Recent Oakleaf Killing Harkens Back to Green Cove Incident
121 Seconds of Taser Shock, and an Obese, Mentally Ill Black Woman in a Wheelchair Was Dead
The horrific video of an obese man being killed in Oakleaf backyard harkens back to a similar killing that happened in Green Cove Springs 20 years ago, back when cellphone video was rare, and police body cameras were non-existent.
The death of a 56-year-old black woman named Emily Delafield was ruled a homicide after two Green Cove police officers used Tasers to shock her for two minutes. Two-minutes also happens to be the time it used to take for an average “successful execution” by electric chair.
Delafield had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. She was obese and confined to a wheelchair. She was suffering an “acute mental health crisis” when officers arrived at her Union Street home.
Delafield was delusional when she dialed 911 to report her family was trying to hurt her. Police found her sitting in her motorized wheelchair in the middle of the street, holding a knife (or knives) and a hammer.
After her death, Delafield’s survivors sued the city, as well as officers Barbara Leudtke and James Acres. Writing in a 2008 lawsuit, the Delafield lawyers pick up the story:
Despite the fact that Ms. Delafield had a kitchen knife and/or hammer in her hands, due to Ms. Delafield’s age, physical condition and restrictions and lack of mobility at the time defendant Leudtke and Defendant Acres interacted with her, she was not a realistic threat to do harm to anybody…
In total Ms. Delafield was hit with ten “cycles” from Defendant Leudtke’s and Defendant Acres’ Taser weapons, resulting in her receiving a total of over two minutes of incapacitating shock…
Ms. Delafield suffered injuries throughout her body and extremities, suffering intense physical and mental and anguish and ultimately death.
The medical examiner ruled Delafield’s death a homicide with the Taser shocks a contributory cause. The principal cause was an enlarged heart due to hypertensive heart disease.
The lawsuit alleged that Green Cove police had utterly failed to train its people on dealing with the mentally ill, even though this was a frequent factor in their interactions with the public.
Ryan Delafield told a news outlet that his aunt had been an active church member, who liked to write poetry, and would still be alive if police had shown common sense. “When someone is in an agitated state, the last thing you do is Tase them,” Delafield said.
“She was a very loving and kindhearted person. Everybody that knew her, just loved her to death. There was never any issues of her being mean or rude or anything like that,” he said.
The State Attorney’s Office declared the use of Tasers justified, but one assistant D.A. did offer an opinion that officers “could have decided upon a different approach once they realized their Tasers were not causing (the victim) to drop her weapons.”
They city reportedly paid out $100,000 to settle the lawsuit.
The death of Emily Delafield did not appear to have a negative effect on the careers of the officers. Barbara Leudtke rose to become a commander in the department today. James Acres retired as a patrol sergeant in 2021.
The incident happened well before the racial unrest in Ferguson and the killing of George Floyd. Had it been more recently, Green Cove might have been treated to the sight of CNN’s Wolf Blitzer eating lunch at Woody’s.
Really? It takes a special kind of effort to twist these situations into "police brutality" narratives.
In Oakleaf, the man was wanted for homicide, armed with knives, and actively resisting arrest. He told officers he’d rather die than go back to jail, then refused repeated commands to drop his weapons, even after being tased for two full minutes with no effect. He forced a deadly confrontation. Actions have consequences.
The Green Cove case involved an elderly woman in a motorized wheelchair, armed with knives and a hammer, in the middle of the street during a mental health episode. She too refused to drop her weapons and was tased for two minutes with no apparent effect. She later died from complications related to hypertension and an enlarged heart. Tragic? Absolutely. But she was still a mobile, armed threat to anyone nearby.
Mental illness is heartbreaking, and no one wants these outcomes. But a person with weapons who refuses to comply creates a dangerous situation for everyone involved, including officers and the public. Both cases involved armed, non-compliant individuals who left law enforcement with few good options.
It’s so easy to Monday morning quarterback these split second decisions from the safety of a keyboard. Far harder to actually do the job. If you’re not willing to become a cop and be the change you want to see, at least stop undermining the people who show up when someone armed and dangerous needs to be confronted.
And spare us the “send social workers instead” line. Those same social workers call the police for backup the moment they face an armed subject. When someone presents a realistic, workable alternative for handling violent, non-compliant people, we can have that conversation. Until then, let law enforcement do the dangerous work the rest of us expect them to handle.