Heart expert warns about using Tasers

[RamboLiberal]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/01/05/BAGOGAL4CS17.DTL

When 50,000 volts of electricity from a Taser surge across the body, it can instantly incapacitate a person -- more safely than a blow from a police baton or a blast of pepper spray, its manufacturer contends.

But cardiologists are concerned that, in certain cases, the device might also interrupt the rhythm of the human heart, throwing it into a potentially fatal chaotic state known as ventricular fibrillation.

Rather than pump blood in sequence through its four chambers, a heart in ventricular fibrillation writhes uncontrollably, wiggling like a bag of worms. It is a common cause of sudden death.

Dr. Zian Tseng, a cardiologist at UCSF, believes Tasers are potentially dangerous because a jolt of electricity, at just the right moment in the heartbeat cycle, can trigger ventricular fibrillation.

He ought to know. He uses a precisely timed jolt to throw the hearts of his patients into ventricular fibrillation on a regular basis.

[snooper2]

1. it's not the voltage, it's the amps you have to worry about...

Anybody know how many milliamperes a taser puts out?

[michaelj1978]

2. tasers

When the only other alternative is a gun, I'd take a tasering any day. I'd also rather be tasered than shot with mace/pepper spray.

[hinachan]

16. Taser? No, thanks!

I have chronic latent tetany (think of it as something like epilepsy, so I can skip a long-winded explanation), and lemme tell you, if someone hit me with that much juice, I'd be in the hospital. I'm still suffering the aftereffects of ONE session of electroacupuncture, which uses a very tiny electrical "jolt".

The pain clinic I went to said they often have refugees from acupuncture clinics.

Something to think about before you sing the praises of tasers.... :(

[Kagemusha]

3. I had my girlfriend run me through the physics of electricity.

The amps won't run through the body properly if there's not sufficient voltage, so how many real amps as opposed to potential amps actually run through the body, actually has a lot to do with voltage, which is relative charge (to a human being who usually has two feet planted on the ground (and is therefore literally and figuratively grounded) when he's hit mind you).

Sure, it's the amps that kill you, once they get in. But voltage beats down the front door.

[Historic NY]

4. 3 milliamperes

The Taser (Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle) is a device that shoots 2-4 darts from a shotgun charge up to 15 feet. The darts are connected to the weapon by wires through which 50,000 volts at 3 milliamperes at 10-15 cycles/second are delivered (about 0.8 Joules of energy).
There specs show 2.1 millamperes, it depends on the model.

[BiggJawn]

11. "Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle" What????

As in "Tom Swift and his Amazing Masturbation Machine" or "Tom Swift and his Rocket Plane"?

That's just fucking SICK.

Easier for the Murkan Sheeple to accept than the more accurate name of STOCK PROD or CATTLE PROD, I guess...

[m0nkeyneck]

5. prolly safer than a bullet

[w4rma]

10. Yes. But this is important because police are *being trained* to think

that tasers are safe even on heart patients. Police must be taught more RESPECT for this weapon and for the folks whom they may have to use it on. They also need to know *when* to call for medical attention and they need to be able to give this information to the doctors *when* something goes wrong.

[daa]

6. There have been several deaths in Georgia

after victums had a Taser used on them in police custody.

[struggle4progress]

7. Coroner Mulls Role Of Stun Guns In Suspect's Death

Police, Jailers Shocked Man Accused Of Killing Pastor
POSTED: 6:15 pm EST January 5, 2005

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Marion County coroner is trying to determine if stun guns might have contributed to the death of a man accused of killing a Whiteland minister.

Police and jailers twice used Taser stun guns to shock David J. Cooper, who died last week while in state custody at Wishard Memorial Hospital in Indianapolis.


Relatives say Cooper, 40, suffered from heart problems, according to attorney George Hoffman.

Chief Deputy Coroner John Linehan said there was not enough data on the effects of stun guns to draw firm conclusions, but the two instances in which officers used a stun gun on Cooper were "absolutely" a consideration. <snip>

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/4051579/detail.html


Taser victim's family likely to file lawsuit
Oakland 'Riders' attorney retained.
By Ethan Fletcher | Staff Writer
Published on Wednesday, January 5, 2005

PACIFICA -- The San Mateo County District Attorney's office continues to co-investigate two officer-involved deaths that occurred on Sunday, while the Pacifica Police Department faces a likely lawsuit from one victim's family.

The family of 30-year-old Greg Saulsbury, who died at Seton Medical Center after getting shocked at least once by Pacifica police with a Taser gun Sunday night, retained the services of Oakland attorney John Burris.

Burris, who represented plaintiffs in the infamous Oakland "Riders" class-action lawsuit, said he agreed to take the case after talking with Saulsbury's family Tuesday.

"The whole issue about Tasers has been a matter of public discussion for some time," Burris said. "I think in this case they were inappropriately used. I've talked to the family, and they told me what happened, and I'm not generally impressed with the officers' version." <snip>

http://www.sfexaminer.com/article/index.cfm/i/010505n_taser


Woman dies in police custody
Three agencies launch probe into what caused death of Palmdale resident who earlier resisted arrest
By Darcy Ellis
Tuesday, January 4, 2005 11:04 AM PST

Why a woman led California Highway Patrol officers on a high-speed pursuit, resisted arrest and later died in law enforcement custody are just some of the troubling questions Inyo County investigators are faced with this week.

The death early Wednesday morning of 46-year-old Palmdale resident Jeanne Hamilton was a shocking end to a four-hour confrontation with local authorities, who described Hamilton's behavior during the episode as erratic and "irrational." Her resistance to officers and their demands, according to a press release from the Inyo County Sheriff's Department, required her to be pepper sprayed and tasered on two separate occasions.

Whether the use of pepper spray and the taser on Hamilton contributed to her death is unknown at this time. An autopsy was to be conducted at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Orange County Coroner's Office to determine a cause of death. Results of the post-mortem exam won't be available for about 14 days.

Because the case is still under investigation, Undersheriff Jack Goodrich declined to speculate Thursday on the hows or whys of the incident. <snip>

http://www.inyoregister.com/articles/2005/01/04/news/6new01.txt


Jarring death rate fuels flap over police, Tasers
Despite 17 Florida fatalities since 2000, officers back their use.
By Dani Davies, Antigone Barton
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Sunday, January 02, 2005

Shouting gibberish and flailing furiously in a hotel lobby, Gordon Randall Jones went down after police shot him in the back with a Taser. He was shot about a dozen more times before police subdued him enough to load him into an ambulance, where he died on the way to the hospital.

Jones' death in 2002 was one of at least 17 Taser-related deaths in Florida since 2000, the most in the nation, according to published reports.

In the wake of three Florida deaths following Taser hits last month, including one in Delray Beach less than two weeks ago, law-enforcement officials continue to praise the weapons while human-rights advocates call for a moratorium on their use.

Controversy over Tasers, which are intended to disable but not harm violent subjects, is unlikely to be easily or quickly resolved. It includes questions of police safety and use of force as well as slippery scientific hypotheses. <snip>

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/news/epaper/2005/01/02/w1a_TASER_0102.html


Man dies after struggle with police
Beacon Journal staff report

A man who broke into a Triplett Boulevard home died this morning after a struggle with Akron police officers as they tried to arrest him.

Police Lt. Sylvia Trundle said the man's identity won't be released pending notification of his family. It is not clear what caused his death. <snip>

Before struggling with the man, police used two Tasers but were unable to get the man under control, Trundle said. The man claimed to have a gun, but officers found no weapon.

Posted on Wed, Jan. 05, 2005
http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/10571974.htm


Fort Wayne won't buy stun guns for officers
Police chief cites safety concerns in decision on Tasers

FORT WAYNE (AP) -- Officials have decided against buying 83 Taser stun guns because of safety concerns, the city's police chief said.

However, the city might evaluate some of the weapons as part of a pilot program, said Fort Wayne Police Chief Rusty York.

"If all my questions about the safety were answered, I think this is a wonderful device for police. But, I've heard enough concerns and just want to be very careful with this," York said Tuesday.

The northeastern Indiana city had planned to spend an $86,000 Department of Justice grant to buy the stun guns early next year. York said he would decide within a few months whether to buy 12 Tasers to evaluate. <snip>

http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2004/12/30/local.20041230-sbt-MICH-E6-Fort_Wayne_won_t_buy.sto


Man killed after being tasered
12/29/2004 8:24 PM
By: Capital News 9 web staff

A Fort Myers, Florida man is dead after apparently being shocked by a taser gun.

Authorities said a recent struggle with Christopher Hernandez outside a convenience store led police to use the taser. Hernandez was a passenger in a car that Fort Myers deputies pulled over. Deputies said they attempted to arrest Hernandez, but he resisted.

But Hernandez's family and witnesses said different. They claim that the officers hit and kicked him. Then they say the deputies began to taze him to death.

And witnesses said when it was all said and done, the officers laughed about it.

http://www.capitalnews9.com/content/headlines/?ArID=110894&SecID=33

[UndergroundLight4]

8. How does the ray get into the heart?

I know that they blind people, but are these more powerful than the regular ones? Could a terrorist use this to blind pilots completely?

[BiggJawn]

9. "Taser", NOT "Laser"

:wtf:

[UndergroundLight4]

12. I didn't realize that cops had lasers yet...

It was always something I thought of happening in the future, but I suppose it is 2005.

[DS1]

13. My local police department has their phasers set on kill

[deminflorida]

14. It's an instrument that is easily abused.....

I understand that a middle aged black man was recently killed after the cops used a taser on him in order to break up a domestic dispute he was having with his wife in a Destin, Fl. mall parking lot.

It's now commonly being carried by Florida law enforcement on the streets.

This shit is out of hand, and it needs to be corrected.

[MisterLiberal]

15. Sorry

But if I have to face a cop with a 45 or a taser, I choose the taser.

[NickB79]

17. That's not the choice most police are taught to make

Police are NEVER trained to use tasers in situations where use of deadly force is required. People keep thinking a police officer equipped with a taser could shoot a criminal with a gun and stun him rather than kill him. If you draw a gun on a cop with both a taser and a Glock on his belt, he WILL reach for the Glock and put a bullet in you. That is what police are trained to do when confronted with that kind of situation, not use a taser. It's like saying it's better to get a flu shot than get your leg amputated: you never face this fictional either-or choice in the real world. Police are trained, erroneously, that tasers are not lethal, and that they can be used to incapacitate someone who in years past they would have been forced to take down with their hands.

If you faced a cop with bare hands and fought with him, he'd have to use a leg swipe to knock you down and handcuff you, or he could now taser you. Would you rather be knocked to the ground by a police officer, or tasered? I'd take my chances hitting pavement rather than take chances with 50,000 volts of electricity going through my body.

[NYC]

18. Why should either be used against fans running onto a football field?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1125248

[imenja]

19. kick