Mills said the man ignored his calls to stop, but when the officer threatened to use his Taser, 24-year-old Khari Illidge turned, walked toward him and said, “tase me, tase me.” In a sworn statement, the deputy said he shocked Illidge twice because he’d been unable to physically restrain the “muscular” man with “superhuman strength.”

Other officers who arrived at the scene used the same language in describing Illidge, who a medical examiner said was 5-foot-1-inch and 201 pounds. They bound together his hands and legs behind his back in what’s known as a hogtie restraint, and later noticed he had stopped breathing. Illidge was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Mills said in his statement that he thought Illidge was “under the influence of narcotics.” The pathologist said Illidge’s toxicology report came back negative for any “known” substances. He initially ruled there was no direct cause of death but after reviewing police reports and body-camera footage blamed the cause of death on “excited delirium syndrome as a result of an unknown substance that he ingested.”

“Excited delirium” is a hotly contested term frequently used to justify police use of force, according to law enforcement researchers and experts. The term is not widely recognized by medical associations, including the American Psychiatric Association.

One of the term’s frequently cited symptoms is “superhuman strength” — a descriptor often applied to Black people. The term creates a hurdle for legal accountability in prosecuting officers, since courts typically defer to law enforcement in determining whether force was necessary, legal experts say.

A review of dozens of police use-of-force cases, including court records, depositions and police statements, by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at Arizona State University, in collaboration with The Associated Press, found numerous cases in which police officers stated that a person who died while being apprehended displayed “superhuman strength.”

Seth Stoughton, a University of South Carolina law professor who served as an expert witness in the George Floyd murder trial, says the term “plays into the racist trope” of a “scary Black assailant.”

The Howard Center sought interviews with the departments and officers named in this story. None responded.

ONGOING TROPE

Although “superhuman strength” became widely publicized around the 1991 police beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles, its origins date to the post-Civil War Reconstruction era.

White Southerners spread propaganda that characterized Black men as innately savage, violent and intent on raping white women. Writers and filmmakers perpetuated the myth. The 1915 film “The Birth of a Nation” characterized Black men as rapists and beasts and used that trope to justify lynchings while glamorizing the Ku Klux Klan.

The caricature fueled widespread violence. More than 4,400 Black Americans were killed by lynch mobs between 1877 and 1950, according to data from the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit that provides legal representation to people illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced or abused in custody. Since not all lynchings were documented, it’s impossible to know their true extent.

The 1960s Civil Rights era weakened the “Black brute” caricature, as national media focused on peaceful Black protesters being attacked by police. But the “War on Drugs” and its target on communities of color helped resurrect the myth.

In a 2017 case in Arizona, Muhammad Muhaymin, a homeless man with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, was attempting to use a community center bathroom when police were called, according to records obtained by the Howard Center.

Finding an outstanding misdemeanor warrant for Muhaymin, all four officers attempted to arrest him by wrestling him to the ground. They noted in their official statements that the 43-year-old Black man had “superhuman strength.”

Muhaymin’s autopsy report said he was 5 feet, 5 inches and weighed 164 pounds. His death was ruled a homicide and, in 2021, the city of Phoenix settled a family lawsuit for $5 million.

Peer-reviewed studies on racial bias and perceived size have found that Americans demonstrate a systematic bias in their perceptions of the physical formidability of Black men. One found that white participants associated “superhuman” qualities with Black people more often than they did whites.

“Superhumanization is treating someone like a non-human,” Adam Waytz, a study author, said in an interview.

TRAINING ‘SUPERHUMAN’

Police trainers say the perception of “superhuman strength” stems from unexpected resistance not commonly seen in training scenarios.

“When you see something that’s abnormal, where a person would typically comply based on an application of force, and they don’t comply, or they seem completely oblivious to pain,” said Spencer Fomby, a national consultant with over 20 years of law enforcement experience, “I think that’s where officers start to use that terminology of superhuman strength.”

In California, Chinedu Okobi was carrying black duffle bags when he was approached in 2018 by a San Mateo County Sheriff’s deputy. According to a federal lawsuit filed on Okobi’s behalf, the deputy called for backup and was joined by four others who ordered Okobi to raise his hands.

The deputy shocked the 6-foot, 300-pound Black man multiple times with a Taser, and other officers piled on top of him. One officer said Okobi had “superhuman strength” — even though he showed no signs of resistance in dashcam and cellphone video. According to the coroner’s report, Okobi died from cardiac arrest following physical exertion, restraint and “recent electro-muscular disruption.” His death was ruled a homicide.

Frank Rudy Cooper, a law professor who directs the Program on Race, Gender and Policing at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, says how officers are taught to protect themselves puts them on edge and affects how they approach certain communities.

When “superhuman strength” is allowed as a use-of-force justification in court cases, such misconceptions make their way into the wider criminal justice system. “It is an unfortunate and dangerous thing,” Cooper added.

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DADEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Alabama law enforcement officers Sunday were imploring people to come forward with information about a shooting that killed four people and injured 28 others during a teenager’s birthday party.

Among those killed was a high school senior who planned to play college football and was celebrating his sister’s 16th birthday. The shooting erupted Saturday night at a dance studio in downtown Dadeville.

During two news conferences Sunday, Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency did not take questions. He did not say if a suspect was in custody or if investigators knew about any motivation. He did not provide the names of those killed.

“We’ve got to have information from the community,” Burkett said during a Sunday evening news conference.

Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, a Dadeville High School senior who had committed to Jacksonville State University, was celebrating at his sister Alexis’ party before he was shot to death, his grandmother Annette Allen told the Montgomery Advertiser.

“He was a very, very humble child. Never messed with anybody. Always had a smile on his face,” Allen told the newspaper, calling it “a million-dollar smile.”

Dowdell’s mother was among those hurt in the shooting.

“Everybody’s grieving,” Allen said.

Burkett said the shooting occurred about 10:30 p.m. Saturday. “There were four lives tragically lost in this incident,” he said.

The shootings rocked the city of 3,200 residents, which is about 57 miles (92 kilometers) northeast of Montgomery, Alabama.

Keenan Cooper, the DJ at the party, told WBMA-TV that the party was stopped briefly when attendees heard someone had a gun. He said people with guns were asked to leave, but no one left. Cooper said when the shooting began some time later, some people took shelter under a table where he was standing, and others ran out.

Pastor Jason Whetstone, who leads the Christian Faith Fellowship, said the granddaughter of one of his church members was shot in the foot and underwent surgery Sunday.

“All of our hearts are hurting right now. We’re just trying to pull together to find strength and comfort,” Whetstone said before an interfaith vigil in the parking lot of First Baptist Church.

“We are a loving community,” he said. “We’re pulling together in every aspect to comfort each and every one of these children, the teachers, all of the community.”

Dadeville’s compact downtown is centered around a courthouse square with one- and two-story brick buildings. The town’s busiest commercial district is a few blocks north of the square, off a bustling four-lane highway that runs between Birmingham and Auburn. Dadeville is close to Lake Martin, a popular recreational area.

Investigators on Sunday continued filing in and out of the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio, denoted by a banner hanging on the outside of a one-story brick building just off the square. At least five bullet holes were visible in the studio’s front windows. Less than a block away, the American and Alabama flags were lowered to half staff outside the Tallapoosa County Courthouse.

Dadeville Mayor Frank Goodman said he was in bed asleep when a council member called him just before 11 p.m. Saturday. He said he went to Lake Martin Community Hospital in Dadeville, where some of the people who had been shot were taken.

“It was chaotic,” Goodman said. “There were people running around. They were crying and screaming. There were police cars everywhere, there were ambulances everywhere. People were trying to find out about their loved ones. That was a scene, where we never had anything like this happen in our city before.”

Pastor Ben Hayes, who serves as chaplain for the Dadeville Police Department and for the local high school football team, said most of the victims are teenagers. Dowdell was within weeks of graduation and faced a bright future, Hayes told The Associated Press.

“He was a strong competitor on the field,” Hayes said. “You didn’t want to try to tackle him or get tackled by him. But when he came off the field, he was one of the nicest young men that you could ever meet, very respectful and well-respected by his peers.”

Antojuan Woody, from the neighboring town of Camp Hill, was a senior and fellow wide receiver with Dowdell on a Dadeville Tigers football team that went undefeated before losing in the second round of the playoffs last year. He said he and Dowdell had been best friends for all of their lives.

“It hurts,” Woody said as a steady stream of friends and teammates walked over to hug him during Sunday’s prayer vigil. “It’s unreal. I can’t believe it.”

Woody said he and Dowdell had a special relationship on the football field. “Us being friends forever like that, our chemistry was spot on. We always celebrated together on the field,” he said.

He described the victims “as great people who didn’t deserve what happened to them.”

Hayes, the pastor, said worried families swarmed the local hospital Saturday night trying to find the condition of their children. He said serious crime is rare in Dadeville, and the small city is “sad, traumatized, in shock.”

Jacksonville State football coach Rich Rodriguez said in a statement Sunday: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Philstavious Dowdell and the other victims of the senseless tragedy last night. He was a great young man with a bright future.”

Dowdell also recently won medals at a high school track meet at Troy University.

Counseling will be available for students at Tallapoosa County schools Monday, said the school district superintendent, Raymond C. Porter.

“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians. Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said on social media.

President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting, the White House said, adding that it is closely monitoring the situation and has been in touch with local officials and law enforcement to offer support.

“What has our nation come to when children cannot attend a birthday party without fear? When parents have to worry every time their kids walk out the door to school, to the movie theater, or to the park?” Biden said in a statement Sunday. “Guns are the leading killer of children in America, and the numbers are rising – not declining. This is outrageous and unacceptable.”

Biden called on Congress to “require safe storage of firearms, require background checks for all gun sales, eliminate gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability, and ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.”

The mayor said Dowdell was “a great young man.” He also said he is concerned about those wounded and psychologically traumatized by the shooting.

“We are praying for them,” Goodman said. “We ask God, if it’s his will, to bring them back to their parents safe, so they can mend.”

Goodman said guns and violence are not a frequent presence in Dadeville. He said trying to control guns would prove as futile as trying to control illegal drugs.

Dadeville High School had 485 students in grades 6-12 in 2022, according to Alabama state data. It serves Dadeville and nearby parts of Tallapoosa County. Like the rest of Dadeville, it’s tucked away just out of view off a busy highway that runs from Birmingham to Auburn.

Dadeville High’s head football coach Roger McDonald said he would try his best to support grieving students.

“There’s not a playbook for something like this,” he said. “So the best you’ve got to do is just love on your kids, let them all know how much you care about them, be there for them.”

McDonald said Dowdell had something special.

“He was a leader, and as far as his ability, an electrifying player,” the coach said.

Michael Taylor, an assistant coach, said he met Dowdell when the boy was 9 and coached him in youth football. Taylor said the team was invited to Atlanta to play in the stadium used by the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.

“He did some amazing things there, and he never stopped doing them since then,” he said. “He was the No. 1 athlete in the school.”

Taylor said he last heard from Dowdell on Friday, when Dowdell was seeking video of his athletic exploits. Taylor said he drove to the shooting scene Saturday night from his home in nearby Camp Hill.

“Man, I couldn’t get close,” Taylor said. “So once I found out what’s going on, I really I just had to leave because it was going to be all night.”

Taylor said he returned Sunday to see Dowdle’s body carried out from the dance studio. He said he’s not sure what he will tell other athletes Monday.

“The first thing we’ve got to do is we’ve got to pray our way out of this,” Taylor said Sunday. “There ain’t no other way. And then I can tell you, they’re all real close like family at the high school.”

This is at least the second time in recent years that multiple people were shot in Dadeville. Five people were wounded in July 2016 during a shooting at an American Legion hall, and a man was later charged with five counts of attempted murder, news outlets reported.

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USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park commission chairman Bill Tunnell told the NBC News affiliate that the Republican party contacted them worried about the patriotic event turning into a “partisan political event” instead.

“After the request was made, then there was contact with the Republican Party, they contacted us and then it became apparent that it was going to be a partisan political event, rather than just a patriotic event planned for that evening,” Tunnell told WMTV.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) sent a letter saying the park is “available for all political parties and candidates on an equal basis,” adding that there wasn’t enough time for a formal opinion on it, WMTV reported. Tunnell also said that former GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum using the park for his campaign in 2012 was the reason why the commission has abstained from partisan political events.

“Rick Santorum was the … straw that broke the camel’s back. And that’s when the commission went to the no partisan politics open to the public,” he said.

The news comes as Trump last week returned to the rally stage for the first time since he lost November’s election to President Biden.

Local Tea Party activist Pete Riehm told WMTV that some people just didn’t want Trump to speak at the event, adding that the cancellation raises concerns about freedom of speech.

“I’ll be honest, I feel some people just didn’t want it, not just it but President Trump,” he said. “If people can’t assemble in public places, where can we assemble?”

The Hill has reached out to Trump’s office and Marshall’s office for comment.

Olafimihan Oshin | Contributed

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