On Friday, a jury convicted two, former, Wilson, Oklahoma police officers—Joshua Taylor and Brandon Dingman —of “second-degree murder for using their Tasers a total of more than 50 times on an unarmed man who later died in 2019.
According to the New York Times:
- Prosecutors claimed the former cops repeated use of the Tasers was “dangerous and unnecessary” during their encounter with Jared Lakey on July 4, 2019.
- Tasing Jared Lakey more than 50 times contributed substantially to his death.
- The jury also found the officers guilty of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon
- Shannon McMurray, the lawyer for Brandon Dingman, said she will appeal the conviction citing a medical examiner’s autopsy report that claimed Mr.Lakey had an enlarged heart and critical coronary artery disease before he died.
- The same ME report also stated that tasing the victim over 50 times contributed greatly to his death.
- McMurray also claimed her client ‘feared for his life” like so many cops state after they murdered an alleged suspect.
- Warren Gotcher, attorney for Joshua Taylor, also said he would appeal his client’s conviction.
- A lawsuit filed by Mr. Lakey’s family said that his body was riddled with Taser probes and that medical providers had told the family that he died from multiple heart attacks.
The officers are scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 2 and could face sentences of 10 years to life in prison.
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