Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Police Use Gun Instead of Taser? Long Before Daunte Wright, It Happened in Madera.
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 4 years ago on
April 13, 2021

Share

Two decades before Daunte Wright, there was Everardo Torres in California’s Central Valley.

Torres, a 24-year-old professional boxer who lived in Madera, was killed by a police officer who thought she was firing a stun gun in 2002.

Everardo Torres was killed on Oct. 27, 2002.

Changes in practices and equipment have been made throughout the county since Torres’ death to prevent police from firing the wrong weapon.

But that’s how Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, died Sunday in suburban Minneapolis, according to since-resigned Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon.

The chief said he believed the officer “had the intention to deploy their Taser but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet.”

It Happens About Once a Year

According to law enforcement experts, an officer mistakenly shoots a suspect with a firearm when he or she means to use a stun gun about once a year nationwide.

When Torres was killed, Madera Police officer Marcy Noriega holstered her Glock firearm and her Taser on the same side of her body — the dominant side.

In an effort to reduce the potential for confusion, officers now typically carry stun guns on their weak sides — or the non-dominant hand. Handguns are carried on the strong side. In addition, stun guns are often brightly colored to distinguish them from firearms.

The weapons of the veteran officer who killed Wright were holstered on opposite sides and required much different finger pressure to fire.

Upon firing, officer Kim Potter immediately realized her lethal mistake. Potter’s body-camera video showed her pointing a handgun at Wright during a traffic stop and shouting “Taser.” She then screams a curse word and “I just shot him” to other officers.

Potter resigned from the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Tuesday.

Torres Killed While Handcuffed in Cruiser

Torres died while handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser. Officers had gone to break up a loud party and Torres was arrested after allegedly scuffling with police. With Torres kicking the cruiser’s doors and windows, Noriega’s goal of quieting Torres’ unruly behavior with a stun gun culminated instead with a deadly bullet.

Noriega was never charged with a crime but was on administrative leave for several years before returning to the department.

After Torres’ homicide, his family waged an 11-year legal battle against the city of Madera. In 2013, the lawsuit was settled, with the family receiving $775,000.

Officers Sometimes Convicted of Manslaughter

But officers who said they mistakenly killed citizens when they thought they were deploying stun guns have faced stiff legal consequences.

For example, a transit officer in Oakland killed Oscar Grant in 2009. The officer, Johannes Mehserle, testified at trial that, fearing Grant had a weapon, he reached for his stun gun but mistakenly fired his .40-caliber handgun. A jury convicted Mehserle of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced him to two years in prison. His department paid $2.8 million to Grant’s family.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a volunteer sheriff’s deputy, Robert Bates, killed an unarmed Eric Harris, who was being held down by other officers, in 2015. Bates was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison. Tulsa County agreed to pay $6 million to Harris’ estate.

(Associated Press contributed to this report.)

DON'T MISS

Newsom Uses a Stunt to Position Himself as a Leader of Anti-Trump Resistance

DON'T MISS

CA Legislature Sets Record for Women in Office and Could See Historic Gender Parity

DON'T MISS

Trump to Target Iran’s Oil Trade in Renewed ‘Maximum Pressure’ Campaign

DON'T MISS

Over 2,500 Central Unified Students Receive Spirit Sweaters at 20th Annual ‘Warm for Winter’

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest Gang Members in Shooting Involving 7-Month-Old

DON'T MISS

Fresno Team Makes Low-Budget Horror Flicks Look Like Multi-Million-Dollar Productions

DON'T MISS

4B Movement: After the Election, a Call for Women to Swear Off Men

DON'T MISS

Homeowners’ Effort to Leave Sierra Unified Ends With County Ed Rejection

DON'T MISS

Will Terance Frazier’s Nonprofit Exit Granite Park? ‘Hell No’

DON'T MISS

Fresno Crash Sends Pickup Into Tree, Dark Tint Cited as Cause

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Arrest Gang Members in Shooting Involving 7-Month-Old

UP NEXT

Fresno Team Makes Low-Budget Horror Flicks Look Like Multi-Million-Dollar Productions

UP NEXT

4B Movement: After the Election, a Call for Women to Swear Off Men

UP NEXT

Homeowners’ Effort to Leave Sierra Unified Ends With County Ed Rejection

UP NEXT

Fresno Crash Sends Pickup Into Tree, Dark Tint Cited as Cause

UP NEXT

November Has Scattered Cool Temps, Rain Showers for Fresno

UP NEXT

FBI Thwarts Iranian Murder-for-Hire Plan Targeting Donald Trump

UP NEXT

Wave of Racist Texts After Election Prompts FBI Scrutiny

UP NEXT

Tulare County Man Brutally Killed at Halloween Party, Six Arrested

UP NEXT

City of Fresno Invests in El Dorado Park Upgrades in Maxwell-Led Move

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

Over 2,500 Central Unified Students Receive Spirit Sweaters at 20th Annual ‘Warm for Winter’

2 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Gang Members in Shooting Involving 7-Month-Old

3 hours ago

Fresno Team Makes Low-Budget Horror Flicks Look Like Multi-Million-Dollar Productions

3 hours ago

4B Movement: After the Election, a Call for Women to Swear Off Men

4 hours ago

Homeowners’ Effort to Leave Sierra Unified Ends With County Ed Rejection

5 hours ago

Will Terance Frazier’s Nonprofit Exit Granite Park? ‘Hell No’

6 hours ago

Fresno Crash Sends Pickup Into Tree, Dark Tint Cited as Cause

7 hours ago

November Has Scattered Cool Temps, Rain Showers for Fresno

7 hours ago

Beyoncé Makes Grammy History With ‘Cowboy Carter,’ Leading 2025 Nominations

8 hours ago

Macklin Celebrini, NHL’s Youngest Player, Scores on Marc-Andre Fleury, League’s Oldest

8 hours ago

Newsom Uses a Stunt to Position Himself as a Leader of Anti-Trump Resistance

Two days after the nation’s voters gave Donald Trump another term as president, Gov. Gavin Newsom staged a publicity stunt to position...

34 mins ago

34 mins ago

Newsom Uses a Stunt to Position Himself as a Leader of Anti-Trump Resistance

36 mins ago

CA Legislature Sets Record for Women in Office and Could See Historic Gender Parity

48 mins ago

Trump to Target Iran’s Oil Trade in Renewed ‘Maximum Pressure’ Campaign

The Foundation for Central Schools' 20th annual Warm for Winter event provided over 2,500 Central Unified students with spirit sweaters, thanks to community partnerships and generous donors. (Central Foundation)
2 hours ago

Over 2,500 Central Unified Students Receive Spirit Sweaters at 20th Annual ‘Warm for Winter’

3 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Gang Members in Shooting Involving 7-Month-Old

3 hours ago

Fresno Team Makes Low-Budget Horror Flicks Look Like Multi-Million-Dollar Productions

Following the results of Tuesday's election, Jada Mevs, a 25-year-old from Washington, D.C., is urging women to take action by signing up for self-defense classes, deleting dating apps, getting on birth control, and investing in vibrators, as part of a growing response to the election of Donald Trump for a second term and the failure of abortion rights referendums. (Shutterstock)
4 hours ago

4B Movement: After the Election, a Call for Women to Swear Off Men

5 hours ago

Homeowners’ Effort to Leave Sierra Unified Ends With County Ed Rejection

Search

Send this to a friend