The cops laughed as they watched him die‏

Eighteen-year-old Israel Hernandez-Llach was an award-winning artist in Miami, Florida - a painter, sculptor, photographer and graffiti artist.

He was armed with nothing more than a can of spray paint, threatening nothing but the wall of an abandoned McDonald's, when the cops chased him down, tased him, and allegedly laughed and high-fived as he lay motionless and dying on the ground.

This is not an isolated incident. The Miami Beach Police Department has an appalling record of excessive force, including firing over 100 bullets at a man in his car just for not following orders to stop and falsely arresting a witness who called 911 to report police beating a handcuffed gay man. On top of that, Florida has the 2nd largest number of deaths by Taser in the country.

The events of Israel's tragic death have devastated his family and sparked national outrage over this use of lethal force to deal with a youthful indiscretion.

The Miami Beach Police are currently under investigation, but without better policies and training for the use of Tasers, there's sure to be more needless deaths. That's why we need to act now, while Israel's story is in the spotlight, and call for change.

Sign the petition urging the Mayor of Miami Beach to order a change in the police department's Taser policy - to prevent any more needless deaths.

Tasers are supposedly "non-lethal" tools for law enforcement, but Israel is just one of around 500 people who have died after being shot by police Tasers since 2001 - clearly, these tools have the potential to be deadly.

Part of the tragedy is that police never should have tased Israel in the chest. A recent study found that sending shocks to the chest-such as the one Israel received-can cause cardiac arrest and sudden death.

That's why we need to demand that the Miami Beach Police Department make real changes to prevent this type of tragedy from happening again. For example, ensuring that Tasers are only used when a person is attempting to harm officers or the public, and when other, less potentially-dangerous types of force will not be sufficient to bring the situation under control.

Sign the petition urging the Mayor of Miami Beach to order a change in the police department's Taser policy - to prevent any more needless deaths.

We all want safety for our communities and families - but that also means not worrying that our children could end up dead for minor indiscretions. We must ensure that there are clear guidelines and training to prevent future tragedies.

Thank you,
Anthony for the ACLU Action team

Sources
"Friends who witnessed Tasering of Beach teen offer disturbing details" Miami Herald, Aug. 8, 2013
"Amnesty International Urges Stricter Limits on Police Taser Use as U.S. Death Toll Reaches 500" Amnestyusa.org, Feb. 15, 2012