Graffiti artist Israel Hernandez-Llach, 18, was the victim of a fatal tasing from Miami Beach police officials after he was caught painting the wall of an abandoned McDonalds on Tuesday.
The Miami Beach officers reportedly confronted Israel Hernandez-Llach, who then fled on foot from the police officials. The officers state that when the teen would not stop, Officer Jorge Mercado shocked Israel Hernandez-Llach in the chest. The taser shock led for the Colombia-born teen to collapse; he was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead shortly afterwards.
As of Thursday evening, the medical examiner's office was still trying to determine the cause of death. Several media outlets are reporting witness accounts that the officers high-fived each other while the teen lay dying on the pavement.
The death of Israel Hernandez-Llach has created an uproar in the community, as many are blaming the police officers for the death of the teen and insist he unnecessarily used the taser. And there may be some merit to these claims, as the Miami Beach Police's standard operating procedure for the use of force states that tasers may be used when "the subject is not in the physical control of the officer yet poses a threat," or when "the officer, based on objective reasonableness, perceives an imminent threat of physical force against himself, other persons, property or self-inflicted injury."
The Miami Beach Police is reportedly conducting an internal investigation into the case of Israel Hernandez-Llach. In addition to Officer Jorge Mercado, three other officers--Officer Thomas Lincoln, Officer Cormilus Lattimore and Sergeant Rey Aguilar--were present at the scene and as such, are also being investigated.
"There is no justification for this kind of action for a second-degree misdemeanor," said Jason W. Kreiss, a lawyer representing Hernandez-Llach's family, to Reuters. And he may have a point, as grafitti is, generally speaking, only a misdemeanor in Florida if the damage to the property is value to be less than $1,000.
An anonymous law official has revealed to the Miami Herald that Officer Jorge Mercado has been placed on temporary leave--It is typical to relieve an officer involved in a deadly force incident of duty for at least 72 hours "without loss of pay or benefits pending the results of the investigation."
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