By Daniel Malloy
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Pittsburgh police Chief Nate Harper defended the officers who stunned an Observatory Hill man four times with Tasers on Friday, saying yesterday that their actions were appropriate.
Jason Schmidt, 29, remained in Allegheny General Hospital yesterday but was being eased out of his medically induced coma. His father, Bill Schmidt said last night that his son reacted to his presence by sitting up, staring ahead though he still has not spoken.
He was charged with criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in the incident at his friend Andrew Balint’s Brighton Heights home. Mr. Schmidt had a seizure and was acting wildly, according to Mr. Balint and a criminal complaint, apparently from a drug overdose.
Three police officers responded to a 911 call from Mr. Balint and officers Kim Stanley and Holly Murphy stunned him a total of four times.
“Our officers did act appropriately,” Chief Harper said. “And what appears to be overlooked is the fact that the actor was still very combative at the hospital, and it took eight staff members to restrain him. His coma was not the direct result of being hit with the Taser.”
Nonetheless, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. yesterday announced that he would convene a working group of law enforcement and medical personnel to examine the Taser and similar weapons.
It was the third high-profile case involving a Taser this month, following the Aug. 5 death of Andre Thomas after Swissvale police stunned him and North Braddock’s agreement to pay $100,000 to settle a lawsuit over police use of a Taser in an incident last year.
Mr. Schmidt has been diagnosed with disseminated intravascular coagulation, a potentially life-threatening condition that prevents a person’s blood from clotting normally, according to his father. The condition can be brought on by severe trauma -- including a seizure or overdose -- and can cause organ failure.
His mother, Lorrie McGee, said doctors told her that an initial scan found cocaine, along with Valium and the painkiller oxycodone, in Mr. Schmidt’s system.
He remained strapped to his bed in the intensive care unit yesterday, with two officers guarding him. Mr. Schmidt’s parents are the only people allowed to visit him, though they were denied that privilege for two days before being allowed in the room Monday.
Bill Schmidt said a police officer also denied him access to his son’s room yesterday morning, though he was allowed in a couple hours later.
Chief Harper said it is standard procedure for a hospitalized suspect -- no matter how minor the charges -- to be guarded as if in jail. Mr. Schmidt has not been arraigned.
Chief Harper said yesterday that police officers at the scene did not know Mr. Schmidt had been seizing, and that the 911 call was for a man who was being combative and refused to leave.
“That’s a total lie,” Mr. Balint said. “He was in a seizure in my living room. I didn’t want the cops in my house. ... If he wasn’t having a seizure I could have handled it myself.”
The criminal complaint describes the call as a “report of a possible overdose.”
Mr. Zappala’s spokesman, Mike Manko, said the district attorney would not publicly address this case as he did with Mr. Thomas’ death because his office had only heard about Mr. Schmidt through media reports and had not received a formal complaint.
But Mr. Zappala will convene a group of local law enforcement and medical personnel to review the effects of the Taser and similar weapons. The idea was conceived jointly by Mr. Zappala and Dr. Karl Williams, the county medical examiner, after a recent discussion about Taser cases.
“There have been questions raised about whether Tasers are being used in the way they are intended,” Mr. Manko said. “Are officers using them in accordance with their training?”
It appears that in Friday’s incident, officers acted in accordance with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police “Continuum of Control” guidelines.
The guidelines state that officers may use a Taser if a suspect shows “defensive resistance,” which is described as “physical, affirmative actions, which attempt to prevent an officer’s control but never attempts to harm the officer.”
According to Mr. Balint and a criminal complaint, Mr. Schmidt ran from the porch and struggled as officers tried to detain him.
According to the complaint, he also “spit a wad of fluffy-like material from his mouth.” The material was taken to the crime lab to be analyzed.
In the past Mr. Schmidt has been found guilty of several traffic offenses, including driving under the influence, as well as harassment and disorderly conduct.
Copyright 2008 The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette