The mother of a Thetford man killed last June by a state police officer firing a stun gun said her son would be alive today if a mental health counselor had been called to the confrontation.
Rhonda Taylor told lawmakers at a hearing last night that 39-year-old Macadam Mason suffered from a seizure disorder and likely was unable to comply with a trooper's order that he lie on the ground.
“People officers do have a right to defend themselves from someone who’s coming after them with a weapon. My son had no weapon. He was a skinny 6 foot tall man that the wind could blow over. And there were four officers. So I think that there needs to be certain guidelines with the law. And I do believe it is a lethal weapon because it’s definitely killed my son,” Taylor said.
The Legislature is considering a bill that limits use of the electronic weapons to situations that justify lethal force, or to prevent imminent harm.
Mason's partner, Theresa Davidonis, told lawmakers she was at her house last June and repeatedly told troopers that Mason was recovering from a seizure the day before and likely would die if shocked with the Taser.
Attorney General Bill Sorrell ruled in January that the shooting did not warrant criminal charges.
