The verdict does not, however, end the case. The mother of Pikes' 4-year-old son has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against Nugent and city officials. A malfeasance-in-office charge is also still pending against Nugent.
I couldn't MAKE THIS STUFF UP if I tried!!!
One of today's "expert witnesses" in the manslaughter trail against former Winnfield, Louisiana Police Officer Scott Nugent was Dr. Jeffrey Ho. According to the publication, Mother Jones, Taser International pays Dr. Ho to conduct studies and testify — he got $70,000 during one 12-month stretch (see Mother Jones - Taser's Delirium Defense) - it's a fascinating read. According to sources, Dr. Ho got a ride to the Canadian Braidwood Inquiry, where he admitted he is not a heart specialist, in a Taser jet. Ho also admitted some of his research was co-authored by a former Taser employee who has no medical expertise. Ho is apparently a shareholder in Taser International and some of his research is funded by the company.
According to the news report that follows (see below), the expertise of today's other "expert witness", Dr. Charles Wetli, is sudden death caused by "sickle cell trait". In an article called "Is excited delirium killing coked-up, stun-gunned Miamians?" Dr. Wetli was described as the world's leading expert on excited delirium. Another article said that Wetli is paid to testify as an expert on the "excited delirium" syndrome in "four or five" cases each year, often to defend the police ... Wetli, who said he does not fully understand how excited delirium causes death, said he has cited it "once or twice a year," mostly in police custody deaths. So, in the case of Barron Pikes, it seems Dr. Wetli avoided the very controversial "excited delirium" defense in favour of the "sickle cell trait" defense. WTF??
And then we have the rest of the merry band of Taser-friendlies who have had input into this trial:
Jerry Glas, one of the attorneys defending former Winnfield Police Officer Scott Nugent against manSLAUGHTER, represents Taser International.
"Expert witness" Mark Kroll, Taser shareholder, serves on the corporate board of Taser and has been paid more than $800,000 over the past three years as he has been used as a witness in cases involving Tasers
"Expert witness" Hugh Calkins is a paid consultant for TASER International and sits on one of their Boards.
Taser International is apparently paying for their appearance at the trial.
Renowned New York City medical examiner Michael Baden testified that Pikes, 21, died from cardiac arrest suffered from the repeated Taser shocks. "He was healthy. He was Tasered. He died," Baden testified. "There was no other reason for his death."
*********************************
October 28, 2010
By Bret H. McCormick, The Town Talk
WINNFIELD — Scott Nugent’s defense team called its final two witnesses to the stand today, Oct. 28, and then rested its case as the former Winnfield police officer’s manslaughter trial nears its end.
Defense attorney Jerry Glas called two more experts in his attempt to paint reasonable doubt in the minds of jurors that Nugent’s repeated use of a Taser led to the Jan. 17, 2008, death of Barron “Scooter” Pikes.
Dr. Jeff Ho, an emergency medicine expert who studies the effects of Tasers on the human body, testified that he’d “never heard” the theory proposed by the prosecution’s star witness, forensic pathologist Michael Baden, who testified earlier that the Taser’s electrical current could have traveled through blood vessels to Pikes’ heart and caused cardiac arrest.
Forensic pathologist Charles Wetli, whose specialty is sudden death caused by sickle cell trait, also provided testimony that attempted to discredit Baden.
Wetli concluded that it wasn’t the “eight or nine” Taser drive stuns administered by Nugent that led Pikes’ death, but rather the fact that Pikes suffered from sickle cell trait.
The prosecution and defense will make their closing arguments beginning at 9 a.m. Friday, Oct. 29, in the Winn Parish Courthouse before Nugent’s fate is left in the hands of the jury. If convicted, he would face up to 40 years in prison.
What the hell is up with Jerry Glas "who also represents Taser International" and Mark Kroll, who "serves on the corporate board of Taser and has been paid more than $800,000 over the past three years as he has been used as a witness in cases involving Tasers" being front and center at the MAN-SLAUGHTER trial of Former Winnfield Police Officer Scott Nugent????? Jerry Glas, as one of Nugent's attorneys and Mark Kroll as an "expert witness"?????? Mark Kroll, who's been known to say "If one ping-pong ball hit to the head does not kill you, 1,000 probably cannot either"?????
If it looks like a conflict of interest, smells like a conflict of interest, sounds like a conflict of interest, walks, talks and acts like a conflict of interest and GETS PAID like a conflict of interest, then it MUST BE a conflict of interest.
Justice must be seen to be done, to be done.
October 27, 2010
thetowntalk.com
WINNFIELD – The Taser shocks administered to Barron "Scooter" Pikes by police were not the cause of Pikes’ death, a bioelectricity expert testified today, Oct. 27, in a trial in Winnfield.
Former Winnfield Police Officer Scott Nugent, 24, is on trial for manslaughter. He is accused of using a Taser to cause Pikes’ death as Pikes, 21, was being arrested in 2008.
The bioelectricity expert, Mark Kroll of the University of Minnesota, testified for two hours today as the defense began presenting witnesses.
Kroll said the Taser X26 used on Pikes generates 2,000 times less electricity than a defibrillator and that the electric shocks “never came close to the heart” as Pikes was Tasered.
Kroll serves on the corporate board of Taser and has been paid more than $800,000 over the past three years as he has been used as a witness in cases involving Tasers. The prosecution said Kroll is biased.
Concerning a shock by the Taser, Kroll said, “It hurts, but there’s zero negative effect on the body.”
If convicted of manslaughter, Nugent could face up to 40 years in prison.
... a day full of testimony and sometimes testy back and forth between one of Nugent's attorneys, Jerry Glas, who also represents Taser International, and one of the state's expert witnesses -- renowned medical examiner Michael Baden from New York City ... "He was healthy. He was Tasered. He died," Baden said. "There was no other reason for his death."
October 24, 2010
By Billy Gunn, The Town Talk
WINNFIELD -- Barron "Scooter" Pikes lay incoherent on the floor of the police station, eyes wide, mumbling, "I wanna go home," and "Somebody help me," with froth on his lips.
Winnfield Police officers, whom Pikes reportedly told he'd done crack cocaine and PCP, offered bad suggestions: "I wish we had a cart, we could put him in the hole," and "Somebody get a wheelbarrow."
Among the voices heard on a video of the scene talking to Pikes as he lay on the floor was Scott Nugent, who at the time was a police officer. Nugent is now a former police officer on trial for manslaughter in connection with Pikes' death.
"Get up, Barron, the ambulance is on the way. Come on, get up," said Nugent, who later drove the ambulance to Winn Medical Center while two paramedics tried to revive Pikes.
The suspect who officers thought was a drug addict too high for conversation and standing upright turned out to be a young man dying in front of their eyes.
What the trial of Nugent, 24, is about is whether Nugent's eight or nine shocks to Pikes with a Taser led to the 21-year-old felon's heart stopping.
Friday was the second day of testimony in Nugent's manslaughter trial in the death of Pikes, whom some in Winnfield called Barron Collins, the name of Pikes' father.
Pikes was wanted on a felony warrant when Nugent and other officers saw him just after lunch on Jan. 17, 2008, chased him and then handcuffed him. Nugent, in 14 to 15 minutes, used a Tasing technique called a "drive stun" eight or nine times as a way to get Pikes off the ground and into a police car.
Witnesses and lawyers said Pikes was afraid of going to jail.
The video, which defense attorneys wanted kept out of the trial, came almost at the end of a day full of testimony and sometimes testy back and forth between one of Nugent's attorneys, Jerry Glas, who also represents Taser International, and one of the state's expert witnesses -- renowned medical examiner Michael Baden from New York City.
Baden, who was featured in the HBO series "Autopsy," said there was no other way to explain a healthy young man dying of cardiac arrest than to rule it came from a Taser stun gun.
"He was healthy. He was Tasered. He died," Baden said. "There was no other reason for his death."
Glas tried to poke holes in Baden's reasoning -- and thereby try to set up reasonable doubt in the minds of 12 jurors and two alternates -- by saying the way the Taser works is administering pain with electricity in a localized area of the body not near the heart.
He said Baden's theory of Pikes' cardiac arrest about 15 minutes after the last Taser shock was unfounded. Baden at one point noted that Glas didn't have a medical degree.
Baden said that just because the stuns were not administered near the heart -- most of the shocks were on Pikes' back -- electricity can course through blood vessels to the heart, damaging it.
At one point, Judge John Joyce had to reprimand both men for a back-and-forth dialogue that was becoming uncivil.
Also testifying Friday was Alexandria cardiologist Harry Hawthorne, who said Pikes could have died from sickle cell disease. In an autopsy report, Youngsville forensics pathologist Joel Carney said Pikes had the sickle cell trait.
The trial resumes Monday in the Winn Parish Courthouse.
If convicted of manslaughter, Nugent could face up to 40 years in prison.
October 22, 2010
Associated Press
WINNFIELD, La. (AP) - A well known forensic pathologist testifies that the shocks that ex-cop Scott Nugent administered to a handcuffed man caused his death.
Prosecutors called Dr. Michael Baden as an expert witness in the death of Baron Pikes.
baden testified in the O.J. Simpson trial and was the host of the HBO program "Autopsy." Baden told jurors that Pikes did not have any medical conditions that would have killed him, and he did not find any other reason a healthy man would die so suddenly.
Nugent administered eight or nine shocks with a Taser when Pikes refused to comply with orders. Pikes was handcuffed at the time.
On cross examination, defense attorney Jerry Glas worked to discredit Baden, asking him about his qualifications as an expert on electricity and on the Taser.
October 22, 2010
Billy Gunn, The Town Talk
WINNFIELD -- After he was shocked for an eighth and final time, Barron "Scooter" Pikes didn't scream in pain anymore, the former police officer accused of killing Pikes said in a taped interview with investigators.
Former Winnfield Police Officer Scott Nugent said he and another officer then helped Pikes out of a police car and into the police station, sat him down in a chair and listened as Pikes told them he had asthma, was on PCP and crack cocaine, and that they'd be sorry for his death.
"He kept falling out of his chair," Nugent said on the recording to State Police investigator Chad Gremillion and others in a Jan. 31, 2008, interview. "He said we were going to regret what we did to him."
The audio recording was played Thursday to a jury of 12, along with two alternates, in the first day of the manslaughter trial of Nugent, 24, who is accused of using a Taser to shock Pikes multiple times before the drug suspect was pronounced dead at a local hospital in January 2008.
Nugent and two other officers were trying to arrest Pikes, who was wanted on an outstanding felony drug warrant. Nugent shocked the resisting Pikes, who attorneys said knew he was going to prison, multiple times after he was handcuffed to get him into a police car.
Nugent also told State Police that he recorded a video of Pikes at the police station. The use of the video as evidence was opposed by Nugent's attorneys, who last week asked Judge John Joyce to suppress it. Joyce has not ruled on the motion, though jurors heard about its existence on Thursday.
The case has generated some racial tensions in Winnfield, a town of about 5,700, which was evident in the eight days it took to seat a jury.
Winn Parish District Attorney Chris Nevils at one point asked Judge Joyce to move the trial to another locale, citing the difficulty in finding black jurors who hadn't formed hardened opinions.
The jury, seated Wednesday, is composed of one black male, one black female, two white males and the rest white females. Both alternates are white females.
Both Nevils and one of Nugent's attorneys, Jerry Glas, said race was not a factor in Pikes' death. Pikes was black. Nugent is white.
In opening statements, Glas blasted some media accounts of Jan. 17, 2008, that Pikes might have been dead before the last two shocks were administered, a claim disputed by witnesses.
Glas said the way Nugent used the Taser on Pikes -- administering "drive stuns," where the Taser itself is pressed against the skin and probes are not stuck into the skin -- threw out the possibility that shocking Pikes caused cardiac arrest.
Glas also said Nugent's actions when the ambulance arrived -- Nugent drove the vehicle so the two paramedics could work to try to save Pikes -- showed the former officer was concerned.
But Nevils had a different take on Jan. 17, 2008, saying Pikes "died at the hands of this man, Scott Nugent."
Pikes "did nothing more than say he didn't want to go to jail," Nevils said. The DA also said Nugent used a Taser on Pikes nine times instead of eight.
"We're going to show you "» that the force used in the case was unreasonable, unwarranted and unnecessary," Nevils told the jury.
Among the witnesses the state will call are a cardiologist; a forensic pathologist; and a doctor who performs autopsies -- Michael Baden, a nationally renowned doctor who had a show on HBO, "Autopsy."
Glas mocked the credibility of Baden, who he said "never met a camera he didn't like," and said a more credible account of Pikes' death is a report by Youngsville forensic pathologist Dr. Joel Carney.
In a report dated March 10, 2008, Carney ruled that the cause of Pikes' death was inconclusive. Carney wrote that sickle cell trait and an enlarged heart could have contributed to the death of the 21-year-old, 6-foot-tall, 247-pound man.
The report also did not show any PCP or cocaine in Pikes' body.
The trial continues today in the Winn Parish Courthouse.
October 10, 2010
WAFB.COM
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Jury selection in the trial of a former Winnfield police officer accused killing a handcuffed prisoner by repeatedly shocking him with his Taser is scheduled to begin on Monday.
Scott Nugent faces manslaughter and malfeasance in office charges in the death of 21-year-old Baron Pikes. Pikes was shocked nine times with a 50,000-volt Taser as he was arrested on a drug possession warrant in January 2008.
The parish's coroner, Dr. Randolph Williams, ruled that Pikes' death was a homicide. Williams said he consulted with two other coroners, and both agreed that Pikes died of cardiac arrest caused by the Taser shocks.
August 19, 2010
Associated Press
WINNFIELD, La. (AP) - A trial for a former Louisiana police officer accused of repeatedly jolting a handcuffed man with a stun gun before he died has been postponed until October. Former Winnfield police officer Scott Nugent's trial on manslaughter and malfeasance charges was scheduled to start Aug. 30, but state Judge John Joyce agreed to postpone it until Oct. 11. In January 2008, Nugent allegedly shocked 21-year-old Baron Pikes nine times with a 50,000-volt Taser while arresting him. Pikes' death was ruled a homicide.
February 2, 2010
By David Fitzpatrick and Drew Griffin, CNN Special Investigations Unit
Winnfield, Louisiana (CNN) -- A judge has sealed a potentially explosive videotape taken in the aftermath of a racially charged incident in this small central Louisiana town two years ago.
On January 17, 2008, an unarmed man -- wanted on what police said was an outstanding arrest warrant -- was struck by a 50,000-volt Taser nine times within the space of 14 minutes.
The suspect, Baron "Scooter" Pikes, was handcuffed during each separate Taser incident, according to the Winnfield Police Department. The officer who fired the Taser, Scott Nugent, is white. Pikes, who was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital, was black.
CNN's account of the incident in the summer of 2008 relied on interviews at the time with the local parish coroner, the police and an attorney for the family of the victim.
Winn Parish Coroner Dr. Randy Williams told CNN that in his opinion, Nugent had violated every police procedure for using a Taser on a suspect. Moreover, contrary to initial police reports, Williams told CNN that there was no trace of drugs in Pikes' system. The coroner ruled the death a homicide. Subsequently, the officer was fired following a long civil service hearing and is now on trial for manslaughter in Winnfield.
At the time, a lawyer for Nugent, Phillip Terrell, told CNN that his client had, in fact, followed proper procedure and that Pikes was resisting arrest and had fought with Nugent before being struck by the Taser.
The video sealed Monday by the judge shows the aftermath of Nugent's Taser use, according to sources who have seen the tape. They told CNN that it runs about 17 minutes and was shot by Nugent himself.
The tape begins with Pikes handcuffed to a chair in the Winnfield Police Department, the sources said. He had already been hit by a so-called "direct" stun -- a Taser fired directly into his chest rather than from a distance -- and eight other Taser shots.
Off camera, voices can be heard taunting him, shouting the "N" word and demanding to know if he was high on drugs, the sources said. The tape also shows Pikes foaming at the mouth and struggling to breathe. He later slumps to the floor and is ultimately taken to an emergency room with shackles around both of his ankles. CNN has seen still photographs of the lifeless body, still in leg shackles at the hospital.
At a motion hearing Monday in Winn Parish District Court, both the prosecutor, R. Chris Nevils, and the lead defense attorney, George Higgins, said in open court that the tape existed and asked Judge John Joyce to seal it until it was put into evidence at trial, now set for June 14. Both lawyers said release of the tape would taint the local jury pool and set the grounds for a change of venue. Joyce agreed and ordered that the tape not be disseminated under threat of contempt of court until it is played in open court.
CNN approached Nugent after the hearing and asked him for comment on the tape but his attorneys advised him not to answer. The attorney also had no comment.
Attorneys for Pikes' family have filed a wrongful death suit in a federal court in Louisiana, seeking unspecified damages from the town of Winnfield and each officer involved.
The lead attorney for the family, Carol Powell-Lexing, told CNN she believes Pikes' death has been subject to a police cover up from the beginning. A spokesman for the Winnfield Police Department said there was no cover-up.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A former Winnfield police officer accused of repeatedly jolting a handcuffed man with a Taser before he died is scheduled to be tried on manslaughter and malfeasance in office charges in February.
Former police officer Scott Nugent's trial originally was scheduled to start July 13, but it was postponed so a key witness, Winn Parish Coroner Randolph Williams, could recover from an accidental gunshot wound.
A spokesman for Winn Parish District Attorney Chris Nevils said Thursday that Nugent's trial now is scheduled to start Feb. 9 and last about a week.
In January 2008, Nugent allegedly shocked 21-year-old Baron Pikes nine times with a 50,000-volt Taser while arresting him.
June 17, 2009
The Australian
THE north Queensland man who died last week after police used a stun gun on him was shot more than 20 times with a 50,000-volt Taser, prompting calls for an investigation into the use of the weapon and possible criminal charges against the officer involved.
Data downloaded from the officer's stun gun -- now being rolled out to police across Australia -- has revealed that amphetamines addict Antonio Galeano was shot at least 20 times, each for a duration of five seconds, before he collapsed and died while in handcuffs.
Capsicum spray had also been used on Mr Galeano during the incident, early Friday morning at a unit in Brandon, south of Townsville.
Police initially told the media that an unnamed senior constable had only used the weapon three times on Mr Galeano, 39, who earlier had allegedly assaulted a woman and was wielding a metal pipe when confronted by the officer and his partner, a first-year constable.
But The Australian can exclusively reveal that an inbuilt system in the controversial weapon -- which automatically records each time the weapon is fired -- indicated Mr Galeano was shot more than 20 times.
Mr Galeano was repeatedly shot, using the gun's "probe mode", which according to the website of US manufacturer Taser International, fires darts into the target, before a triggering delivers 19 pulses a second of about 1300 volts for five seconds.
"But the weapon also develops an open circuit arc of 50,000 volts to traverse clothing in cases where no direct contact is made," the website adds.
The Australian could find no other incident in the world where law enforcement has been reported to have deployed the gun more than five times in a single incident.
Queensland Council for Civil Liberties vice-president Terry O'Gorman last night said the revelations warranted an unlawful killing investigation into the police involved. "The focus of the investigation should not be about possible disciplinary action but whether manslaughter charges should be laid," he said.
"The amount of shots using this high-voltage weapon is completely contrary to appropriate guidelines and against evidence that a Taser is not supposed to be used more than once in a given period."
The senior constable, who shot the Taser, has told investigators from police Ethical Standards Command that he only Tasered Mr Galeano several times.
Police are also investigating whether the Taser malfunctioned during the incident or if the data recorded on the gun is incorrect.
But George Hateley, the exclusive distributor of Tasers in Australia, yesterday said a malfunction was unlikely.
"It is an outside possibility," he said. "And the data taken off the weapon is very accurate."
Mr Hateley said the weapon could be shot 196 times before it needed to be recharged.
The data on the Taser sparked Police Minister Neil Roberts and Commissioner Bob Atkinson to suddenly freeze the rollout of the tasers on Monday and order a Crime and Misconduct Commission review of Taser policy and training in Queensland.
But at the time, Mr Roberts and Mr Atkinsion refused to reveal the reasons behind their decision, saying "new evidence" was the property of acting state coroner Christine Clements, who is investigating the death.
Queensland police last night said they could not comment about the death because "it is currently the subject of a coronial investigation".
At least 1200 Tasers have been distributed to police in Queensland, after former police minister Judy Spence ordered 2500 guns be rolled out to general duties officers mid-way through a year-long trial.
Amnesty International has claimed that Tasers have been linked to more than 300 deaths worldwide.
January 30, 2009
Associated Press
WINNFIELD, La. (AP) - A former police officer accused of repeatedly jolting a handcuffed Louisiana man with a Taser before he died is scheduled to be tried in July on a manslaughter charge.
A spokesman for the Winn Parish District Attorney's office said a state judge met Friday with lawyers on both sides of the case and set July 13 as the first day of a trial for Scott Nugent.
Nugent was a Winnfield police officer when he allegedly shocked 21-year-old Baron Pikes nine times with a 50,000-volt Taser while arresting him in January 2008. Pikes' death was ruled a homicide.
Nugent pleaded not guilty last year to charges of manslaughter and malfeasance in office and was freed on $45,000 bond. He faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted of the charges.
January 26, 2009
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A retired state judge has been assigned to hear the manslaughter case against a former Louisiana police officer accused of repeatedly jolting a handcuffed man with a Taser before he died.
The Louisiana Supreme Court last week named retired Judge John Joyce to replace Judge Jacque Derr, who recused himself from the case shortly after he was sworn in as a Winn Parish state judge.
Joyce will preside over the case against Scott Nugent, who was a Winnfield police officer when he allegedly shocked 21-year-old Baron Pikes nine times while arresting him in January 2008.
Derr said he withdrew from the case because he had "associated" with Nugent on several occasions when he was a city judge in Winnfield.
September 13, 2008
The Winnfield Civil Service Board during its Thursday meeting upheld the firing of Winnfield Police Officer Scott Nugent, who is accused of killing a Winnfield man with a Taser.
Only one of the five members of the panel voted to reinstate Nugent to the police force, Civil Service Board Chairman Ronald Melton said. The dissenting member said Nugent's officer bill of rights was violated.
Nugent initially was suspended with pay after he allegedly shot Baron Pikes, 21, with a Taser stun gun nine times within 14 minutes, according to police records and Winn Parish Coroner Randy Williams. Pikes died in police custody.
The manner of Pikes' death was homicide, Williams said, and Nugent pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter and malfeasance in office during an August arraignment.
Motions will be heard in the criminal case and a trial date set on Oct. 23.
Nugent was fired by Winnfield Police Chief Johnny Ray Carpenter after the suspension deadline passed. That firing was appealed to the civil service board but denied. The board's decision can be appealed as well.
Pikes' family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in August against not only Nugent but also the city of Winnfield, the mayor, City Council, police chief and other officers on the force, in addition to Taser International Inc. -- the manufacturer of the stun gun device Nugent used.
Calls to Nugent's attorney, Phillip Terrell, have gone unreturned. The Police Department declined to comment on the board's decision.
August 22, 2008
Chicago Tribune
A former Winnfield police officer pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of manslaughter and official malfeasance in the racially explosive case of a 21-year-old African-American man who died after being shocked with a Taser nine times while handcuffed and in police custody.
Scott Nugent, 21, will remain free on $45,000 bond. He faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.
Nugent, who is white, was fired from the police force four months after Baron Pikes' death.
August 13, 2008
By Howard Witt, Chicago Tribune
NEW ORLEANS - Ruling in a racially explosive case that some forensic experts have described as police torture, a grand jury in the small Louisiana town of Winnfield indicted a white police officer Wednesday on charges of manslaughter and official malfeasance for repeatedly shocking a handcuffed black suspect with a Taser device, resulting in the man's death due to cardiac arrest.
After two days of closed testimony, Winn Parish District Atty. Chris Nevils announced that the grand jury had indicted Scott Nugent, 21, for the death in January of Baron "Scooter" Pikes, 21, while in police custody. Two other Winnfield police officers who were present during the incident were not charged.
Nugent, who was fired from the police force in May, could face up to 45 years in prison if convicted on the charges. He surrendered to sheriff's deputies immediately after the indictment was issued, a spokesman for Nevils said, and a $45,000 bond was set.
"It is our intention to show at trial that Mr. Nugent caused the death of Baron Pikes by 'Tasing' him multiple times, unnecessarily and in violation of Louisiana law, and by failing to get him medical attention when it was apparent he needed it," Nevils said in a statement. "In a civilized society, abuse by those who are given great authority cannot be tolerated."
Nugent's attorney has said previously that his client was following police procedures during Pikes' arrest.
Pikes, wanted on a drug possession warrant, was apprehended and handcuffed Jan. 17 after a foot chase. Although Nugent's police report of the incident stated that Pikes did not resist or struggle after being handcuffed, the officer administered nine 50,000-volt Taser shocks to Pikes' body after he was slow to respond to Nugent's order to stand up.
Witnesses said Pikes pleaded with Nugent to stop Tasering him. But within 39 minutes after he was first subdued, Pikes was dead.
Winnfield police claimed that Pikes told them during the incident that he suffered from asthma and was high on PCP and crack cocaine. But Winn Parish Coroner Dr. Randolph Williams found no evidence of such drugs in Pikes' system or any sign that he suffered from asthma. He ruled Pikes' death a homicide and noted that Pikes was unconscious when the last two Taser shocks were administered, after he had been loaded into a squad car and delivered to the police station.
Both Williams and Dr. Michael Baden, a nationally prominent forensic pathologist who reviewed the case, said the incident "could be considered to be torture."
The Pikes' case, first recounted in the Tribune in July, aroused fears of a cover-up among family members and civil rights groups because Winnfield, the birthplace of Louisiana Govs. Huey and Earl Long, has a long history of political corruption.
Nevils' predecessor as district attorney committed suicide amid allegations that he had skimmed $200,000 from his office accounts and demanded payoffs from criminal suspects. The former police chief, who was Nugent's father, also killed himself, after losing a close election campaign marred by fraud allegations. The current police chief was convicted of drug possession as a young man and was pardoned by former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards, who is now serving a federal prison sentence for corruption while in office.
Earlier this week, the mother of Pikes' 4-year-old son filed a wrongful-death suit in federal court against Nugent, Winnfield city officials and Taser International Inc. The suit accuses city officials of civil rights violations in Pikes' death.
August 12, 2008
Associated Press
WINNFIELD, La. (AP) - A grand jury in central Louisiana is probing the death of a man who was handcuffed when a police officer repeatedly jolted him with a Taser. Winn Parish District Attorney Chris Nevils convened the grand jury Tuesday to consider criminal charges against former Winnfield police officer Scott Nugent in the death of 21-year-old Baron Pikes. A spokesman for Nevils said the grand jury could wrap up its probe by the end of the day. Pikes was shocked nine times with a 50,000-volt Taser as he was arrested on a drug possession warrant in January.
Nugent was fired but is appealing his dismissal. Nugent's lawyer says his client followed department protocols and didn't use excessive force. A coroner has ruled that Pikes' death was a homicide.
August 12, 2008
MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The family of a central Louisiana man who died after a police officer repeatedly jolted him with a Taser filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Monday, on the eve of a grand jury's probe of the case.
The federal lawsuit accuses Winnfield city officials of civil rights violations in the death of Baron Pikes, 21. Former Winnfield police officer Scott Nugent is accused of shocking a handcuffed Pikes nine times with a 50,000-volt Taser stun gun while arresting him on a drug possession warrant in January. A coroner ruled the death was a homicide.
A grand jury in Winnfield is scheduled to convene Tuesday and could finish hearing evidence in the case by the end of the day, according to a spokesman for Winn Parish District Attorney Chris Nevils.
Taser International Inc. is named as a defendant in the lawsuit filed Monday by Latrina Thomas, who is the mother of Pikes' 4-year-old son.
Thomas also is suing the city of Winnfield, its mayor, city council, police chief and several police officers, including Nugent. The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages, plus fees and expenses.
"It's about justice," said Carol Powell Lexing, a lawyer for Pikes' family. "You can't bring (Pikes) back, but this can hold those responsible accountable for their actions."
Nugent was fired in May, but he is appealing his dismissal. Nugent's lawyer, Phillip Terrell, said his client followed department protocols and didn't use excessive force. "It's a tragedy any way you look at it," Terrell said Friday.
Terrell said he hadn't seen the lawsuit, but he echoed the suit's allegation that Winnfield failed to properly supervise and train its officers. "If there's any culpability here, it's on Winnfield for not properly training police officers," Terrell said.
Nevils, whose office received a copy of a state police report on Pikes' death last month, said his decision to take the case to a grand jury also was based on information that his office gathered "independently." Terrell said he doesn't expect his client to testify before the grand jury.
Winnfield is about 40 miles northwest of Jena, where thousands of demonstrators gathered last year to protest the criminal cases against six black teenagers who were charged with beating a white student at a high school.
Like the so-called "Jena Six" case, race has figured into the aftermath of the Winnfield case. Pikes was black; Nugent is white. Powell Lexing has accused city officials of trying to cover up a racially motivated case of police brutality.
Racial tensions aren't the only parallel between the two cases. Mychal Bell, one of the Jena Six, is a first cousin of Pikes, according to Powell Lexing.
July 28, 2008
By Howard Witt, Chicago Tribune
HOUSTON - Seeking to defuse growing racial tensions in the small Louisiana town of Winnfield, the local district attorney announced Monday that he will seek an indictment against a white police officer for the death of a black man who was shocked nine times with a Taser device while handcuffed in police custody.
Winn Parish District Atty. Chris Nevils said he would convene a grand jury Aug. 12 to consider possible charges against the officer, Scott Nugent, 21, who was fired from the Winnfield Police Department following the death of Baron "Scooter" Pikes.
Pikes, 21, died Jan. 17 within 39 minutes of being arrested on a drug possession warrant. Winnfield police claimed Pikes told them he suffered from asthma and was high on crack cocaine and PCP, but the local coroner found that Pikes had been healthy and had no drugs in his system. He ruled the death a homicide.
"Now is the time to take this case to the grand jury for a determination about whether charges should be brought," Nevils said in a statement. "I know there are strong feelings on both sides of this matter. But my obligation, and that of the grand jury, is to objectively sort through the facts and make a decision that is in the best interest of justice. That is what we intend to do."
Nevils' decision came a little more than a week after the Tribune published the first full account of the case amid fears expressed by the victim's family and civil rights groups that the incident would be covered up in a town with a florid history of backroom dealings and political corruption.
Nevils' predecessor as district attorney committed suicide after he came under suspicion for skimming $200,000 from his office accounts and extorting bribes from criminal suspects. The former police chief, who was Nugent's father, also killed himself, after losing a bitterly-contested election campaign marred by fraud allegations. The current police chief is a convicted drug offender who was pardoned by former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards, who is currently serving a federal prison sentence for corruption while in office.
In his own written report of the Pikes' incident, Nugent acknowledged that he had subdued and handcuffed Pikes after a foot chase and that Pikes had not struggled or resisted arrest. Instead, Nugent wrote, he began Tasering Pikes after the suspect did not respond quickly enough to Nugent's order to stand up and walk to a waiting police car.
Witnesses reported that Pikes had pleaded with Nugent and two other arresting officers to stop Tasering him.
Nugent's attorney has said the former officer acted according to police procedures. But the Winnfield Police Department's written Taser policy states that the device should only be used "where it is deemed reasonably necessary to control a dangerous or violent subject."
Dr. Randolph Williams, the Winn Parish coroner, determined after investigating the death that Nugent administered a total of nine 50,000-volt Taser shocks to Pikes over a 14-minute period-and that the last two jolts were delivered after Pikes had lost consciousness.
Nevils would not reveal the range of possible charges he will ask the grand jury to consider against Nugent.
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