The taser comes to the area

[Kat Kanning]

Police Officers From Five States Sue Taser International for Serious Injuries Suffered During Stun Gun Training Classes

News Inferno | August 25 2005

While the Canadian Police Research Institute has now stated that Tasers and other ?conducted energy devices? are acceptable because the advantages they provide outweigh the risks they pose.

In reaching this conclusion in its report to Canadian police chiefs, the Institute was apparently not overly troubled by the enormous number of deaths that have occurred in cases where a Taser has been used. The specific finding by the Coroner of Cook County, Illinois, that a Taser was, in fact, the cause of death of a man arrested in Chicago also appears to have been ignored in the report as the type of definitive evidence it was seeking to support the claim that the devices can cause death.

This report comes at the same time that police officers in five states have filed lawsuits against Taser International claiming they suffered serious injuries after being shocked with the device during training classes.

One officer, a Missouri police chief, alleges that he suffered heart damage and two strokes after he volunteered to be shocked with a Taser in April 2004, while hooked up to a cardiac monitor that was supposed to show the Taser was safe. The officer also claims he suffered hearing and vision loss as well as neurological damage.

Other injuries claimed by the officers involved include spinal fractures, burns, a dislocated shoulder, and soft-tissue damage. A previous lawsuit file in February 2004 alleged a sheriff's deputy suffered a fractured back in 2002.

The lawsuits challenge Taser International's central marketing claim that its device is safe and charge the manufacturer of misleading its customers concerning the potential risks posed by the stun guns. Taser is also accused of minimizing and misrepresenting the 2002 fractured back case even after its own doctor found a one-second shock from a Taser caused the injury.

The lawsuits also allege Taser International withheld reports of injuries to at least 12 other police officers and that the company has ignored credible research suggesting the device can be extremely dangerous, if not fatal.

As with all previous allegations against it, Taser International has stated that it intends to vigorously defend the claims. The company has denied any of the 144 deaths which have occurred following the use of a Taser was caused by its product.

Clearly, both sides cannot be right in this matter. As we reported on August 7, Taser International has now issued a training bulletin warning that repeated blasts of the Taser can "impair breathing and respiration."

According to a posting on Taser's website, for subjects in a state known as excited delirium, repeated or prolonged stuns with the Taser can contribute to "significant and potentially fatal health risks."

The three-page bulletin appears to counter instructions in a training manual Taser International issued only last year. It also departs from Taser's previous dismissals of safety concerns raised by groups such as Amnesty International, which has documented 129 U.S. and Canadian deaths of people stunned by Tasers.

The Houston Police Department (HPD), Taser's biggest U.S. customer, has formed a review committee of police officials and community leaders, including representatives from the NAACP and League of United Latin American Citizens, to study the use of Tasers in the city of Houston.

The committee started by reviewing the HPD use-of-force policy, training sessions that officers receive, and the first 200 incidents in which Tasers were used in Houston.

Houston will also be involved in a study of Taser use conducted by a national police-research organization according to a report in the Houston Chronicle.

Obviously, a non-lethal weapon becomes a problem when it starts killing people. Many experts and critics of the Taser stun gun believe that time has long since passed.

For example, using a number of sources, The Arizona Republic has now compiled a list of 144 cases in the United States and Canada since 1999 where a death followed the use of a Taser stun gun. http://www.azcentral.com/specials/taser/#

The sources used included autopsy reports, computer searches, police reports, media accounts, and Taser International's own records. To date, the research indicates that medical examiners have cited the Taser to some extent in 18 deaths. In four cases it was a cause of death, in 10 it was a contributing factor, and in four it could not be ruled out as a cause of death.

This, however, seems to be just the ?tip of the iceberg? when it comes to Taser International's mounting problems with respect to its approximately 100,000 stun guns now being used by some 7,000 U.S. law-enforcement agencies.

Despite the company's spirited defense of its product, Taser International's stock has continued to fall from $33.45 in December 2004 to $9.72 on July 30, a decline of over 70%.

From the very beginning, many experts questioned the safety of the 50,000 volt ?non-lethal? weapon. A lack of adequate testing and independent medical evidence supporting the company's bold marketing claims have been cited by such diverse critics as Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, and a consulting electrical engineer as reasons for removing the stun guns from the market until more extensive testing is done especially with respect to how the device affects pregnant women, people on drugs, or those with heart conditions.

Even the International Association of Chiefs of Police have suggested that further testing is needed. The organization advocates using the device only to subdue violent suspects; not to use it on handcuffed persons unless they are ?overly assaultive;? to use it the least number of times; and to seek medical attention for anyone who has been shocked.

In addition, all types of Taser-related lawsuits abound. Personal injury and death claims have been commenced in a number of states. In March of this year, Mesa, Arizona, settled a claim by a 43-year-old man who fell out of a tree after being shocked twice with a Taser by a city police officer. The City paid $2.2 million to the man who became a quadriplegic and another $200,000 to the hospital where he was treated.

A class-action lawsuit was commenced only last week in U.S. District Court in Chicago by the city of Dolton, Illinois, on behalf of police departments across the country for being misled about the safety of the Taser and for leaving the police with weapons that are too dangerous to use on the street.

The law firm representing the city of Dolton claims to have already been retained by other police departments in four states. Paul Geller, an attorney from that firm, states that the law suit would be dropped if Taser would agree to take back the stun guns.

The potential for huge personal injury and death claims have left many municipalities rethinking their purchase of Tasers. Some police forces like those in Birmingham and Lucas County ( Ohio) have either stopped issuing the weapons or have pulled them of the street altogether. Other cities like Chicago have backed off making additional purchases.

The mayor of Birmingham ordered police to stop using Tasers after the death of an inmate who had been shocked with a Taser several hours before he died.

The mayor of Dolton, which suspended their use, calls his city's purchase of Tasers ?a mistake? because ?they need far more testing.? He went on to say that losing the money his city paid for the Tasers was far less than the financial risk posed by even one wrongful-death lawsuit.

On January 6, 2005 Taser officials disclosed that federal authorities had launched an inquiry into claims made by the company with respect to its safety studies. The Securities and Exchange Commission was also probing an end-of-year sale which appeared to inflate sales in order to meet annual projections.

In May, The Arizona Republic also reported that ?Taser International was deeply involved in a Department of Defense study that company officials touted to police departments and investors as ?independent' proof of the stun gun's safety...This information is surfacing at a time when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Arizona attorney general are pursuing inquiries into safety claims that the Scottsdale firm has made.?

On July 17, the Associated Press reported a Texas man died after being shocked between three and six times with a Taser by an off-duty police officer who was acting as a security guard. The man's wife said she was suing Taser International because her husband ?didn't deserve the death penalty.? It appears the men had done little more than trespass on private property and confront the officer who had chased him.

The report went on to state: ?In the past nine months, at least six people in Texas ? including three in Fort Worth ? have died after authorities shocked them with a Taser gun.?

On July 27, a prisoner being held in a Queens, New York, police station died after being shocked with a Taser.

Finally, on July 30, several news sources reported that (for the first time) the Cook County ( Chicago, Illinois) Medical Examiner had ruled the February 10 death of an agitated 54-year-old man was caused by being shocked excessively with a Taser.

The finding indicated that the 57-second shock was sufficient, in and of itself, to have killed the man. Why such a long shock (ten times the usual amount) was administered has not been explained.

Although the Chicago police force will continue to use the Tasers they already have, an order for additional units was suspended.

Taser has vigorously defended its stun guns in every situation where it has been linked to an injury or death. The company continues to maintain that Tasers are non-lethal and that all of the reports regarding deaths and injuries associated with the device are baseless and can be explained away on the basis of other causes.

A recent training bulletin issued by Taser, however, advised police that ?repeated, prolonged, and/or continuous exposures to the Taser may cause strong muscle contractions that may impair breathing and respiration, particularly when the probes are placed across the chest or diaphragm.?

Given all of this information, it is difficult to image how the Canadian Police Research Institute reached its conclusion that the benefits of the Taser and similar devices outweigh the risks they pose to anyone who is shocked with any of them. It now appears that the courts will be the forum in which the final verdict on the Taser will be rendered

[Russell Kanning]

"Finally, on July 30, several news sources reported that (for the first time) the Cook County ( Chicago, Illinois) Medical Examiner had ruled the February 10 death of an agitated 54-year-old man was caused by being shocked excessively with a Taser.

The finding indicated that the 57-second shock was sufficient, in and of itself, to have killed the man."

57 Seconds


And they wonder why people might run

[Russell Kanning]

It was alright when it was only killing us .... but now cops are feeling the pain

[Kat Kanning]

This is in NC.

There weren't police in the school back when I went 


Officers issued Tasers at Cabarrus County high schools

By Michael Knox
mknox@independenttribune.com
Friday, August 26, 2005


CONCORD - Concord police officers assigned to city high schools will be armed with Tasers when school starts today.

Concord Police Chief Merl Hamilton told the Cabarrus County School Board of his decision on Thursday during its work session.

School resource officers at Jay M. Robinson, Central Cabarrus and Concord high schools will be issued the weapons today.

Resource officers at those schools were given Tasers stun guns at the end of April as part of a trial run. Officers did not use the weapons, but Hamilton said he wants officers to be able to have the tool when necessary.

?When a police officer physically confronts somebody, there is a possibility somebody will get hurt,? Hamilton said. ?We believe the Taser will be a tool that we will use to keep our schools safe.?

Hamilton said that during the 2003-04 school year, a school resource officer was out of work for three to four months because his shoulder was injured after having to wrestle a student.

Hamilton said that injury could have been prevented if the officer had a Taser.

Wayne Williams, Cabarrus County School Board vice chairman, said he spoke with parents about Tasers.

?Police officers have been wearing (guns) however long you?ve been in school and there hasn?t been any concern,? he said.

Williams said if it?s a choice of an officer having to use a Taser or a handgun, the option should be there.

?If you look at it that way this is just another tool folks can use without as serious an injury,? he said. ?A lot of people are hit by Tasers and able to get up. Look at it that way. This is something less lethal than a handgun.?

Hamilton said officers armed with Tasers receive several hours of training and are subjected to a Taser blast, which lasts about five seconds.

A Taser sends 50,000 volts of electricity, pumped at .0164 amps through a person.

Hamilton said since Concord officers started carrying Tasers in 2003, they have only used the weapon about 50 times.

Hamilton said every time an officer uses a Taser or uses force, other than putting a suspect in handcuffs, the incident is documented and reviewed by the officer?s supervisors.

Witnesses are also interviewed after the incident, Hamilton said.

Hamilton said school resource officers initially discussed being armed with Tasers not just for the students in school.

?Our goal is to protect our schools from people that come on campus that shouldn?t be on campus,? he said.

School board members asked about officers using pepper spray instead of Tasers.

Hamilton said there were less than five cases that pepper spray was used in City of Concord schools.

Cabarrus County Superintendent Dr. Harold Winkler said the problem with pepper spray is more than one person can be affected when officers use the spray. The Taser offers an alternative.

?I can see deploying that in a room where you want to try and affect one individual,? Winkler said.

Officers have said the device can help restrain a suspect without having to use a gun or fight the offender.

But those who oppose Tasers say it?s not clear how people are affected after a Taser has been used. There were 103 Taser related deaths in the U.S. and Canada from June 2001 to April 2005, according to an Amnesty International report.

The Cabarrus County Sheriff?s Office and Kannapolis Police Department school resource officers are not armed with Tasers.

? Contact Michael Knox at mknox@independenttribune.com or 704-789-9144.
      
   

[Russell Kanning]

when you put together the last articles .... you get the new government policy

possible death ..... "for the children"

[Kat Kanning]

http://www.dicksonherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050925/NEWS01/509250416/1006/MTCN02

Man dies 2 days after Metro police use Tasers on him

21-year-old had run-in with officers outside nightclub

By JEANNINE F. HUNTER
Staff Writer

A young Nashville man whom police tried to subdue with Tasers died yesterday, prompting Metro police to launch two investigations into the circumstances surrounding his death.

Patrick Aaron Lee, 21, died yesterday afternoon at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He was taken to the hospital after a confrontation with officers outside Mercy Lounge, a live music venue off Eighth Avenue South, shortly after 11:30 p.m. Thursday.
   

The cause of death has not yet been determined, and an autopsy is planned. The use of Taser stun guns has become controversial nationwide as citizens question whether police are using the weapons irresponsibly. Metro police used Tasers 82 times from November to May, said Don Aaron, police spokesman, and "no suspect or officer has required treatment away from the scene."

Lee's death yesterday shocked and outraged his friends and family, who believe Lee was struck with Tasers multiple times by as many as 11 police officers and that he was also beaten.

Lee's older brother, Christopher Lee, 23, doesn't understand why his brother died. He was not with his brother at the club that night.

"On Oct. 28 he was going to school to be an audio engineer. He was a very talented woodworker and was looking forward to reaching his goals. He was very thoughtful and he just didn't deserve what happened."

Metro police say that while there were more than three officers at the scene that night, Lee's family is mistaken about the chain of events. Here's the police account of what happened:

Lee had been kicked out of Mercy Lounge twice Thursday night before police were called. Mercy Lounge employees told police Lee was "acting strangely inside and kept on trying to get onto the stage of the lounge," Aaron said last night in a press conference.

Officer Christopher Brooks said when he arrived, Lee told him his name was "Blue" and approached the officer. Brooks told the young man to "keep his distance," according to a press release. Brooks said Lee was acting aggressively, removed his shirt and ran 40-50 yards. Brooks used pepper spray and ordered him to the ground. He said Lee then disrobed and ran naked through the parking lot.

Brooks called for backup and the first officer to respond was Officer Jonathan Mays, who is Taser-certified. Mays ordered Lee to the ground, but he refused. Officer Jamie Scruggs, another Taser-certified officer, also responded to the scene and used his Taser on Lee.

"He was sweaty at this time and that made it difficult for the officers to control him," Aaron said. "Lee was hit by Taser probes four times and he was Tased multiple times." The total number of Taser shocks was eight, Aaron said.

The homicide unit is investigating the circumstances surrounding Lee's death and will report its findings to Davidson County District Attorney General Torry Johnson. The Police Department's Office of Professional Accountability will determine whether the officers involved followed protocol.

Aaron said it is customary to launch two investigations when someone dies after a police incident.

"Once he was in custody, an ambulance was immediately called because of his bizarre behavior, his nudity and his sweating."

Aaron said he did not know if Lee was unconscious before the ambulance arrived; today, the department will interview the ambulance crew, he said.

An autopsy will be conducted, Aaron said, adding that it is unclear what role the Tasers played in Lee's death.

"Any death is tragic, and our condolences are extended to Mr. Lee and his family."

Tasers are considered a nonlethal use of force. In Metro, about 45 Tasers are used by patrol officers; SWAT members also use the devices, which issue a brief, immobilizing electric shock.

"He was Tased multiple times. Understand that when the probes go out and attach to the body, you can pull the trigger more than once, resulting in more than one Tase per probe discharge," Aaron said.

Police said Lee told them he was acting that way because he had taken LSD or PCP. Although they knew he had "experimented" with drugs, Lee's family disputes the initial police findings.

"I just got the report back from the hospital and they told me all they found was a small amount of Valium and cannabis, or marijuana," Lee's father, Earl Bud Lee, said an hour after his son's death. Earl Bud Lee is a local songwriter who co-wrote Garth Brooks' 1991 megahit Friends in Low Places.

"All I remember is Patrick hugging me and telling me he loved me," Lee said. "Next thing I know ? police officers showed up at my door and let me know he was in the hospital."

[Michael Fisher]

No matter what the police do to you, even if they kill you, there's a 98% chance they won't be prosecuted for it.   

[KBCraig]

Tasers are considered a nonlethal use of force.

I'll chalk that one up to reporter inaccuracy. Tasers (like batons, pepper spray, pepperball guns, foam baton projectiles, bean bag projectiles, etc.), are properly classed as "less lethal" force. Any use of force carries a risk of lethality.

Kevin

[Kat Kanning]

Have you ever used a taser on someone?

[KBCraig]

No, we don't use them. We have firearms, a variety of chemical dispensers, and bean-bag guns.

Almost all of our immediate use of force doesn't involve any weapons at all, other than hands and whatever falls to hand. We don't carry any weapons at all inside the fence, not ever pepper spray or batons. Just handcuffs and a radio.

Any of the less-lethal weapons would only be employed in a calculated use of force. And deadly force is authorized to prevent escape, to stop an assault that could cause grievous bodily harm or death, or to stop destruction of property that could lead to an escape or loss or life.

Thankfully, any use of force is an infrequent occurrence where I work. We prefer to talk with people, instead of fight. Everyone comes out happier, with fewer bruises.

Kevin

[Kat Kanning]

Second student shot with Taser

Charlotte Observer/Melissa Manware | September 27 2005

A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer shot a Garinger High School student with a Taser gun Monday morning. It's the second time in four days that an officer used the electroshock weapon on a student.

A police spokesman said the officer fired the Taser on Monday after a 17-year-old student slapped an assistant principal and refused to follow orders. The student, who was later arrested, had been called to the office because he was late for school.

On Friday, a school resource officer at East Mecklenburg High School shot a 14-year-old girl with a Taser after she attacked an assistant principal.

The students and school administrators were not seriously injured.

[Dreepa]

Did you notice that they both slapped assistant principals....?

[Pat McCotter]

Assistant principals are the enforcers/disciplinarians in the public schools.

And remember the spelling mnemonic, the principal is our "pal."

[Kat Kanning]

    

Man catches fire after shot with Taser

Associated Press | October 21, 2005

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. A man pursued by Cumberland County deputies burst into flames after he was shot with an electronic Taser weapon that delivers a shocking electric current.
The man was flammable because gasoline in his car splattered on him.

Officials say Deputy Bradley Dean pulled Richard McKinnon over for a broken tail light last night. But McKinnon sped away and drove over a mailbox and hit a tree. The gasoline spilled on him in the wreck.

Dean shot McKinnon when the man tried to get away and rolled him on the ground to put out the flames. McKinnon was in critical condition tonight at UNC Hospitals with burns over 70 percent of his body.

[KBCraig]

From PDO:

http://www.packing.org/community/laws_politics/listview/5731

"The City of Madera, Calif. Madera police officer Marcy Noriega had the suspect from a minor disturbance handcuffed in the back of her patrol car. When the suspect started to kick at the car's windows, Officer Noriega decided to subdue him with her Taser. Incredibly, instead of pulling her stun gun from her belt, she pulled her service sidearm and shot the man in the chest, killing him instantly."


http://www.maderaonline.com/news/news-9o.html

"Fresno - After two years of contentious litigation, a federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Taser International, Inc., brought by the City of Madera. The City of Madera alleged that one of its police officers shot and killed a man after mistaking her Glock service weapon for her Taser M26 stun device.

"In 2002, after responding to a disturbance of the peace call involving several youth, City of Madera police officer Marcy Noriega shot and killed 24 year old Everardo Torres, an up and coming Golden Gloves boxer, who was handcuffed in the back of a squad car. Noriega claimed that she mistook her Glock for her Taser M26. Torres' family -- represented by the famed and recently deceased attorney Johnnie Cochran and his firm -- sued the City and Officer Noriega.

"The City and Noriega sued Taser, claiming the Taser M26 was defectively designed due to it's similarity to a real firearm, and that Taser failed to warn about the possibility of confusing it with a firearm. In a rare 50-page dismissal order, a federal judge dismissed the case Tuesday, saying the resemblance was obvious."

(Note the photo, showing the relative positioning of her Taser and Glock!)


http://courthousenews.com/BlogArchive/taser.htm

"Taser Not Liable for Shooting by Confused Cop

"In the case of a fatal shooting that resulted from a police officer mistakenly firing her handgun instead of her Taser stun gun, a California judge said Taser International was not liable for the confusion between the two weapons.

"Madera (Calif.) Police Officer Marcy Noriega testified that when she fired at Everardo Torres, 'I thought it was my taser, but it was my gun.' The holsters for both weapons were on her right side and Taser admitted that it designed the M26 stun gun to 'function like a standard handgun.' "


My comments: duh! The idiot, and the city who employer her, are solely reponsible for this death.

Kevin