In a rare appearance, Rhonda Taylor, the mother of a Thetford man who died last summer after he was tased by police, openly grieved in front of lawmakers on Wednesday evening over the loss of her son, Macadam Mason.
Mason died in June 2012 after Vermont State Trooper David Shaffer shot him in the chest with an electric stun gun, or “Taser,” at his Thetford home. New Hampshire’s chief medical examiner ruled it a “medical” homicide in September 2012.
“I want to tell you about my son, Macadam Mason,” began a tearful Taylor, who rarely appears in public or speaks to the media about her son’s controversial death. “I want you to know about the person that my son was, not just the name.”
Taylor described Mason as a “very talented artist” survived by two children, and brought along a piece of his artwork to display before lawmakers.
She explained that in his youth Mason suffered a severe head injury as a result of a car accident. The injury had lingering effects. Mason suffered from short-term memory loss and an epileptic condition. He also had other “mental health disabilities,” Taylor said.
According to his partner, Theresa Davidonis, who also spoke at the evening public hearing, Mason had 11 seizures in 2011 and had an episode the day before he died.
“If one life is saved by controlling the use of Tasers, it may be your son’s, or your daughter’s, or your father’s, or your lover’s,” Taylor told committee members in an emotional speech. “There are no words that can even begin to express the pain of losing a child.”
Taylor urged lawmakers to act. “Other states are looking at Vermont,” Taylor said. “And Vermont will set a precedent when Tasers are determined a lethal weapon.”
The legislation under consideration, H.225, calls for standardized statewide policies on Taser training and deployment, and specifically addresses training for police encountering people with mental health disabilities.
Taylor’s speech wasn’t the only emotional or highly charged one of the evening. Mason’s longtime partner Theresa Davidonis, who witnessed the incident, also spoke.
She recounted her version of events, prefacing her remarks with: “I’m not going to talk about what the police should do, and what they shouldn’t do, but I just want people to know what happened that day.”
Davidonis described Taser use a “form of torture,” called for an outright ban, and ended her speech with: “I watched him die right before my eyes. And I’m just not OK with that.”
Both Taylor and Davidonis have filed separate civil lawsuits against Shaffer over the death. Taylor alleged that Shaffer had used excessive force and wrongfully caused Mason’s death, while Davidonis accuses Shaffer of trespass, negligence, and misuse of his Taser. Taylor wouldn’t comment on her lawsuit.
In late January 2013, state Attorney General Bill Sorrell ruled that Shaffer hadn’t broken any laws, and that the state wouldn’t press criminal charges against him. The attorney general’s office said the use of force under the circumstances was reasonable and justified.
Sorrell, who is defending Shaffer and the state in both civil lawsuits, wouldn’t comment on those lawsuits or the merits of Taylor and Davidonis’ complaints, fearing that would constitute an unwarranted “extra-judicial statement.”
“A person in my position is not to make extra-judicial statements, that might prejudice the proceeding, whether criminal or civil,” Sorrell told VTDigger. “We look forward to all the facts coming out through that suit.”
Sorrell didn’t attend the hearing, but said of Taylor and Davidonis: “It’s certainly their right to testify.” He held a public forum on Taser use in mid-March.
After Davidonis testified, Robert Appel, the state’s former Human Rights Commission director, said her account the first “public discussion that I’m aware of, as to the details of what happened on that afternoon.”
He added that was “very troubling to me, as one who is a believer that government officials should be accountable to the public.” He also noted that Mason’s autopsy hasn’t been made public.
Sorrell said his office had released “a number of facts” about the afternoon, specifically in a press release accompanying his decision not to prosecute Shaffer.
But he added: “Since there is a civil suit pending, ethically we felt that we couldn’t release more. We would’ve been happy to release the entire file, but we have to adhere to our ethical obligations” not to make extra-judicial statements. He said the autopsy could be considered a confidential medical record.
Sorrell also said that parties to the civil suit, namely Taylor and Davidonis, have access to all the relevant records and can release them to the public if they wish.
The legislation, introduced by Mason’s neighbor Rep. Jim Masland, D-Thetford, also calls for Tasers to be used only under circumstances where lethal force is justified. Currently in such situations, police can only use guns.
Although Sorrell supports statewide minimum standards for training and use, he said reclassifying Tasers as lethal weapons will “result in people dying unnecessarily.”
“Are you going to say a Taser is an exact equivalent of a firearm?” asked Sorrell rhetorically. “It is not. It is a much less lethal weapon, though it is a weapon.”
“If you’re asking a police officer to make that decision, can I use the firearm, or the Taser, the easy thing for them is to use the firearm, if it’s a close call. That would be unfortunate,” he said.
“If the Legislature is starting to tie the hands of law enforcement, to say, you may only use your Taser when you’d be legally justified in killing the person, that would be a dramatic change in the law,” said Sorrell, who opposes the reclassification.
Law enforcement officers have previously testified to this effect. Government Operations Committee chair Rep. Donna Sweaney, who oversaw the evening hearing, told VTDigger last month that police are afraid the Legislature will attempt to micromanage their use of weapons in complex and difficult situations.
The bill’s fate in the remaining three weeks of the legislative session is unclear. Allen Gilbert, the executive director of ACLU-VT, who backs the bill, said he doesn’t know what the bill’s prospects are right now.
“The Legislature is in its final stretch, so each day that goes by is a day closer to a bill not getting through this year,” Gilbert said. “My guess is the bill will be held over for further consideration next year.”
“It will be disappointing, though, if – in the interim – law enforcement doesn’t pick up the initiative itself and set consistent, statewide standards for Taser use and training,” he said. “It would be a real act of professionalism, if they did.”
Gilbert said Sweaney apologized to Mason’s family for Mason’s death just as the hearing ended. It’s the first time anybody from the state has said “I’m sorry,” to them directly, so far as Gilbert can recall.
