Taser jolt wasn't DJ's first shock by Minneapolis cops

By ABBY SIMONS and LORA PABST
Star Tribune
Jan. 30, 2009

Ex-radio DJ Quincy De'Shawn Smith survived an encounter with a police Taser in 2005, and in late November had learned that his suit alleging police brutality could go to trial.

On Dec. 9, however, Smith, 24, died after a second confrontation, this time with officers who had been called to the 1000 block of Knox Avenue N. on a report of a domestic assault involving a man with a gun. Smith struggled with officers as they tried to arrest him and once again was hit with an electric charge from a Taser gun.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner ruled his death a homicide Wednesday, saying it was a result of "cardiorespiratory arrest complicating physical exertion with law enforcement subdual and restraint." During cardiorespiratory arrest, the heart and respiratory system stop functioning.

Quincy's mother, Bettie Smith, said she was surprised that the same Minneapolis police officer, Officer Timothy Devick, was involved in both incidents.

"You have been through a trial with him," she said. "Why would you even get involved with someone who already has a pending lawsuit against you?"

The Minneapolis Police Department has declined comment, pending an investigation by the Hennepin County attorney's office. Minneapolis police spokesman Sgt. Bill Palmer said the department's criminal investigation has been completed by the homicide unit and will be forwarded to the county attorney's office to determine whether any criminal charges will be filed in Smith's death.

Devick and the other officers involved in the December incident, Carlos Baires-Escobar, Shawn Brandt, Christopher Humphrey and Nicholas McCarthy, were put on standard paid administrative leave after the death, but all have been returned to duty.

Smith Tasered years ago

In January 2007, Smith filed a civil lawsuit in Hennepin County District Court against the City of Minneapolis and six police officers, including Devick, after a July 2005 altercation outside a downtown Minneapolis nightclub in which he was Tasered multiple times.

Other officers named in the 2007 lawsuit include Calvin Cook, Johnny Mercil, Michael Morales, George Peltz and Twila Villela.

The altercation began at 2 a.m. on July 13, 2005 when Smith witnessed a friend being arrested and repeatedly inquired why his friend was being arrested, according to the appellate court opinion. When he ignored several police orders to step back, Smith was arrested.

Smith contended that despite his compliance, police handcuffed him and threw him to the ground, while police contended Smith resisted arrest and refused to be handcuffed. Both parties agreed that during the resulting struggle, Smith was "taken to the ground, kicked in the shoulder, kneed in the side, maced, punched and subjected to multiple cycles of electrical shock from a Taser." Smith was charged with obstruction of the legal process with force. He was later acquitted by a jury.

Smith sued the department for assault, battery and false arrest. In an October 2007 summary judgment, Hennepin County District Court Judge John Holahan ruled in favor of the officers, citing "official immunity" that provides that officers "should be able to "perform their duties effectively, without fear of personal liability that might inhibit the exercise of their independent judgment."

Smith appealed the judgment, and on Nov. 18 the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that the District Court should not have dismissed the lawsuit because a jury, not a judge, should have determined who was at fault.

Less than a month later, Smith was dead.

More questions than answers

After Smith was Tasered and subdued by police on Dec. 9, he began to have a medical problem and was pronounced dead at Hennepin County Medical Center. Bettie Smith said she believes her son died at the scene. She said that she was told by the medical examiner that Quincy Smith did not have any drugs in his system at the time of his death and had "a minimal amount of alcohol" in his system.

For Smith's family and friends, the list of unanswered questions keeps growing. Minneapolis police said that they recovered a rifle the day after Smith's death, but Bettie Smith said she is still awaiting a report that links the rifle to her son. She also wants to know why, if police say he had a rifle at the time, he wasn't shot with a gun instead of a Taser.

Devick, who was involved in both Taser cases, received a Medal of Valor in 2008 after he spotted a 17-year-old shooting at a van. Devick, who was off-duty, identified himself as a police officer as the teenager pointed the gun toward him. Devick fired at the man, eventually wounding and stopping him.

The Minneapolis Police Department has 280 tasers, 81 of which have camera and audio on them that are activated when they are turned on. In 2007, Tasers were shot by officers 437 times; in 2008 they were discharged 405 times. The department is still conducting an internal investigation into whether the use-of-force policy was followed in the December confrontation.

A telephone call to Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan was not returned.

Staff writer David Chanen contributed to this report. [email protected] • 612-673-4628 [email protected] • 612-673-4921