Taser Torture [Archive] - David Icke's Official Forums

accuracy

30-11-2007, 08:46 AM

FBI Investigates After Officer Uses Taser On Pregnant Woman

Jill Del Greco, Reporter

POSTED: 6:33 pm EST November 28, 2007
UPDATED: 5:15 pm EST November 29, 2007
http://www.whiotv.com/news/14719706/detail.html

TROTWOOD, Ohio -- The FBI is investigating after a Trotwood police officer used a Taser on a pregnant woman.

Trotwood Public Safety Director Michael Etter said the incident happened on Nov. 18. He said the woman arrived at the police department asking to give up custody of her 1-year-old son.

Etter said his officer spoke with the woman as she held on to the child outside the police department.

"(He) attempted to obtain information on both the mother and the child, at which time the mother refused to give any information and became very agitated," Etter said.

Surveillance video from the police department shows the woman try to leave with the child. The officer then grabs her coat in an effort to get her to stop. Etter said the officer was doing what he thought was in the best interest of the 1-year-old boy.

The video shows the woman struggle with the officer, who then takes the child from her and gives the boy to another officer. The first officer then forces the woman down on her stomach, and he then deploys a Taser on her neck.

Etter said the officer did not know the woman was pregnant.

"She did not disclose, even after she was arrested, that she was pregnant," Etter said. He said the woman was wearing a large winter coat and had her child on her lap when she was talking to the officer.

Etter said the department is cooperating with the FBI investigation, and there is also an ongoing internal investigation to see if the use of force was warranted for the situation.

Etter said the officer involved is still on duty.

Trotwood's use of force policy states officers should "greatly evaluate each situation with discretion when anticipating the deployment of the Taser on young children, elderly persons, and pregnant females."

News Center 7 spoke with the woman involved in the case, but she declined the opportunity to make a statement, saying only that she feels "unjustly served."

Officers said the 1-year-old boy was put into the custody of a family member after the incident.

Check out video clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw9kj1jnttk

accuracy

30-11-2007, 09:10 AM

UK-Police allowed to TASER CHILDREN!!

UK-Police allowed to TASER CHILDREN!!

UK-Police allowed to TASER CHILDREN!!

Youtube video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8-BQ-5yxwE

accuracy

30-11-2007, 09:30 AM

The effects of a taser stun gun

http://img.youtube.com/vi/d0t_wyEikcs/default.jpg

getting shot and zapped...taser stun gun M18L citizen american idol

You tube video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0t_wyEikcs

accuracy

30-11-2007, 09:48 AM

Tasered Ballistic Darts Taser UF Student Employee

http://img.youtube.com/vi/-3jNjeUax-0/default.jpg

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

accuracy

30-11-2007, 09:54 AM

Shiny Video Review: The Shocking Taser Guns

http://img.youtube.com/vi/520s8B2ydNY/default.jpg

Shiny Video Review: The Shocking Taser Guns - YouTube

accuracy

30-11-2007, 10:03 AM

Police Chase And Taser A Drugged Out Kid ~ BWAHAHAHA

http://img.youtube.com/vi/uIY3TemTpaM/default.jpg

This kid ran and then decides to park by a train, gets out actin all nuts and then kinda looks surprised when he gets the shocker. LOL Whats even funnier is the lady cop who takes a header running up to the car!
Added: June 27, 2006

Police Chase And Taser A Drugged Out Kid ~ BWAHAHAHA - YouTube

logic bomb

02-12-2007, 08:36 PM

Another 'Non-Lethal' TASER Killing in Florida (Dec. 1, 2007)

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_TASER_DEATH_FLOL-?SITE=FLTAL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Original Title:
Man dies after deputies stun him after he jumps from ambulance

LAKE CITY, Fla. (AP) -- A man died Thursday after deputies stunned him with a Taser after he jumped from an ambulance, authorities said.

A friend of Ashley Ryan Stephens called 911 to request an ambulance, saying her friend was a drug user and was sick. A deputy was sent along with the ambulance crew, which is standard procedure if drugs are involved, said Columbia County Sheriff Bill Gootee.

Once inside the ambulance, Stephens became agitated and combative and kicked out an ambulance window. When the ambulance stopped, Stephens jumped out and ran into the street. He was nearly hit by several cars, Gootee said.

Stephens was stunned twice and handcuffed. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

An autopsy is scheduled for Friday.

---

Information from: The Gainesville Sun, http://www.gainesvillesun.com

accuracy

04-12-2007, 09:07 AM

Fla. has 2nd Taser death in 2 days

Wednesday, November 21, 2007
http://tallahassee.com/legacy/special/blogs/2007/11/fla-has-2nd-taser-death-in-2-days.html

From Florida Today
JACKSONVILLE - A man died Tuesday after police Tasered him because he fled a car crash and tried to break into a nearby home, authorities said. It was the second Taser-related death for the agency in three days.

The man, who was not identified, crashed a car into a parked sport utility vehicle and then tried to enter an occupied home.

Authorities said the suspect struggled with an officer, prompting the officer to Tase him three times. The man continued to fight and tried to bite the officer while he was being Tased, The Florida Times-Union reported.

The man was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Another suspect died Sunday after Jacksonville police Tased him during a struggle. Authorities said Christian Allens shoved an officer who pulled over his truck for loud music before he and his passenger ran away. Firefighters cleared Allens medically after the incident, but he went into cardiac arrest a short time later and died. Allens was carrying a loaded handgun.

accuracy

05-12-2007, 10:10 AM

After Over 300 Deaths, Johns Hopkins Supports Taser Use

Created by Dan Walter

At least 300 people have died after being hit by Tasers. The United Nations considers Taser use "a form of torture." Amnesty International has called for a moratorium on their use, saying "A taser victim's penalty should not be death." Taser International is the subject of numerous lawsuits and fraud investigations. Bernard Kerik, Ruy Giuliani's former partner who was recently indicted for fraud, made millions as a member of the Taser International board of directors.

Yet Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore acts as a paid adviser to this scandal-plagued company: "Dr. Hugh Calkins, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Arrhythmia Service at Johns Hopkins Hospital, concluded,'I have had an opportunity to review the studies and the results of the studies confirm the general safety of the TASER devices..." (from a securities fraud lawsuit filed in Arizona) http://www.glancylaw.com/pdf/TASER.pdf

Dr. Calkins' assertions that Tasers are safe despite more than 300 Taser related deaths and the UN declaration that it is a torture device provide Taser International with a veneer of legitimacy.

Physicians should not be involved in executions or torture.

We the undersigned call on Johns Hopkins Hospital to disassociate itself from Taser International and to return any monies received for endorsing the weapon.

(NOTE: Please indicate if you are a health care professional)

http://dingo.care2.com/pictures/petition_images/petition/063/541412-1196431309-main.jpg

Visit the below website:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/johns-hopkins-hospital-stop-supporting-taser-use

accuracy

06-12-2007, 10:16 AM

Hearing Impaired Man Tased by Police

Posted: Dec 4, 2007 12:35 PM
http://www.kwch.com/global/story.asp?s=7446220

(Wichita, KS)

Donnell Williams had just gotten out of the bath tub, wearing only a towel around his waist, when he turned the corner to see guns pointing right at him.

"I ain't never been so scared," says Williams.

Police forced entry into Williams home while responding to a shooting, but it turned out to be a false call. They had no idea at the time the call wasn't real and that Williams is hearing impaired. Without his hearing aid he is basically deaf.

"I kept going to my ear yelling that I was scared. I can't hear! I can't hear!"

Officers were worried about their own safety because at the time it appeared Williams was refusing to obey their commands to show his hands. That's when they shot him with a Taser.

Deputy Chief Robert Lee of the Wichita Police Department says, "This one occurred on the worst of calls, that being a shooting. The first few minutes getting control of the scene are very, very important."

Once the facts were all sorted out, officers repeatedly apologized to Williams. Police wish it never happened, but with the information they had at the time, their choices were limited.

"Do I wish there would have been some way they were notified in advance this gentleman was hearing impaired? I certainly do. No one is happy with the way it worked out," says Lee.

Williams was not hurt in the incident. Police say the shooting call came from a cell phone but they still don't know who made it or why.

The case is being reviewed by the department.

accuracy

12-12-2007, 08:53 AM

Why Has the U.S. Forest Service Purchased $600,000 Worth of Tasers?

By Ann Shibler
Published: 2007-12-11
http://www.jbs.org/node/6615

ARTICLE SYNOPSIS:

Already in debt and understaffed, the U.S. Forest Service just spent $600,000 in purchasing handheld Tasers for every member of its Law Enforcement division.

Follow this link to the original source:"Cash Starved Forest Service Spends $600,000 to Buy Tasers"
http://www.docuticker.com/?p=18223

COMMENTARY:

Near the end of the U.S. Forest Service's fiscal year in September, there was a hurried single-source purchase of 700 Tasers for the Law Enforcement and Investigations division of the U.S. Forest Service. The Tasers are now sitting in storage, as there were no rules governing their use or a required training program yet developed by the USFS.

In fact, there was no public input, or congressional review of the purchase. There wasn't even a written explanation as to why the devices were needed. There was a very brief that really only described the item for purchase.

Jeff Ruch of the group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) did request and receive, under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), records relating to the amount the Forest Service paid for the devices ($600,001.52 — $857 apiece), and the justification statement, but not any information that described the training that would have to be provided to agency personnel who will use the electronic Tasers. USFS director John Twiss issued a statement: "In the interest of customer service, we can tell you that the Forest Service is currently developing the required training and law enforcement officers will be required to attend prior to the issuance of, or authorization to carry or use, an Electronic Control Device."

With the devastating forest fires of the past summer, one would think that director Twiss would have more important matters to address than the purchase of what we now know to be lethal weapons. The agency is presently a quarter of a billion dollars in debt and has 200 vacant positions, some lost to budget cuts and more to agents who have been reassigned to other obligations such as border patrol for the Department of Homeland Security. The USFS has over 750,000 million annual visitors and that leaves one officer overseeing approximately 1.5 million visitors and covering 300,000 acres of forest, and even more budget cuts are looming.

PEER, in 2005, released information on director John Twiss, claiming he is the first person without any law enforcement qualifications or credentials to head the USFS — he's a civilian with desk experience and nothing more. In the early 1990s, Congress mandated that the Forest Service law enforcement division be independent of the agency chain-of-command, in order to ensure fair and independent investigations and internal probes. But Twiss signaled that he would see an end to such independency, and according to Ruch would see to it, "that all future Forest Service investigations will be politically vetted."

Lethal Tasers in the hands of untrained federal agents, compounded by the bureaucratic management style of the present director, with the accompanying potential for serious abuse certainly doesn’t bode well for park visitors.

Jeff Ruch of PEER said it best when he opined, "As a result, in addition to the howl of the coyote and the hoot of the owl, the plaintive cry of "Don't tase me, bro!' may soon echo through the forest night."

accuracy

13-12-2007, 08:15 AM

Canadian taser death sparks calls for police review in Australia

By Simon Santow

Posted Fri Nov 16, 2007 9:48pm AEDT

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/16/2093588.htm

Tasers, or stun guns, are meant to be a substitute for lethal force. Every police force in Australia at the moment is either conducting trials of taser guns or already using them officially.

But an incident in Canada has again raised questions about their safety.

A Polish man who had just arrived at Vancouver Airport died when Canadian police tasered him into submission. Two bursts of 50,000 volts into the man were enough to kill him.

Robert Dziekanski had not been drinking and was not under the influence of drugs.

But the 40-year-old from Poland was behaving erratically soon after arriving in Canada on his first ever flight from Europe.

Paul Pritchard used his video camera to film inside the terminal building in Vancouver.

"I was just filming for the sake of an entertainment standpoint," he said.

"Once they tasered him, you hear this bloodcurdling scream. I still think about it.

"All of a sudden, the mood in the whole airport, everybody is watching it, it definitely changed. You see him hit the floor and you see him on the ground shaking and screaming and it's brutal."

Several officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police used their stun guns on Mr Dziekanski.

"He was never threatening, I mean, I never felt danger from him," Mr Pritchard said.

"There was no threatening gestures or anything toward us. There's a woman that goes right up to him at one point, five feet away, and tries to calm him down.

"I mean, he was acting irrationally but in my opinion he was acting scared."

Police spokesman Dale Carr says it would be a mistake to rush to judge the video evidence.

"It's only one piece of evidence and it's one person's view," he said.

"It's through the viewfinder of one individual. There are many other people that we have spoken to."

Review

A review of the rules governing the use of stun guns will now be held in Canada.

It would be easy to dismiss this incident as "only in North America", but that ignores the fact the weapons are now in use across Australia.

Some states and territories are trialing their use or restricting the weapons to elite tactical units.

In Western Australia they are now being issued to general duties officers, the force their taking delivery of 1,500 stun guns just a few months ago.

A stun gun was used by police in Queensland this morning to subdue a man who struggled with officers at a Brisbane tavern and then later at a police station. But no-one died in the incidents.

Australian Council of Civil Liberties president Terry O'Gorman warns of the hidden dangers of police relying on so-called non-lethal force to keep offenders at bay.

"Tasers represent a shift from policing by consent with the community to paramilitary policing," he said.

"They have no role and it's time that their use in western democracies was seriously reviewed.

"They're proving popular because if you give police a particular addition to their armoury, they will use it to, more frequently than they're supposed to.

He says capsicum spray is an example of what he means.

"When it was introduced variously around the country five to eight years ago, the selling point from police ministers was it will be used instead of a police officer having to draw his gun," he said.

"Now capsicum spray is being used around the country every day in ordinary, mundane situations.

"The same is starting to happen with the taser gun in Australia. There was an incident in Queensland last year where the taser gun was under trial where a middle-aged woman ... carrying out a demonstration on a particular issue, was hit with a taser."

New South Wales

The New South Wales Police Minister David Campbell is under pressure from that state's union to extend the use of stun guns beyond the special operations group.

"Tasers are used more widely by police forces in other states of Australia," Mr Campbell said.

"The New South Wales Government, the New South Wales Police Force want to learn from their experience and we'll look at the experience in other jurisdictions.

"I know that we've got 50 of the devices deployed but there would be more than 50 officers who have had the training.

"They might use them in a ... situation where the public order and riot squad might be called to back up a particularly serious domestic violence situation, they might use them there."

accuracy

13-12-2007, 08:29 AM

Qld police begin Taser gun trial

Posted Mon Jul 2, 2007 1:09am AEST

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/02/1966977.htm

Queensland police are trialing a new weapon in the fight against crime.

Officers in the state's south-east have been issued with Taser guns as part of a 12-month evaluation process.

The Taser gun delivers a painful electrical shock to the body, causing muscle spasms and temporary paralysis.

The current is transmitted by touching or firing off two barbed electrodes into the body.

Police Minister Judy Spence says the aim is to stop officers being injured by dangerous and violent offenders resisting arrest.

The Taser gun was previously only used by the Special Emergency Response Team.

Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson says Capsicum spray does not always work on people under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

The Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) is also evaluating the trial.

accuracy

14-12-2007, 06:03 AM

Pocket Taser Stun Gun

Pocket Taser Stun Gun, a great gift for the wife.

http://www.jokes.org.au/images/pocket-taser-stun-gun.jpg

Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 22nd Anniversary, and I was looking for a little something "extra" for my wife.

I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized taser. The effects of the taser were supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse affect on the assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety.... WAY TOO COOL!

Long story short, I bought the device, and brought it home. I loaded two triple-A batteries in the thing, and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed.

I learned, however, that if I pushed the button AND pressed it against a metal surface at the same time; I'd get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs. Awesome!!!
Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Toni what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave.

Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all THAT bad, with only two triple-A batteries, right?!! There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions, and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target. I must admit, I thought about zapping Gracie, (for a fraction of a second) and then thought better of it. She's such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised.

Am I wrong?

So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top, with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and taser in another. The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms, and a major loss of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water. Any burst longer than three seconds would just be wasting the batteries.

All the while, I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5"
long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference; (pretty cute really, and loaded with two itsy, bitsy triple-A batteries) thinking to myself, "NO possible way!"

What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best... I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side as if to say, "Don't do it master," reasoning that a one-second burst from such a tiny little ole thing couldn't POSSIBLY hurt all that bad...

I decided to give myself a one-second burst, just for the heck of it.
I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION @!@$$!%!
I'm pretty sure Jessie Ventura ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over, and over, and over, and over again.

I vaguely recall waking up on my side, in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs.

The cat was standing over me making meowing sounds I had never heard before, licking my face, and undoubtedly thinking to herself, "do it again, do it again!"

Note: If you ever feel compelled to "mug" yourself with a Taser, one note of caution: there is NO SUCH THING as a "one-second burst", when you zap yourself. You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor. A three second burst would be considered conservative.

SON-OF-A-%#&**%#... that hurt!!!

A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up, and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. How did they get up there??? My triceps, right thigh, and both nipples were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. I'm still looking for my testicles.

I'm offering a significant reward for their safe return.

accuracy

15-12-2007, 06:48 AM

December 15, 2007 06:50am
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22928343-2,00.html

A MAN holding a person hostage armed with a meat cleaver has became the first person shot with a Taser stun-gun in New South Wales, with officers shocking the man three times after he allegedly lunged at them with a knife.

After a two-hour siege in Sydney's west yesterday afternoon, the man who was also armed witha knife, left his house after talks with officers.

A witness said officers fired the stun-gun three times in quick succession at the man, who a police spokeswoman later alleged was approaching them with the cleaver.

The man was hit. He landed on his arm with his full weight, causing a suspected fracture, the police spokeswoman said.

NSW Police Association president Bob Pritchard last night said it was the first time he knew that the Taser had been used in a real-life situation in the state.

"'It just completely disables you, muscular wise and you fall straight to the ground," Mr Pritchard said.

Overseas the Taser has been linked to a number of deaths.

"The Taser itself has never caused a death, but death has resulted from its use. The victim's fall and hit their head or have had a heart attack," Mr Pritchard said.

Tasers were introduced into NSW by the Government in May 2006. They are trialled by the NSW Police Public Order and Riot Squad Special Protection.

The squad was called to the seige in Mountford Ave at Guildford, after it was reported about 6pm.

The street was closed together with a number of side streets. A convoy of five police vehicles attended the incident.

The woman was released unharmed before the man was stunned by police.

accuracy

15-12-2007, 07:24 AM

http://www.yourdailymedia.com/i/u/yKsSziwf.jpg

" In my first comment I wrote that I didn´t think it was right that he took him down with a taser. Somebody got their knickers all in a twist over that. I see his point but come on, the guy to me looked scared and was backing off. He didn't show signs of physical violence he just wanted to see the sign".

Watch video clip.

http://www.yourdailymedia.com/media/1197637759/Tased_For_Speeding

accuracy

28-12-2007, 07:19 AM

Christmas shopping horror: Man, wife blasted by Taser
Officers zap couple at mall after anonymous 9-1-1 call

Posted: December 26, 2007
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59382

By Joe Kovacs
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/9837/madisonmallhj3.jpg
West Towne Mall in Madison, Wis., was scene of Christmas Eve Taser incident (WTMJ-TV)

A Wisconsin man is reportedly planning to take legal action after he and his wife were blasted by a police Taser as they were finishing their holiday shopping Christmas Eve at a mall in Madison.

Major Lemon, 44, and his wife, Marissa, were at the crowded West Towne Mall during lunchtime Monday when approached by officers responding to an anonymous 9-1-1 call about someone in the mall with a gun.

According to the police report, officers arrived dressed in full military-style police uniform and observed a man matching the suspect description in the middle of the food court.

The report states:

The suspect had his hand in his pocket and began to physically resist, at that point officers took control of the suspect's other arm. The suspect then made statements that he was going to punch an officer. Based on the weapon information and the suspect's physical resistance, officers attempted to take the suspect to the ground. Because of the wet, snow-covered tile, they were unable to take the suspect to the ground. An additional officer responded, observed the physical struggle, and deployed their assigned electronic control device. One of the probes struck the suspect and the other probe struck the suspect's wife.
"After holding onto him, I was Tased and they put us on the floor," Marrisa Lemon told WTMJ-TV.

Lemon and his wife were secured in handcuffs. Marissa was later released with no charges or injuries. No weapon was found on Major Lemon, but he was charged with resisting and obstructing.

"I didn't think it was right. A bunch of people were in here shopping. There were kids in here," Tara Emery-Walls, general manager at Arby's, told the Capital Times, noting those eating lunch quickly scattered. "It's not right to do that on Christmas."

Lemon's sister, Regina, told local media that Major is no criminal.

"My brother was trying to play like Santa Claus, getting last minute things for other people in the family that didn't have it," she said. "And for him to come be like this, that's sad."

Published reports indicate Lemon has a long history of arrests, dating back to 1990. He's been charged with disorderly conduct nine times.

"It obviously is an unfortunate incident," Madison Police Sgt. David Samson told the Times, "but the officers have one of two ways of handling a situation like that. In either of those cases, the officers have to do something."

The incident is already sparking debates about holiday safety versus police brutality on Internet messageboards.

Some of the comments include:

# The police tell you to do something, do it. You can tell your story after the situation is under control. The worst thing you can do is to argue or fight with them, 'cause if you do, the Taser comes out and it is used. In this case, it was the right thing to do in a crowed situation where the report of a gun was involved. Good job!

# This guy has a history of police contact. Of course, people will b-tch that the police should have held his hand and walked him outside for a counseling session. But it is those same people who, had the guy pulled a gun and started shooting with his left hand as the police were holding his right, would be b-tching that the police COULD have taken him down right away.

# We do not have to do everything that some dumb cop tells us to do. Throw in the dumb West Towne "cop" and you have a whole bunch of idiot cops infringing on our rights. This case was yet another case of some overzealous cops with low IQs reaching for their Taser before reaching for their thinking cap.

# My understanding is that Tasers are supposed to be used as an alternative to deadly force. If the police did not have Tasers, would they have been justified in discharging their firearm in this situation?

# I don't see why deadly force, or any force, was necessary in this situation. There was an anonymous call, probably a prank call, and the cops went after an innocent man. I would like to see the so-called description that was used to go after this innocent man. I wonder how good of a match it was?

# I remember a time when police would talk and ask questions first to find out what a situation called for before calling in back-up and opening a can of whoop-a--. Now, get pulled over for speeding after sunset and it takes 3 patrol cars and a K-9 unit to give you a ticket. And God forbid you don't bow before Zod when a cop asks you a question, since the Taser is replacing common sense as the first line of defense.

Joe Kovacs is executive news editor for WorldNetDaily.com.

accuracy

12-01-2008, 07:02 AM

Jan. 11, 2008
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/375399.html

BY DAVID OVALLE
A man in his 20s died after a Coral Gables police officer used a Taser stun gun to subdue him Friday morning.

He was identified Friday afternoon as Xavier Jones, 29.

Jones had been disruptive at a party and resisted arrest, according to Miami-Dade police, whose homicide bureau is investigating the death.

About 2 a.m., police officers responded to a call about a scuffle at University Inn Condominium, 1280 S. Alahambra Cir., near the University of Miami. The building is across the street from the university and borders on U.S. 1.

After the man became disruptive inside the apartment, a security guard attempted to remove him from the property. The confrontation spilled outside.

Miami-Dade police said Jones displayed ''aggressive and combative behavior'' so a police officer used a Taser stun gun to restrain him.

After the discharge, Jones became unresponsive, and paramedics took him to Doctor's Hospital in Coral Gables, where he was pronounced dead.

The investigation by Coral Gables and Miami-Dade police closed an area of U.S. 1 between Red Road and South Alhambra Circle until 7 a.m.

A cause of death will be determined by the Miami-Dade medical examiner's office.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

accuracy

19-01-2008, 07:59 AM

[B]Father wants answers in son's death following Taser jolt[B]

Mark Backlund was en route to get his parents at the airport when he was "uncooperative" after an accident.

By JIM ADAMS and EMILY JOHNS, Star Tribune

Last update: January 17, 2008 - 4:19 PM
http://www.startribune.com/13841301.html

Authorities are investigating the death of a 29-year-old Fridley man shot with a Taser by state troopers, who said he had become "uncooperative'' after a rush-hour crash Tuesday evening.

The victim was identified by his father as Mark C. Backlund. Gordon Backlund said his son was on his way to pick up his parents at the airport after they had taken a short trip to Florida.

According to the State Patrol, he was involved in a rush-hour crash on Interstate Hwy. 694 near Silver Lake Road in New Brighton. The State Patrol said troopers shot him with the Taser because he was uncooperative. He was breathing but unconscious when paramedics arrived, according to Allina Medical Transportation spokesman Tim Burke but was pronounced dead at Unity Hospital in Fridley.

Gordon Backlund said he was told his son's heart stopped. A 1996 graduate of Fridley High School, he had no heart conditions, his father said.

"We're looking for what really happened," said Backlund, who said his son's car was the only one involved in the crash. He described his son as caring and loyal, with a good sense of humor. "And it is just going to take time to figure this out."

Police have praised the Taser -- which sends an electric current -- for its ability to bring a quick end to standoffs with violent suspects. But related fatalities after their use have made it controversial.

Troopers put on leave

Lt. Mark Peterson of the State Patrol wouldn't describe the uncooperative behavior. Five troopers at the scene were placed on routine administrative leave while the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigates.

According to Chris Krueger, communications director for the Department of Public Safety, the Anoka County Medical Examiner could complete the autopsy as soon as today.

It is the State Patrol's first Taser-related death since troopers started carrying the weapons about a year and a half ago, Peterson said.

In Minnesota, 480 law enforcement agencies use Tasers now, compared with 219 in 2004, according to Taser International in Scottsdale, Ariz. In Minneapolis, Taser use is left to an officer's discretion, according to police spokesman Sgt. Jesse Garcia.

He said it is used most frequently to quickly control a situation when an officer is struggling with someone. Injuries to officers struggling with offenders have decreased considerably since the department started using Tasers in 2001.

"It takes the fight of out them," Garcia said.

He said no one in Minneapolis has died directly from a Taser. The Hennepin County medical examiner found a Minneapolis man shot with a Taser died from cocaine abuse, heart disease and emphysema in 2003. The next year, another Minneapolis man with heart disease and hypertension died from a heart attack after he was shot with a Taser.

Over 290 deaths nationwide

In the United States, more than 290 people have died since June 2001 after being struck by police Tasers, according to the human rights group Amnesty International. It said in October that only 25 of the 290 were armed, and none had firearms.

The group has called for a moratorium on Taser use until more research is done.

"We believe that they should be used as an alternative to lethal force," said Dori Dinsmore, the group's Midwest director, "not as a tool to ensure routine compliance."

A 2004 study from the group shows many of those who died had underlying health problems such as heart conditions or mental illness or were under the influence of drugs. Many also were subjected to repeated or prolonged shocks.

However, Taser International spokesman Steve Tuttle said of the 290 deaths that "in the vast majority of these tragic cases medical examiners have ruled that the Taser was not the cause of death." He said Taser use was listed as contributing factor in six cases since 1998.

He said studies cited in trials supported the company, which has not lost any of 61 product liability cases settled so far.

"Medical documentation strongly supports that the Tasers are a safer use of force alternative compared to hands on, punches, chemical sprays, batons and canine bites," Tuttle said.

A Taser sends a current that interrupts muscle control. The Taser fires two barbs up to 35 feet on a wire. The barbs carry electrical current which disables the person for several seconds. A person hit with both barbs typically topples to the ground.

Backlund is survived by his parents, Gordon and Linda Backlund of Fridley, his sister Melanie Backlund Moe, and his 2-year-old son, Nathaniel.

"We're in shock," Gordon Backlund said. "It's very hard to lose a child."

Late Wednesday, BCA Superintendent Tim O'Malley said: "This is a traumatic event for a lot of people. Someone has died and in fairness to that person, the troopers, family members and others who may have been affected, we need to make sure that we're accurate and thorough.''

Emily Johns can be reached at 952-882-9056 or ejohns@startribune.com. Jim Adams can be reached at 612-673-7658 or jadams@startribune.com.

cruise4

19-01-2008, 08:32 AM

Minnesota Man Tasered to Death for Non-Compliance

http://www.truthnews.us/?p=1708

Jim Adams and Emily Johns
Star Tribune
January 17, 2008

Authorities are investigating the death of a 29-year-old Fridley man shot with a Taser by state troopers, who said he had become “uncooperative” after a rush-hour crash Tuesday evening.

The victim was identified by his father as Mark C. Backlund. Gordon Backlund said his son was on his way to pick up his parents at the airport after they had taken a short trip to Florida.

According to the State Patrol, he was involved in a rush-hour crash on Interstate Hwy. 694 near Silver Lake Road in New Brighton. The State Patrol said troopers shot him with the Taser because he was uncooperative. He was breathing but unconscious when paramedics arrived, according to Allina Medical Transportation spokesman Tim Burke but was pronounced dead at Unity Hospital in Fridley.

Gordon Backlund said he was told his son’s heart stopped. A 1996 graduate of Fridley High School, he had no heart conditions, his father said.

“We’re looking for what really happened,” said Backlund, who said his son’s car was the only one involved in the crash. He described his son as caring and loyal, with a good sense of humor. “And it is just going to take time to figure this out.”

Police have praised the Taser — which sends an electric current — for its ability to bring a quick end to standoffs with violent suspects. But related fatalities after their use have made it controversial.

Troopers put on leave

Lt. Mark Peterson of the State Patrol wouldn’t describe the uncooperative behavior. Five troopers at the scene were placed on routine administrative leave while the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigates.

According to Chris Krueger, communications director for the Department of Public Safety, the Anoka County Medical Examiner could complete the autopsy as soon as today.

It is the State Patrol’s first Taser-related death since troopers started carrying the weapons about a year and a half ago, Peterson said.

In Minnesota, 480 law enforcement agencies use Tasers now, compared with 219 in 2004, according to Taser International in Scottsdale, Ariz. In Minneapolis, Taser use is left to an officer’s discretion, according to police spokesman Sgt. Jesse Garcia.

He said it is used most frequently to quickly control a situation when an officer is struggling with someone. Injuries to officers struggling with offenders have decreased considerably since the department started using Tasers in 2001.

“It takes the fight of out them,” Garcia said.

He said no one in Minneapolis has died directly from a Taser. The Hennepin County medical examiner found a Minneapolis man shot with a Taser died from cocaine abuse, heart disease and emphysema in 2003. The next year, another Minneapolis man with heart disease and hypertension died from a heart attack after he was shot with a Taser.

Over 290 deaths nationwide

In the United States, more than 290 people have died since June 2001 after being struck by police Tasers, according to the human rights group Amnesty International. It said in October that only 25 of the 290 were armed, and none had firearms.

The group has called for a moratorium on Taser use until more research is done.

“We believe that they should be used as an alternative to lethal force,” said Dori Dinsmore, the group’s Midwest director, “not as a tool to ensure routine compliance.”

A 2004 study from the group shows many of those who died had underlying health problems such as heart conditions or mental illness or were under the influence of drugs. Many also were subjected to repeated or prolonged shocks.

However, Taser International spokesman Steve Tuttle said of the 290 deaths that “in the vast majority of these tragic cases medical examiners have ruled that the Taser was not the cause of death.” He said Taser use was listed as contributing factor in six cases since 1998.

He said studies cited in trials supported the company, which has not lost any of 61 product liability cases settled so far.

“Medical documentation strongly supports that the Tasers are a safer use of force alternative compared to hands on, punches, chemical sprays, batons and canine bites,” Tuttle said.

A Taser sends a current that interrupts muscle control. The Taser fires two barbs up to 35 feet on a wire. The barbs carry electrical current which disables the person for several seconds. A person hit with both barbs typically topples to the ground.

Backlund is survived by his parents, Gordon and Linda Backlund of Fridley, his sister Melanie Backlund Moe, and his 2-year-old son, Nathaniel.

“We’re in shock,” Gordon Backlund said. “It’s very hard to lose a child.”

Late Wednesday, BCA Superintendent Tim O’Malley said: “This is a traumatic event for a lot of people. Someone has died and in fairness to that person, the troopers, family members and others who may have been affected, we need to make sure that we’re accurate and thorough.”

manjosa

19-01-2008, 02:47 PM

accuracy: thanks for your story. Hope you found them back on you?!

So any one can buy tasers?
Oh boy, what an experience you had:eek::eek:

Is there a shield that doesn't allow this electricity to penetrate one body?
Lead?
Or better: is there a shield that redirects the attack? If they taser you, you redirects it to them?
Or am I too much into science fiction?

Can we program our body to do that ? It must be possible, somehow I know this can be done, don't know how yet.

accuracy

21-01-2008, 09:16 AM

accuracy

21-01-2008, 09:37 AM

Tasering the Country Into Submission, We Are a Police State

by Anthony Wade
January 19, 2008

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_anthony__080119_tasering_the_country.htm

Day by day our civil liberties are eroded in a purposeful campaign to turn this country into a police state. They start with pretending that seat belt laws are designed for safety, when it really just gives the police another reason to pull you over. Same goes for cell phone laws. Then they place cameras at red lights to generate revenue without applying any resources. We all sit silent. I have heard the flawed logic that says, “Well, I don’t break the law, so why would it bother me?” The issue is not whether you feel you break the law, it is the power you concede to others to interpret if THEY feel you are breaking the law. Perhaps the most egregious violations of our civil liberties happen every day when the very people we pay to protect us, instead are killing us. The new weapon of choice is the Taser. Designed to pump electricity into a human being, the Taser has been used inappropriately, and has resulted in the deaths of innocents across this country for far too long now. It is time to remove this weapon from the arsenal of police officers who do not deserve to wear the badges they have.

I say innocents because even though the police have forgotten; this country is based upon the concept that we are INNOCENT until proven guilty. Thus ANY person killed while being arrested was killed while innocent and their death ensures they will be buried innocent as well. Perhaps the flaw at the heart of this problem is that the police seem to operate on the opposite premise. They presume that everyone is a perp (perpetrator), until proven innocent. They no longer work to protect the citizenry, but rather to ensure they are alive at the end of the day, regardless of whether we are or not. Obviously, this is not meant as a broad brush stroke as generalizations are dangerous. I am sure there are plenty of decent honest police professionals but their insistence to silence in the face of what their peers do makes them complicit. It is time to put a human face on the death toll and the spin.

Mark Backlund was a 29 year old citizen of this country. He had a family, parents, a sister, and a 2 year old son. To my knowledge, he had no record of wrongs in his life. He just was an American who had a bright future until January 15th of this year found him in a car accident during rush hour on a Minnesota highway. By all reports the accident was nothing major but the state police who responded to it apparently did not like the way Mr. Backlund responded to them. The exact quote from the police was that Mr. Backlund was “uncooperative” after the accident. So they killed him. I know that sounds harsh but the police in question decided that the best way to deal with an “uncooperative” citizen was to send electricity through his body. He died later in the hospital when his heart stopped. Even if Mr. Backlund was “uncooperative”; did he deserve to be killed by the police? The man was simply on his way to pick up his parents from the airport and now he is dead. Is mere disagreement or dissent with law enforcement required to be dealt with by killing the person?

Here is another example of a citizen who merely disagreed with a state police officer; this time in Utah. Jared Massey is a 28-year old telephone company worker who was stopped by the Utah State Police on September 14, 2007. Here is a video taken from the dashboard of the offending officer:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=IMaMYL_shxc

The sheer arrogance of this officer is staggering and is a microcosm of the problem we are facing. Even those being arrested have rights. It appears that all Massey was trying to ascertain was why he was pulled over, which is his right as an American. The officer tried to claim speeding but refused to offer what speed Massey was traveling at. In fact, when he first addresses Massey, the officer clearly said that he “felt” he was traveling a bit fast. Massey was correctly astonished when the officer pulled his taser on him and shot him full of electricity. The officer than proceeds to terrorize the family in the car as well and tries to change the story to Massey “not listening to him” or “not following his instructions.” Specifically, Massey was refusing to sign the citation for speeding because he did not believe he had been speeding. For that, the brave officer shoots him with the taser and then brags about it to his partner later in the video. Toward the end you can hear the officer saying “he took a ride on the taser” and then mocked Massey by saying, “painful, isn’t it?” Further explaining to his partner, the officer reveals what really caused him to taser this citizen, “He wanted to be in charge.” His partner simply replies, “Good for you.” He wanted to be in charge. Guess the officer showed him who was in charge. Massey is still pursuing resolution to the incident but at least he survived.

Mark Backlund was not so lucky. Neither were many other Americans who have been tasered over the past several years. You can do a simple Google search and find any number of horror stories of American citizens being tasered by an out of control police force. The initial rationale for giving police these weapons was that they were allegedly going to be used to avoid having to use deadly force not to persuade or control behavior. Well, the experiment has failed America and it has failed miserably. If you doubt that, just review the video above where Mr. Massey was tasered because the officer felt he “wanted to be in charge.” “Taking a ride on the taser” is what this brave officer said. If you have any doubts, go ask the 2 year old child of Mark Backlund what he thinks now that his father has been killed by the very people paid to protect him.

Please, save me the sob stories about how difficult it is to be a police officer. In researching this story I came across stories that would make your stomach turn even more. A six year old boy being tasered. A nine year old girl who was already in handcuffs being tasered. A pregnant woman being tasered. I would proffer that any officer that cannot figure out how to diffuse or subdue a child, a pregnant woman, or even an uncooperative man without tasering them, does not deserve to wear the badge. If the job is that difficult for you, then find another job. Further, the communities that pay the offending officers in these situations should demand justice. Mark Backlund was murdered; plain and simple. Jared Massey faced attempted murder; plain and simple. The fact that the perpetrators wore uniforms should irrelevant. They are supposed to adhere to the law as well. They should be prosecuted and be sent to jail if convicted; plain and simple.

The police state is coming America. Cameras will be everywhere. ID chips will be implanted. They will claim that it is in the interest of your safety, while they take your liberty. There is still a chance to stand up and say no. Jared Massey deserved better. Mark Backlund certainly deserved better. The police are supposed to protect you; not determine your level of cooperation before tasering you into submission and then bragging about it. Benjamin Franklin once warned that a country that trades its liberty for security deserves neither. Our constitution is in tatters. Wake up America. It is time to stand up before they come for you and you realize there is no one left to stand up in your defense.

Anthony Wade, a contributing writer to opednews.com, is dedicated to educating the populace to the lies and abuses of the government. He is a 40-year-old independent writer from New York with political commentary articles seen on multiple websites. A Christian progressive and professional Rehabilitation Counselor working with the poor and disabled, Mr. Wade believes that you can have faith and hold elected officials accountable for lies and excess.

Anthony Wade?s Archive:

http://www.opednews.com/archiveswadeanthony.htm

accuracy

23-01-2008, 09:52 AM

Tuesday, January 22, 2008
by Josh Gross and Greg Savage

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=10897

Former Palace Fighting Championship featherweight titleholder Shawn Bias (Pictures) has been given a 30-percent chance of surviving by doctors at Oroville General Hospital in Bias' hometown about 70 miles north of Sacramento, Calif.

http://www.cdn.sherdog.com/_images/news/2008_01/10897.jpg

The 22-year-old fighter suffered an apparent heart attack late Saturday night and later lapsed into a coma around 1 a.m. Sunday morning. After being admitted to the Oroville General Intensive Care Unit, Bias was also diagnosed with complete kidney failure and has since been placed on dialysis.

George Adkins (Pictures), a training partner and close friend of Bias, told Sherdog.com that Bias was fighting for his life because Oroville Police Department officers Tasered Bias up to five times and struck him repeatedly with batons.

According to Adkins, who cited police, eyewitness and medical personnel accounts, Bias knocked on the door to the wrong party Saturday evening. Though Adkins said he didn't know why, police were called to the scene. After finding his intended destination (another apartment in the complex) Bias purportedly went outside to apologize to officers who arrived on scene.

"Shawn allegedly took off running," said Adkins, who acknowledged that he did not know of anyone who witnessed the incident from its inception. "They ended up getting him, and we don't know exactly how or why he ended up being Tasered several times and struck several times."

Oroville Police Department Sergeant Bill LaGrone confirmed to Sherdog.com that Bias was arrested Saturday. He declined to comment on the charges, and referred all inquiries to Oroville Chief of Police Kirk Trostle, who took over the job on Jan. 1. Trostle would not be available for comment, LaGrone said, until Tuesday morning.

A solemn Adkins said the family remained in the dark regarding charges and circumstances of the arrest.

"It is all speculation at this point," he said, "but Shawn's family and friends just want the people in the MMA community to know what is going on and to ask for their prayers."

An 11 a.m. meeting on Tuesday between Orville police and the Bias family has been set to discuss the apparent altercation.

The featherweight's family was unaware of his condition until a nurse powered up Bias' cell phone and called his parents around 2 p.m. Sunday, Adkins said.

"When we saw him he had scratch marks and bruise marks on his face by his nose, under his eyes," said Adkins, who visited Bias Monday. "His face is all swollen, but if you look underneath, his eyes are black and blue and swollen. On his left clavicle and kinda shoulder he's got a long bruise mark where it looks like he was hit with an impact weapon. The nurse kind of showed us a couple of spots where he was marked on his chest with some type of impact. We don't know what its from, but some type of impact. The bruise marks, the swelling ... it's not good."

Adkins also stated that due to Bias' critical state, the fighter has not been moved to a more advanced medical facility in Chico, Calif.

Noting that Bias (12-6, 1 NC) did not take much damage in his unregulated fight against Art Arciniega -- which he lost by triangle choke in the fourth round of the PFC 145-pound title fight Thursday at the Tachi Palace in Lemoore, Calif. -- Adkins also acknowledged that Bias, whom doctors diagnosed as also having strep throat Monday, refused to pull out of the bout despite suffering from pneumonia and an infected tooth.

Early speculation held that Bias' condition could have come as a result of damage he took during the bout, but follow-up accounts suggest it was not.

Doctors said that the next two days are critical for Bias if he is going to pull out of the coma and survive.

Said Adkins about the severity of the situation: "At this point it is in Shawn and God's hands."

Check out the above link for more......

accuracy

13-02-2008, 09:40 AM

http://www.allhatnocattle.net/21208tab.jpg

kweli

07-05-2008, 04:37 PM

Judge orders all references to 'Taser' stricken from medical examiner's reports

A Summit County Common Pleas judge ordered the county medical examiner to delete any reference that Tasers contributed to the deaths of three Ohio men.

All three men were in an 'agitated' state and 'on drugs' when police officers shot them with Tasers, and the judge ordered their deaths be ruled 'accidental' also that any reference to "homicide or "electrical pulse stimulation" should be deleted from death certificates and autopsy reports."

Five sheriff's deputies had been indicted on charges related to the death of one of the men, who also had a history of mental illness. The judge further ordered that man's death be ruled as "undetermined" and to "delete any references to homicide and the death possibly being caused by asphyxia, beatings or other factors."

The court hearing centered around the "very narrow issue" of whether or not the use of the Taser Model X26 could contributed in any way to the cause of death.

A Taser International spokesman issued the following statement after the court ruling:

"Taser International believed from the beginning that these determinations of cause of death must be supported by facts, medical research and scientific evidence," spokesman Steve Tuttle said in a prepared statement Friday.

As of mid-April, 68 wrongful-death or injury lawsuits have been dismissed or judgments entered in favor of Taser, according to the company. The company has not lost any product-liability lawsuits.

The attorney from the prosecutor's office representling the medical examiner said of the case:

"It was an interesting case and an uphill battle," said Manley. "Taser is quite a force to be reckoned with and does everything to protect their golden egg, which is the Model X26."

The full article is available online here: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Judge_orders_all_references_to_Taser_0504.html

kweli

09-05-2008, 09:11 AM

Linked to the post above.

Taser win in court puts chill on doctors
“It is dangerously close to intimidation,” says group representing medical examiners

A lawsuit by the makers of Taser stun guns has prompted an Ohio court to order a chief medical examiner to delete any reference to the use of a stun gun as a contributing factor in the deaths of three men, a move rebuked as "dangerously close to intimidation" by the National Association of Medical Examiners.

The outcome of the U.S. civil trial comes as the device is under scrutiny in Canada at an inquiry in British Columbia following the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver's airport in October after he was stunned by a Taser.

Taser, which has a reputation for vigorous legal defence of its popular law-enforcement products, filed a lawsuit against Dr. Lisa Kohler, chief medical examiner in Summit County, Ohio, after she named the use of a stun gun as a contributing factor in three deaths in her jurisdiction.

The case went to trial last month and on Friday, Judge Ted Schneiderman ruled in Taser's favour.

Judge Schneiderman was explicit: "There is simply no medical, scientific, or electrical evidence to support the conclusion that the Taser X26 had anything to do with the death of Dennis S. Hyde, Richard Holcomb, or Mark D. McCullaugh."

"The multiple number of experts offered by [Taser International] in the area of sudden and unexpected death while law enforcement attempted to obtain custody, provided overwhelming credible medical and scientific evidence to support their positions."

Judge Schneiderman then ordered Dr. Kohler to change her official autopsy reports and death certificates for each of the three men.

John Manley, chief counsel of civil litigation in the Summit County Prosecutor's Office, said he is disappointed with the judgment. He is considering filing an appeal. He said defending against Taser was a daunting task.

"They are very vigilant, as you would expect a corporation to be who is making a product that makes so much money for you.

"They have a record of 68 and 0 -- they've never lost and are quite a force to be reckoned with," he said.

Jeffrey Jentzen, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, an organization that represents the majority of medical examiners in the United States, said the court's ruling and Taser's legal propensity is sending an unwelcome message to medical examiners.

"Our membership is very concerned about these cases and the reaction of Taser to these cases," he said last night.

"Our membership is looking into the area and although Taser has developed its own opinion, there are certainly opposing opinions as to their involvement in causing sudden death in individuals.

"Our organization feels that it violates the physician's ability to make a medical decision. Ordering a professional physician to change or alter their records is in violation of their right to practise medicine.

"Taser has sued a number of medical examiners for making informed medical opinions in an attempt, I think, to both protect their product and send a threatening message to medical examiners.

"It is dangerously close to intimidation," he said. "They are attempting to send a message to medical examiners that if they elect to make that determination they may face a civil suit."

Steve Tuttle, Taser's vice-president of communications, said he was surprised by Dr. Jentzen's comments, disagrees with them and defended the company's decision to seek redress appropriately through the courts.

"I would disagree with that premise completely. At the end of the day, the judge's ruling is very, very crystal clear," Mr. Tuttle said.

In a previous statement, Mr. Tuttle said: "Taser International remains adamant in our position of not settling suspect injury or death lawsuits.

"Taser International's products have been demonstrated by numerous medical studies to be safe and effective. Taser International therefore aggressively defends our products in all litigation brought against the company with the best legal, scientific and medical expertise available."

Taser has faced more than 100 product liability suits, according to the company's filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. stock market regulator. The company's report lists wrongful deaths, training-related injuries to officers and injuries during arrests as being among the claims alleged.

There have been at least 10 training-injury lawsuits filed against Taser since 2003, according to the company. They include one by an RCMP officer who suffered a back injury after a voluntary Taser strike, he claims. Officers are encouraged to experience a Taser shot as part of their training, the lawsuit says.

A majority of lawsuits against it have been dismissed and several have brought judgments in Taser's favour.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=499151

accuracy

10-05-2008, 08:24 AM

University of Florida student Tasered at Kerry forum

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/6bVa6jn4rpE/default.jpg

a local source at http://www.gainesvillesun.com/taser...Taser tasered kerry UF University of Florida student college arrest police violence

University of Florida student Tasered at Kerry forum - YouTube

accuracy

22-05-2008, 11:50 AM

Heart experts warn Tasers deadly

Suzanne Fournier, The Province
Published: Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Tasers can cause fatal cardiac arrest and are even more dangerous if the subject is agitated, stressed and experiencing pain from the high-voltage device, two top Vancouver heart specialists said Tuesday.

Dr. Michael Janusz, a heart surgeon at Vancouver General Hospital and UBC told the Braidwood Inquiry into Taser use Tuesday that "Tasers almost certainly can cause cardiac arrest in humans, particularly in people with underlying heart disease."

Janusz told retired judge Tom Braidwood that the risk of dying after being Tasered is similar to the chances of dying after major heart surgery.

http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/eec3adc1-7c27-4a80-ab19-a08ab095007b/taser.jpg

Janusz quoted San Francisco cardiologist Dr. Zian Tseng's findings of about "1.4 per cent mortality for individuals subdued by police using a Taser.. (which) is similar to the mortality risk of a coronary artery bypass operation."

And Dr. Charles Kerr, a "cardiac electrophysiologist" at St. Paul's and UBC, said that police should routinely carry defibrillators if they plan to employ Tasers and should be trained to initiate resuscitation after using the Taser on someone who is then unresponsive.

Kerr said that although the Taser may be "better than a bullet" and may have its place in policing, he is also concerned about the potential effect Tasering could have on the approximately 35,000 British Columbians who have either a pacemaker or an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).

Outside the inquiry, Janusz said he had viewed the bystander video of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski being Tasered at the Vancouver airport and dropping to the floor seconds later, jerking his legs spasmodically and then falling motionless.

"That was really awful, a tragedy," said Janusz.

The inquiry continues Tuesday afternoon with the evidence of a New Westminster police sergeant.

Braidwood is inquiring into Taser use by municipal police, sheriffs and corrections officers and in the fall, will hold a further inquiry into Dziekanski's death, once the RCMP investigations are complete.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=032125dd-c177-43e7-9de7-61d18518e40b

accuracy

02-06-2008, 12:06 PM

RCMP subdue hospitalized man, 82, with Taser

Last Updated: Friday, May 9, 2008
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/05/08/bc-kamloops-man-taser.html

An elderly man in Kamloops, B.C., was zapped three times on the torso by a police stun gun while lying on his hospital bed, CBC News has learned.

Frank Lasser, 82, appeared fragile Thursday when he showed the Taser marks on his body and talked about the ordeal he went through Saturday.

"They [police] should have known I had bypass surgery," Lasser told CBC News.

Lasser has had heart surgery and needs to carry an apparatus to supply oxygen at all times. He was in the Royal Inland Hospital Saturday due to pneumonia but has since been released.

http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2008/05/09/bc-080508-taser-kamloops2.jpg
Frank Lasser, 82, says RCMP officers could have subdued him without resorting to using a Taser gun. (CBC)

RCMP said nurses called police after Lasser became delirious and pulled a knife out of his pocket.

Lasser told CBC News that he sometimes becomes delusional when he can't breathe properly. He said he couldn't explain why he refused to let go of the knife even after the Mounties arrived.

"I was laying on the bed by then and the corporal came in, or the sergeant, I forget which it was, and said to the guys, 'OK, get him because we got more important work to do on the street tonight,'" Lasser said.

http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2008/05/09/bc-080508-taser-kamloops1.jpg
Frank Lasser shows the marks left on his body after being stunned three times by a Taser. (CBC)

"And then, bang, bang, bang, three times with the laser, and I tell you, I never want that again."

Kamloops RCMP said Thursday that officers had no other option but to deploy the conducted energy weapon when Lasser refused to drop his knife.

http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2008/05/09/bc-080508-taser-kamloops3.jpg
Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Scott Wilson said using pepper spray in the Lasser case could have contaminated the hospital. (CBC)

"Whether the person is 80 or 20, we are dealing with a person who had a deadly weapon in their hand," Cpl. Scott Wilson told CBC News.

"We could not deploy our … pepper spray, because we could potentially contaminate the entire hospital."

Lasser said there were three RCMP officers in his hospital room and believes they could have easily handled him without the use of a Taser.

"They could have gone in there and taken an old man without any trouble at all," said Lasser, who is an ex-prison guard.

accuracy

02-06-2008, 12:31 PM

Off-duty Cop Uses Taser on Man Holding His Newborn Baby

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/e6vBVUusmP0/default.jpg

Guard Uses Taser on Man Holding Newborn
By JUAN A. LOZANO Tue Aug 14
HOUSTON - In a confrontation captured on videotape, a hospital security guard fired a stun gun to stop a defiant father from taking home his newborn, sending both man and child crashing to the floor. Now William Lewis says his baby girl suffers from head trauma because she was dropped.

"I've got to wonder what kind of moron would Tase an adult holding a baby," said George Kirkham, a former police officer and criminologist at Florida State University. "It doesn't take rocket science to realize the baby is going to fall."

Lewis, 30, said the April 13 episode began after he and his wife felt mistreated by staff at the Woman's Hospital of Texas and they decided to leave. Hospital employees told him doctors would not allow it, but Lewis picked up the baby and strode to a bank of elevators.

The elevators would not move because wristband sensors on each baby shut them off if anyone takes an infant without permission.

Lewis, who gave the video to The Associated Press, said his daughter landed on her head, but it cannot be seen on the video. He said the baby continues to suffer ill effects from the fall.

"She shakes a lot and cries a lot," Lewis said, noting doctors have performed several MRIs on the child, Karla. "She's not real responsive. Something is definitely wrong with my daughter."...

Off-duty Cop Uses Taser on Man Holding His Newborn Baby - YouTube

kweli

02-06-2008, 12:40 PM

Off-duty Cop Uses Taser on Man Holding His Newborn Baby

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/e6vBVUusmP0/default.jpg

Guard Uses Taser on Man Holding Newborn
By JUAN A. LOZANO Tue Aug 14
HOUSTON - In a confrontation captured on videotape, a hospital security guard fired a stun gun to stop a defiant father from taking home his newborn, sending both man and child crashing to the floor. Now William Lewis says his baby girl suffers from head trauma because she was dropped.

"I've got to wonder what kind of moron would Tase an adult holding a baby," said George Kirkham, a former police officer and criminologist at Florida State University. "It doesn't take rocket science to realize the baby is going to fall."

Lewis, 30, said the April 13 episode began after he and his wife felt mistreated by staff at the Woman's Hospital of Texas and they decided to leave. Hospital employees told him doctors would not allow it, but Lewis picked up the baby and strode to a bank of elevators.

The elevators would not move because wristband sensors on each baby shut them off if anyone takes an infant without permission.

Lewis, who gave the video to The Associated Press, said his daughter landed on her head, but it cannot be seen on the video. He said the baby continues to suffer ill effects from the fall.

"She shakes a lot and cries a lot," Lewis said, noting doctors have performed several MRIs on the child, Karla. "She's not real responsive. Something is definitely wrong with my daughter."...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6vBVUusmP0

FFS!! that's sickening! :mad:

accuracy

09-06-2008, 11:35 AM

Police Kill Man In Taser Incident

Home Burglary Suspect Puts Up Fight

POSTED: 7:53 am MST June 7, 2008
UPDATED: 6:59 am MST June 8, 2008

PHOENIX -- Officers trying to arrest a home burglary suspect fatally shot him after he grabbed an officer's Taser and began shocking them, police said.

A homeowner who said someone was in his yard and rifling through items in his carport and shed called officers to the central Phoenix home near 7th Avenue and Thomas Road just after 3 a.m., Detective Stacie Derge said.

Police said they confronted the man, who was carrying two metal flowers stands that were about 3-feet long. Derge said the unidentified man refused to drop them or obey commands, and an officer shocked him with a Taser.

The man pulled the Taser probes from his body and began fighting with two officers in the front yard, Derge said.

One of the officers fired his Taser but the man continued fighting and was able to grab the weapon from the officer, Derge said.

The man then fired the Taser at other officers, investigators said. A third officer arrived who saw the man still had the Taser and was fighting with the other two officers.

The third officer shot and killed the man, Derge said.

The officers were not seriously injured but received minor scrapes in the fight.

The homeowner stayed in the house and was not injured.

http://www.kpho.com/news/16537593/detail.html

accuracy

09-06-2008, 11:40 AM

Taser Loses 1st Product-Liability Suit; Jury Awards $6 Million

By Margaret Cronin Fisk

June 7 (Bloomberg) -- Taser International Inc., the largest stun-gun maker, lost a $6.2 million jury verdict over the death of a California man who died after police shot him multiple times with the weapon. The defeat is the first for Taser in a product- liability claim.

A San Jose, California, jury yesterday said Taser had failed to warn police in Salinas, California, that prolonged exposure to electric shock from the device could cause a risk of cardiac arrest. The jury awarded $1 million in compensatory damages and $5.2 million in punitive damages to the estate of Robert Heston, 40, and his parents. The jury cleared the police officers of any liability.

Taser previously won two trials, one over claims by a police officer injured in a training accident and the other involving a death in custody. Taser has settled at least 10 cases involving injuries to police officers during training, company lawyer Doug Klint told Bloomberg News last year. Taser said it will appeal the verdict.

``Certainly, this was a tragedy for the Heston family as well as for the officers involved,'' Klint said in a statement today. ``We, however, do not feel that the verdict is supported by the facts.''

Shot Multiple Times

The compensatory damage verdict will be reduced by the jury's finding that Heston was 85 percent responsible for his death, said family attorney John Burton. `That affects the compensatory damages, but not the punitives,'' he said in an interview.

``I think Taser's going to have to rethink its litigation strategy and its warning policies,'' Burton said. The jury awarded $5 million in punitive damages to Heston's parents and $200,000 in punitives to his estate.

Heston died on Feb. 20, 2005, after his father had called Salinas police because his son was ``acting strangely,'' and seemed to be on drugs, according to the lawsuit complaint. Salinas police shot Heston multiple times with the stun-gun, continuing to discharge their Tasers into him until he stopped moving, the lawsuit claims.

Heston went into cardiac arrest and died, his family said.

His parents sued Taser, alleging failure to warn of the dangers of the weapon, and Salinas police officers, claiming excessive force. The jury ``exonerated the police because they said the police didn't know repeated exposures could kill someone,'' Burton said.

Use of the Taser on Heston didn't cause his death, Klint said. Heston fit ``the well established symptom pattern for methamphetamine intoxication and associated excited delirium,'' a condition linked to sudden death in custody, Klint said.

The lawsuit is Heston v. City of Salinas, C 05-03658 JW, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).

To contact the reporters on this story: Margaret Cronin Fisk in Southfield, Michigan, at mcfisk@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 7, 2008 12:44 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aYJitFRQLpZk&refer=us

accuracy

18-06-2008, 11:10 AM

One-third of people shot by Taser need medical attention: probe

Tue Jun 17, 10:15 PM
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/080617/canada/canada_taser_injuries

About one in three people shot with a Taser by the RCMP receive injuries that require medical attention, according to a joint investigation by CBC News/Radio-Canada and the Canadian Press.

The media outlets, which analyzed the Taser-use forms RCMP officers are required to fill out if they draw a stun gun, examined reports from 2002 to 2007. According to the data, 28 per cent, or 910 of the 3,226 people who were shot, had to go to a medical facility.

But a detailed examination of the forms revealed that many more people are injured, yet never see a doctor.

In three years worth of reports obtained under Access to Information legislation, people suffered injuries including burns, puncture wounds from the probes, and head wounds from falling. In many cases, however, the person was not taken for medical treatment.

More recent forms had the sections on injuries blacked out. The investigation suggests some of those incidents resulted in injuries that are not included in the 28 per cent figure.

For example, in one incident report, a person shot with a Taser suffered "burn marks from touch stun mode" but was not examined at a medical facility.

In another example, a person suffered "multiple skin burns where Taser came into contact with subject while fighting with police" but he was not taken to be examined.

RCMP Public Complaints Commissioner Paul Kennedy noted this failure in an interim report last fall on stun gun use by the force.

Dr. Paul Dorian, a cardiologist and a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, said police officers need to assume they may hurt someone when they use a Taser and treat all injuries seriously.

He conducted a study on pigs on the effects on the heart of Taser shocks and found multiple hits with a stun gun can cause heart stress.

"If there is injury and illness, as a physician, I would have to say those people, even if they are accused criminals, should be taken care of," he said.

Police association wants all officers to have Tasers

The Canadian Police Association stands by stun gun use. President Tony Cannavino said the association would like to see every police officer in Canada armed with a Taser and that there is enough evidence to show that Tasers save lives.

"They have to get the proper training, and also not only the proper training, there should be consistency across Canada about the training and the fact that they should also be requalified every two years."

The CBC investigation into Taser use has also found that RCMP officers are likely to fire their electronic stun guns multiple times during an altercation, despite a policy that warns it may pose health risks.

Kennedy is scheduled to release a highly anticipated final report on the use of stun guns by Mounties on Wednesday. He was to release it last week, but that was delayed until this Wednesday at the request of Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day.

The delay reportedly resulted from a last-minute call late Wednesday from the minister's office requesting a meeting with Kennedy.

adzboarder

19-06-2008, 05:23 PM

Tasering a man carrying his child is way over the top, EXCESSIVE force. The baby would have been electrocuted too in addition to falling and could have been killed.

Thats the thing when they give lethal weapons to fucking fools.

sithnemesis

14-07-2008, 11:37 PM

adzboarder

14-07-2008, 11:45 PM

I didn't agree for my council tax to pay for fucking robot killing machine police officers, I would far prefer a real bobby on the beat who'll give you a clip round the ear if you misbehave.

It's so oppressive walking around public areas, cctv everywhere, phone-masts and then these guys. Sick.

sithnemesis

23-08-2008, 07:43 PM

:eek:

sithnemesis

23-08-2008, 11:04 PM

sithnemesis

23-08-2008, 11:09 PM

:mad:

deafbred

24-08-2008, 12:06 AM

I can only ask God for guidence

this world can't guide itself

this world refuses to let me guide myself

I only ask God for a view of his own

PEACE is all there is for me

its all I know

knowledge of this world offers no peace

it's doomed to pass away in all the actions of its stray

deafbred

24-08-2008, 01:48 AM

You know that Bono U2 song Beautiful Day?
Lyrics go like this..

The heart is a bloom, shoots up through stony ground
But there's no room, no space to rent in this town
You're out of luck and the reason that you had to care,
The traffic is stuck and you're not moving anywhere.
You thought you’d found a friend to take you out of this place
Someone you could lend a hand in return for grace

It's a beautiful day,
the sky falls And you feel like
it's a beautiful day,
Don’t let it get away

You’re on the road but you’ve got no destination
You’re in the mud, in the maze of her imagination
You love this town even if that doesn’t ring true
You’ve been all over and it’s been all over you

It's a beautiful day,
Don't let it get away
It's a beautiful day,

Touch me, take me to that other place
Teach me love, I know I’m not a hopeless case

See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by cloud
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light
See the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colours came out

It was a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
A beautiful day

Touch me, take me to that other place
Reach me, I know I'm not a hopeless case

What you don’t have you don’t need it now
What you don’t know you can feel it somehow
What you don’t have you don’t need it now
You don’t need it now

http://www.bonoglasses.com/

Yeh ...um...put this song to a video of taser video's showing people being brutaly getting tased up by some facsist COP

sithnemesis

24-08-2008, 03:33 PM

:( :mad:

sithnemesis

24-08-2008, 03:34 PM

:( :mad:

sithnemesis

24-08-2008, 03:35 PM

:( :mad:

sithnemesis

24-08-2008, 03:59 PM

accuracy

20-11-2008, 08:19 AM

Police silence on man's death after they shot him with a Taser

Dylan Welch Police Reporter
November 20, 2008

A MAN died of a heart attack after being repeatedly shot with a Taser in one of the first uses of the weapon in NSW, but police omitted it from official records, including on the man's death certificate.

Gary Pearce, a violent, mentally-ill 56-year-old, died about two weeks after being shot with a stun gun when he threatened police with a frying pan in May 2002.

http://i438.photobucket.com/albums/qq103/Accuracy_01/wilcox_taser_narrowweb__300x3080.jpg

The link between his death and his being shot by a Taser could have been used as evidence of the risks of the controversial weapon, but was only made public by the NSW Ombudsman on Tuesday.

The Police Commissioner, Andrew Scipione, yesterday admitted he only learned of the Taser link on Tuesday night, when he was given a copy of a scathing report by the Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour, into the use of stun guns.

The revelation comes on the back of a growing body of international research that draws links between the weapon and a series of deaths.

In North America the debate has been particularly fierce, with two recent reports stating there had been 18 deaths in Canada and 150 in the US in recent years involving stun guns.

The NSW Ombudsman's report, released yesterday, studied the use of the weapon by two specialist police units between 2002 and last year. It found there were potential risks in giving the weapon to general duties police, which happened last month.

The report was also critical of police procedures and called for a two-year moratorium on any further roll-out of the weapons pending an independent review of their safety.

In a bid to assuage community concern, police fitted the guns with a camera on the stock, which automatically records when the gun is drawn.

In May, the then police minister, David Campbell, did not wait for the release of the Ombudsman's report before widening the weapon's use.

"The Government is about making decisions, not necessarily about sitting around waiting for reports," Mr Campbell said.

But it is the report that police and Mr Campbell ignored that has brought to light the most worrying incident involving a Taser since it was introduced to specialist police in 2002.

Mr Pearce, a schizophrenic with a violent history, had barricaded himself inside his inner-west Sydney home.

The tactical response group, issued with Tasers only months before, broke in and fired a stun gun at him when he threatened them with a frying pan.

"It failed to have the proper effect and the man continued to aggressively resist police," the Ombudsman's report stated.

Officers fired the gun again but missed. They fired a third time by pushing it into the man as he lay on the floor struggling.

Mr Pearce was taken to Canterbury Hospital and treated for his mental condition and injuries. According to the Ombudsman's report, 12 days later Mr Pearce was released from care but suffered a heart attack and died as he walked along a Lakemba street.

Emergency officers - including police - were at his death.

"The death certificate and police records relating to the death did not mention that the man had been subject to a Taser application," the report states.

Mr Pearce, a heavy smoker, had a long-term heart disease, a thyroid problem and Hepatitis C.

In the Ombudsman's report it is noted that the groups most at-risk from Tasers are older people and those with heart problems.

"Given the widespread concern that has been documented about Taser use on people with health problems, and in particular heart conditions, it is worth noting the circumstances in which this man was subjected to the Taser application and his subsequent death," the report states.

Police challenge the Ombudsman version of events, saying Mr Pearce died 17, not 12, days after the barricade incident and that he was stunned only once, with the first two shots failing.

"Police were satisfied at that time that doctors discounted any link to the use of a Taser, and continue to hold that view," police said in an emailed statement yesterday. "There is no published report that suggests the use of a Taser is responsible."

Yesterday Mr Scipione said he had only learnt of the link on Tuesday night, but the Herald later confirmed that police were handed a draft report in August.

■ Police yesterday shot dead an armed robbery suspect in Adelaide. The man was shot after he confronted police at a house in Parafield Gardens, police said.

with AAP

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/police-silent-on-taser-death/2008/11/19/1226770542452.html

accuracy

21-11-2008, 10:12 AM

Son tasered while carrying father's coffin

November 20, 2008

A North Carolina sheriff's official has apologised for plunging a funeral into chaos when undercover agents tried to arrest the dead man's son - and used a stun gun on him in the process.

It happened as the coffin was being loaded into a hearse. The officers planned to quietly arrest pallbearer Gladwyn Taft Russ III.

Relatives said two deputies dressed in coats and ties grabbed Russ and kneed him in his back before using the stun gun on him. One deputy's gun fell out of its holster.

Russ's sister, Taffy Gause, said when she got out of the car a deputy "was waving a gun at me and my mom and yelling to get back or he was going to shoot". She said some mourners went home instead of going to the cemetery.

Russ, 42, had failed to surrender after being charged with threatening his ex-wife who lives in another state, officials said. Following his father's death on November 11, Russ agreed to surrender after the funeral.

When deputies approached Russ during the funeral on Saturday, he "went wild" and spat on the officers, said chief deputy Ed McMahon.

McMahon said the officers should have waited until after the cemetery service.

"It was never my intention to create any more problems for the family, and I am truly sorry and apologise for that," he said.

McMahon said the officers pointed stun guns at people because the crowd was moving toward them.

Russ was charged with assault on a government official, resisting an officer, disorderly conduct and felony malicious conduct by a prisoner.

"Everybody was so scared. We thought it was a drug deal gone bad," said Ronnie Simmons, a pallbearer and Russ's brother-in-law. "We almost dropped the casket."

AP

accuracy

21-12-2008, 07:40 AM

Officer not Taser trained

December 21, 2008

A junior police officer who shot a knife-wielding woman in western Sydney was not qualified to use a Taser stun gun, despite the weapon being available at her police station.

Police said they were called to an address on Iron St in North Parramatta about 1.30am (AEDT) today after reports a woman was threatening a man with a knife.

When police arrived, it's alleged officers were themselves threatened by the woman.

Police failed to subdue the woman with capsicum spray, and when she allegedly attacked them again, a female officer fired a number of gunshots, police said.

The 48-year-old woman was seriously injured and was taken to Westmead Hospital where she remains in a serious but stable condition.

The 23-year-old man was taken to the same hospital and treated for a neck laceration, sustained in the initial confrontation.

It is not known whether the pair knew each other but both were local residents.

Acting Assistant Commissioner and Acting North-West Region Commander Karen Webb said no officers on duty at Parramatta Local Area Command that night were trained to use tasers.

"There weren't officers on duty last night that were trained in the Taser ... and certified," Assistant Commissioner Webb told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.

"Tasers have been issued to each of the 80 local area commands across the state and it's a question of those police that have been trained and certified being available at the time to be able to use them."

Assistant Commissioner Webb would not comment on how many times the gun was fired or where the woman was shot, except to say the situation escalated quickly.

"Police have a range of tactical options and they had already tried to use capsicum spray but that had failed to subdue the woman," she said.

"The situation escalated so quickly that the options that were taken at the time were based on the circumstances at the time."

The matter is now being investigated by a critical incident team and the policewoman is expected to return to duty soon.

"She's gone home to rest as she was on night shift and there's no indication that she won't be returning to duty in the near future," Asst Comm Webb said.

AAP

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/officer-not-taser-trained/2008/12/21/1229794234841.html

accuracy

25-12-2008, 03:08 AM

Johann Hari: Tasers are an outrage we must resist

We are moving to a culture of widespread assault by electricity

Monday, 22 December 2008

http://www.independent.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00105/Taser_105801t.jpg

Daniel Sylvester can't forget the night the police fired 50,000 volts of electricity into his skull. The 46-year-old grandfather owns his own security business, and he was recently walking down the street when a police van screeched up to him.

He didn't know what they wanted, but obeyed when they told him to approach slowly. "I then had this incredible jolt of pain on the back of my head," he explains. The electricity made him spasm; as he fell to the ground, he felt his teeth scatter on the tarmac and his bowels open. "Then they shot me again in the head. I can't describe the pain." (Another victim says it is "like someone reached into my body to rip my muscles apart with a fork.") The police then saw he was not the person they were looking for, said he was free to go, and drove off.

This did not happen in Egypt or Saudi Arabia or any other country notorious for using electro-shock weapons. It happened in north London and, if the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, has her way, it will be coming soon to a street near you. In Britain there are 3,000 police officers trained to use Tasers as part of specialised armed response units, but Smith has fired a jolt forward. She wants there to be 30,000 Taser-carrying officers, authorised to use them against unarmed citizens, including children. These "stun-guns" fire small metal darts into your skin, and through the trailing wires run an agonising electric current through your body.

Smith is right to say that the police face a growing threat of violence, and these heroic frontline officers must have the means to defend themselves. She's also right to argue it better to use a Taser than to use a gun. But the police can already swiftly call out armed response teams, equipped with Tasers and firearms. If we move beyond this to a widespread culture of assault by electricity, it will only endanger the police – and the rest of us.

Smith wants Tasers to be distributed well beyond the ranks of specially trained firearms officers, but Tasers can kill. Amnesty International has just published a report showing that, since 2001, 334 people have died in the US during or just after Tasering. Jarrel Gray was a partially deaf 20-year-old black man involved in an argument in the street in Frederick County, Maryland, when the police approached him and ordered him to lie on the ground. He didn't hear them – so they Tasered him. As he lay paralysed on the ground, they told him to show his hands. He couldn't obey. They Tasered him again. Jarrel died in hospital two hours later.

Ryan Rich was a 33-year-old medical doctor who had an epileptic seizure while driving his car on a Nevada highway. He crashed into the side of the road. The police smashed a window to get into the car and Ryan woke up, startled. The police officer reacted by Tasering him repeatedly. Only when they were handcuffing him did they notice he was turning blue. He was dead before he got to hospital. The coroner noted dryly that the Taser "probably contributed" to his death. Taser International's brochures claim their weapons have "no after-effects."

There may, in fact, be even more deaths than are recorded. Taser International has responded to medical examiners saying their weapons kill not by changing their weapons, but by suing the medical examiners. After the chief medical examiner of Summit Country, Ohio, ruled that Tasering caused the death of three young men, they sued her, and she was forced to remove the conclusions from her reports. The president of the National Association of Medical Examiners says Taser International's behaviour is "dangerously close to intimidation".

Yet Smith appears still to be taking the corporate propaganda of Taser International – who dominate the international stun-gun market – at face value. The company are startlingly glib when their spiel begins to crumble. A recent scientific study conducted by biomedical engineers for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation found that nine per cent of the guns give a far larger electric shock than advertised. Some sent a 58 per cent higher voltage through the victim's body. Steve Tuttle, the vice-president of Taser, responded: "Regardless of whether or not the anomaly is accurate, it has no bearing on safety." The UK Defence Scientific Advisory Council has warned there is research suggesting that Tasers could cause "a serious cardiac event" when fired at children. But still Smith won't compromise.

Everyday on-the-beat policing does n0t happen in the tightly controlled scenarios imagined by the Home Office. It is messy and scrappy and carried out at high speed by people who are frightened and coursing with adrenaline: some 90 per cent of Tasered people in the US are unarmed. Matthew Fogg, who led a SWAT team in the US, warns that Tasers create a culture where "if I don't like you, I can torture you".

If we slip into that policing culture, mistrust and violence against police officers can only increase. That's why so many senior police are highly sceptical about Smith's plans, from the former head of the Flying Squad, John O'Connor, to the former head of the West Midlands Police, Barry Mason.

Far from lowering violence, Tasers seem to lower the threshold that by which the police resort to violence – and criminals respond by lowering theirs. In the US, a 16-year-old schoolboy was Tasered by cops in a playground for "using profanity"; a dementia-riddled man in his eighties was shocked for urinating in the park; 50,000 volts were fired at a 17-year-old boy who had fallen off an overpass and broken his back.

The Metropolitan Police have said they won't participate in Smith's Taser roll-out because they know it'll be particularly disastrous for relations with black and Asian communities. In the US, only 18 per cent of Tasered people are white. Imagine if the boys in Brixton and Moss Side weren't just been stopped-and-searched – which creates enough grievance – but apprehended in this way. How many Taser attacks would have to make it onto YouTube before we have riots?

Daniel Sylvester still has nightmares about what happened to him. If we don't stop Jacqui Smith, many more British people will be joining him – and we will all be in for a shock.

j.hari@independent.co.uk

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/letters/johann-hari-tasers-are-an-outrage-we-must-resist-1207401.html