WINNFIELD, Louisiana (CNN) -- A police officer shocked a handcuffed Baron "Scooter" Pikes nine times with a Taser after arresting him on a cocaine charge.
Baron Pikes, 21, was Tasered nine times by a police officer in January in Winnfield, Louisiana.

Baron Pikes, 21, was Tasered nine times by a police officer in January in Winnfield, Louisiana.
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He stopped twitching after seven, according to a coroner's report. Soon afterward, Pikes was dead.

Now the officer, since fired, could end up facing criminal charges in Pikes' January death after medical examiners ruled it a homicide.

Nugent's lawyer, Phillip Terrell, said his client followed proper procedure to subdue a man who outweighed him by 100 pounds. But Williams said Pikes was already handcuffed and on the ground when first hit with the Taser, after the 247-pound suspect was slow to follow police orders to get up.

In the year since Winnfield police received Tasers, officers have used them 14 times, according to police records -- with 12 of the instances involving black suspects. Ten of the 14 incidents involved Nugent, who has no public disciplinary record.

Winnfield has seen a spate of high-profile corruption cases in recent years. One of Nevils' predecessors as district attorney, Terry Reeves, killed himself amid allegations of embezzlement and extortion. The town's current police chief, Johnny Ray Carpenter, is a convicted drug offender who received a pardon from former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards who himself is now serving a federal prison term for racketeering.

And Carpenter's predecessor, Gleason Nugent -- the father of Pikes' arresting officer -- committed suicide in 2005, after allegations of fraud and vote buying in the race for police chief, an elected position in Winnfield.

Why?

It's all part of the same national media playbook on how to get Obama elected.

I think I better loosed the tinfoil a little bit....

wow....just wow. How rowdy can a guy be on the ground handcuffed?? According to this cop he needed to be tased over and over again..

There has not been a successful civil lawsuit yet involving the use of the taser,

NEW YORK (June 11, 2008 AP) -- Shares of Taser International Inc. slid to their lowest prices in more than two years Wednesday as Wall Street considered the stun gun maker's outlook after Taser was found partially liable for a man's death.

The jury verdict, which came Friday in a U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., held Taser 15 percent responsible for the death of Robert Heston, after Taser devices were used on him during an arrest. The company was ordered to pay $1 million in compensatory damages and $5.2 million in punitive damages.

Taser International has lost what is believed to be its first ever products liability lawsuit. Robert Heston’s parents called Salinas, California, police when Heston began acting strangely and throwing household items out of the front door. Officers returned after a second call to the house. When efforts to get Heston to cooperate failed, officers fired a Taser at Heston. Heston became unconscious and stopped breathing and lost his heartbeat. Heston died at a local hospital on the following day.

A federal court jury ruled that the officers did not use excessive force. However, the jury found that Taser International “knew or reasonably should have known that the Taser ECD [electronic control device] was dangerous or likely to be dangerous because prolonged exposure to electric shock from the device potentially causes acidosis to a degree which poses a risk of cardiac arrest in a person against whom the device is deployed.” The jury also found that Taser failed to warn Taser purchasers and users of that risk. The jury awarded $21,000 in compensatory damages and $200,000 in punitive damages to the Heston's estate for injuries suffered prior to his death. The jury also awarded $1 million in compensatory damages to his parents (the ones who called the police about their drug-abusing, out-of-control adult son) and $5 million in punitive damages. However, the jury found that Heston was 85% responsible for his injuries. Thus, Taser International was required to pay only 15% of the damage awards. Watch here for an almost-certain appeal and a likely reversal. Thanks to Xiphos reader Chris Gebhardt for spotting this ruling. Heston v. City of Salinas, No. C 05-03658 (N.D. California, San Jose Div., June 6, 2008).