy?
We have some very good Deputys and City Policeman around here and most are thankfull for them.But we also have a few ,well not so good, that would get a charge out of useing the tazer as much as they good.No pun intended.
Maybe the cop was more concerned about getting home alive. I myself would not want to be in a position where I had to worry about getting shot, getting sued, getting ran over, and then having to worry about who’s who in a county and what they’re medical condition is. If the cop screwed up, then screw him. But the whole 4 cartridges seems fishy to me. I got a feeling, and I could be wrong, that the story is going to turn out to be different than previously stated.
I’m with StoptheCorruption. It just seems fishy.
Just about everything is fishy in Lawrence County.
We’ll bring you an update when we get more reports. If the Monroe trial goes this week though, we might not post it, so you’ll have to pick up a print version to see the outcome.
Dennis is all mouth. He has pulled guns on people and hates authority. Now that he is sick, he doesn’t give a dam.
Well! That right there explains the whole thing then!! Every deputy and cop should have a TASER handy to use on people who are “all mouth,” because after all, that’s such a danger right there! I mean, deputies/cops could get their feelings hurt! That’s awful!!
Yep, let’s start executing people who are worse than ‘all mouth,’ and continue TASERing the ones that are merely ‘all mouth’ until they learn their lesson. Then we’ll have a better society, because NO ONE will be left who is ‘all mouth’ or worse.
See? You’ve solved it, Ezbngreen. Thanks for coming to the site, we need more assholes like you!!
Dennis is mouthy and belligerent. He pulled a gun on the Monsanto rep and ran him off his property and is in big trouble over that. I imagine the deputy is aware of that and it may be the reason they tased him. Old grandpa has fussed with everyone, including his family and beat FmHA out of a bunch of money. He’s a real sweetheart. I’d take a taser over a night stick any time.
Monsanto deserves everything Dennis or anyone else opts to give them. They’re destroying this planet one genetically modified seed at a time. Good for Dennis and I hope he does it again.
So what Hal did is still unreasonable, and kudos to Russell for removing the TASERs, as this isn’t the first incident with them.
I don’t know if I’d take a Tazer over a Night Stick.They is just something about wood cracking bone that excires me! If these Cops can’t handle the job they are hired to do then replace themThat is what happens inthe real world.
well the only bad thing i see is that no matter what the cops around here all have a power trip going on they all have a badge and therfore think they are above the law i have heard from many cops over many years that in lawrence county it is all about who you know and what your last name is so until we can gt cops that are here to protect and serve instead of beating up innocnt people then there is nothing we can do ….. we did have a sheriff in this town that tried to clean up this town and for some reason adams beat him out of a second term in office he was the only officer in this town that wasnt scared to step on toes to get the job done and done right so kudos to him until everyone gets thier head out of their asses and gets someone new in there that will run the sheriffs office the way it needs to be we are stuck
sanner90, to fix that, hire police officers from other places so that they don’t know anyone around.
haha thanks ginger bread man the problem with that is no one wants to vote for someone they dont know. i have a better idea, everyone move out of this county let the criminals have it and start our own damn county and the mayor is gonna be jack howser with angie as the only judge. i’m betting these 2 cant be bought or bribed lol
There’d be a military coup within the first 30 days with the pusillanimous cops coming in on a show of force (with ‘mutual aid’ provided by Crawford Co/Robinson and Knox Co/Vincennes deputies and cops, naturally).
But if we could stand against the coup, we would thereby ban stupid, and remove all fluoride (along with nitrates, which means the farmers would just have to go somewhere else) from the water. Anyone who remains and still believes that the likes of the violent Dennis York, PeeWee Darnell and Greg Chance; the booze-besotted Kevin Higgins; the perverted Brandon Sapp and swishy Jimmy Lyle; and the perpetually ass-kissing Mike “Misfit” Mefford, need to continue on as cops in the area will be subjected to re-education that will involve Waterboarding Wednesdays, High Colonic Fridays and Shock Treatment “Shat”terdays (the latter two so that those who remain aren’t full of shit.
Yeah, we’ll get this mess under control. Thanks for your vote of confidence!
I talked to a guy who viewed the tape,and he said that he saw no reason for the tasing, but yet Hal was within the procedural guide lines when he did it. I guess Dooley was first on the scene and Hal was just backup because of his refusal to obey the officer.
The police held Dennis on the ground in front of the church so Dennis couldn’t disrupt the wedding of one of his daughters. Dennis is a world class asshole. There could be a book written about his antics. You’re backing the wrong pony in this race, but don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story. That’s your job isn’t it?
No. It’s our job to tell shit that’s going on in your county with your pieces of shit cops, and which your pieces of shit “media” cover up instead of cover.
Dennis might be a world class asshole, but that doesn’t mean he deserves to get TASERed and have his blood pressure go up to stroking out. The “facts” aren’t all known yet, we only have the preliminary information to present on the website, which is better than your crappy ass MSM. But don’t let those facts get in the way of you spewing bullshit; that’s your job, isn’t it?
I love it. I talked to a guy whose sister said her cousin’s boyfriend’s great aunt knows a …….. shit! lol There are some good cops here. They are the ones usually get griped about.
admin; You’ve trumped me; I’ve been waiting for months to use pusillanimous in a conversation. You probably have readers flipping pages in their dictionaries. LOL
I concur with you; being an asshole is not, in and of itself, a reason to be tased. If this were the case, I’d still be twitching.
*dictionary.com
For many years now I have been a certified TASER instructor. One thing I would like to clear up is referring to the TASER as non-lethal force. The TASER is a Less-Lethal Force weapon. If not used per guidelines and training the TASER can be a lethal weapon. If a agency is going to issue the TASER, then strict and proper training is a must. When certifying law enforcement personnel I insist on very detailed training and direct exposure. This means every officer is required to participate in an 8 hour training course, pass a written exam, fire the weapon at a target a minimum of 3 times, and finally submit to personal exposure. If any of the requirements are not met, they don’t carry the weapon. Also a very detailed policy of its acceptable use should be adopted by the agency. This policy should be Black & White, with no room for Gray Area. I have been exposed to directly 4 times, all being the full 5 seconds. It is a painful event, however when it done, its over. I have never suffered any after effects, though everyone is different. Another misconception is that TASER International does not run to your protection in the event of a lawsuit. TASER is going to protect themselves and that is it. I have had the option of a TASER for 6 years now, thankfully I have never had to deploy it in the line of duty. I have also never had to use an impact weapon, chemical agent, or firearm. I have gone hands-on on several occasions. Most conflicts can be resolved by being firm and fair to anyone and everyone. I do not know this deputy or the elderly man on the other side of this incident. If the deputy acted improper or outside of policy, he should be terminated, period ! One thing I am sure about is this, I am glad that that I have several alternatives to subdue difficult persons, rather than the use of a firearm. If an officer is properly trained and uses the TASER with common scence and reason, then it is a safer alternative. Being an avid reader of the print version and the website, I know Jack is not a “Cop Basher” as some people say. If you follow Jack will give credit to good cops, when credit is due. I trust that when all the facts are made clear Disclosure will make light of the full story. Keep up the good work. Also remember that there are good cops that feel it is indicative of them to continue to be properly trained and educated.
We will…and we do most assuredly believe that not all cops are bad. We have cop friends all over and we appreciate the difficult job they do. It’s just that this situation in Lawrence has been going on since we began this publication and long before. It has NOT gotten better even despite our coverage of it. This perplexes us.
The full facts are going to come forward in the print version…this stuff is just preliminary, as reported to us by the eyewitnesses…and when we get to the bottom of it (which might take a couple of months) we’ll make sure and print it all.
Thanks for your confidence in us; we are humbled.
A message to dog my cats:
You will NOT post full articles from other news outlet websites on this site. We will NOT be subjected to bitching from another news outlet about their stuff being on our site because you are trying to make a point that is NOT, incidentally, counterpoint to the preliminary information we have produced. In fact, if we hadn’t written anything, you can damn sure guarantee THEY wouldn’t have written a word. So you’re in the spam folder until you stop trying.
No problem, shorty.
from the daily record:
http://www.lawdailyrecord.com/main.asp?SectionID=14&SubSectionID=16&ArticleID=6652&TM=63002.19
That’s better. Thanks, stubby.
I think you are right about the daily record only running the story after you broke it. Maybe you should save exclusive scoops like this for your print version only.
Yeah you’re probably right…we really wanted to get it out there though, since traditionally, we are really opposed to TASERs and we saw an opportunity.
Still, it gave them a story…and the people who are too hoitytoity to read our paper got to read essentially the same thing in the HDS paper they will read. And if we’re for anything, we’re for getting the word out there that things aren’t going too good in Lawrence, despite what their mainstream media want everyone to believe.
Russel’s little meeting is to head off another big civil suit. My wife says big dennis will at least get a new truck out of the deal.
LOL!!!!
When we talked to Russell he was genuinely concerned…but he was en route to the jail and was only just hearing that Dennis’ blood pressure was spiking, so I guess he had reason to be.
well in my humble opinion russell just wants the public to believe that he cares about this county anyone that believes that are well just full of it as he is sadly most of the cops in this county are just eager beavers trying to prove that they are not the little kids they were in high school and they cant be beaten up no more now im not saying that none of the cops here are good but they are few and far between and let me tell you the most of them are hidden around town but i think it is stupid that they are allowing these over grown monkeys to carry around tasers wtf can i have one haha lol
thats lawrece countys finest right that…that stupid shit happends quite a bit there…i dont like the cops there the only decent one is green…jus a bunch of pricks there