Statement of Incident and Use of Force

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on May18, 2007 at 2:00 pm PDST

STATEMENT OF INCIDENT AND USE OF FORCE

On 3-10-2007, I, SGT Mark T. England, was dropped off at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas, NV after spending the weekend sight seeing with an Army buddy.

On my way to the C concourse TSA checkpoint, I stopped at a hot dog stand to purchase a hot dog and a Mountain Dew soda. When I went through security I was told I could not take my drink with me. I was under the impression that if you purchase a drink from inside the airport and you had a receipt you could take the beverage through security. I asked if I could speak to a supervisor. I was met by a gentleman who I do not know what his name is. This person was a male in his 50’s, approximately 5’-8’’, 180 pounds with grey hair, a beard and glasses. I introduced myself to him as Sgt Mark England, U.S. Army. He told me the same thing the female TSA agent told me. I tried to explain to him what I understood the rules to be. He told me I was wrong. I told him the rules were not clear and asked him who I needed to see about getting reimbursed for the soda. It should be noted my conversation with him was at a normal tone of voice and respectful. He told me there would be no reimbursement.

At this time Las Vegas Metro Police Officer Jennings came over to me and asked for my I.D and boarding pass. I handed Officer Jennings my military ID and boarding pass. Officer Jennings took them and made copies of them. At about this time the TSA supervisor who I described above as the male in his 50’s told me he “is” a Lt. in the Army. This person spoke to me as if giving me a military order from a superior. I asked to see his military ID and he refused to show me. Per “military regulations”, when not in uniform and you identify yourself as a U.S soldier, you must produce ID if asked for it. And for the ISA officer to be in his 50’s and be a Lt. is a little strange. I would imagine it would be much the same as an off duty police officer who I identifies himself as an officer would have to produce his ID when requested. In military regulations it does not matter if the soldier is of a lesser rank to ask the person to produce their ID. I asked the supervisor a second time to show me his military ID and recited the military regulation to him. He again refused. I then stated in a normal tone of voice “with all due respect sir, that’s fucked up”. The supervisor told me to watch my language, stating I couldn’t talk to him that way. I told him I followed strict military protocol when I addressed him.

At this point officer Jennings came back and handed me my ID and boarding pass. Officer Jennings suggested I just go and catch my flight. I complied without further comment or conversation with the TSA supervisor.

I proceeded to my gate and learned my plane had already taken off from the jet way and was told I would have to catch a later flight.

I decided to revisit the issue of the soda to advise a higher supervisor then the TSA supervisor I had spoken to, of how the rule is written and can lead some people to believe they could bring a drink purchased at the airport through security.

I placed my carry on luggage in a locker and placed the locker code along with my boarding pass and a dollar bill into my left front pants pocket.

I arrived back to the check point and found the TSA supervisor (or claimed to be supervisor) and officer Jennings off to the left next to the airport police check point podium talking to each other. I walked up to them and asked the TSA supervisor I had been speaking to for the name of his supervisor. He refused to give it to me saying, “I am the supervisor”. I again asked for the name of his boss. He again refused.

At this point officer Jennings asked me to come with him. I complied and walked about 30-40 feet away from the podium. Officer Jennings asked to see my boarding pass. I reached into my left front pocket and retrieved my locker ticket. I said ‘oops and placed it in my front right pocket’. I reached back into my left front pocket and pulled out the one dollar bill I had placed in it.

Officer Jennings took the dollar bill out of my hand and threw it on the ground. I then reached back into my left front pocket and retrieved my boarding pass and handed it to him.

I then respectfully asked officer Jennings if he would please pick up my dollar bill he threw on the ground.

Without reason or justification officer Jennings pulled out his hand cuffs and told me to turn around, and place my hands behind my back. Officer Jennings then grabbed me by the right shoulder to spin me around. As a reaction I shrugged his hand off of me by dipping my shoulder down. I backed away and held my hands out to my side with my palms open and asked him why he wanted to cuff me. Officer Jennings never told me I was under arrest nor did I give him cause to believe I was any threat to him. I had addressed him in a normal tone of voice. I had merely asked him to pick up the dollar bill he had thrown to the ground.

At this point officer Jennings pulled out his baton, got into a back swing stance and told me to get down. As I was trying to comply, officer Jennings swung his baton at me. I reacted to being struck by lifting my left leg up and my left arm down to protect where I thought the baton was going to strike me. I was struck on my left hand and left leg. I was in COMPLETE disbelief. I stood with my hands extended out to my side again with open palms. Officer Jennings again swung his baton at me. I brought my arms inward perceiving where the baton was going to strike me. Officer Jennings struck me on my left side around the 5th and 6th intercostals ribs. This baton strike made me double over. Officer Jennings swung his baton at me yet again and struck me behind the left ear. This caused me to stagger. I backed away from him and again placed my hands out to my side with open palms and asked him why he was doing this. At no time did I give officer Jennings reason to believe I was going to harm or assault him.

At about this time, another Las Vegas Metro Air port police officer (whom was never identified to me) ran up with his Taser drawn and aimed at me. As I turned to my left this officer fired the Taser at me. The darts imbedded into my right forearm and my right abdomen. I felt the full 50,000 volts take effect. The charge spun me around and locked up all my muscles. As I was falling down I saw that my head was falling towards the corner of a door frame. Since I was immobilized from the Tasing I could not break my fall. I struck the corner of the door frame with my head causing an injury to my left eye. I fell to the ground and got pinned between the door and the floor. I was ordered to roll onto my stomach but couldn’t yet, Due to the baton blow to my head, the effects of being Tased, the temporary paralysis it caused and striking my head on the door frame. I was still feeling the effects and could not immediately comply. Before I could get control of my body to respond to the orders I was given a second Tasing. I cried out begging them to stop. I was in pain, weakened and confused. I was then ordered again to roll over onto my stomach, but was still unable to make my body move from the second Tasing. I was then administered a THIRD Tasing for not being able to respond to the orders to roll over onto my stomach. I was never a threat or posed a threat to the officers, I was Tased two additional times for not being able to comply with their orders which were due to the effects of being Tased.

I was placed in hand cuffs. I regained my composure from being incapacitated from the Tasings and saw that I was bleeding from my left eye and left hand. EMT’s were summoned and I was checked by them.

An officer took photographs of the front of my face and left hand. Photographs were not taken of the bruising to my rib cage or of the baton strike injury to the back of my left ear.

I was finally taken to the airport police sub-station where I had a chance to have a brief conversation with officer Jennings. I asked officer Jennings why he wanted to cuff me. Officer Jennings told me it was because I was being uncooperative by not handing him the boarding pass (which I was trying to do when I reached into my left pants pocket to retrieve it, I just happened to also retrieve my lock code and dollar bill in doing so). Officer Jennings also told me I was being a jerk. I told officer Jennings I was complying with his request to see my boarding pass and all I did that might be construed as me being a jerk was when I asked him to please pick up the dollar bill he had thrown to the floor. Officer Jennings said he placed the dollar of the floor because he wanted his hands free.