Salinas Man Dies After Taser Shocks (Salinas CA)

[struggle4progress]

A 40-year-old Salinas man died Sunday, a day after struggling with police officers who used Taser guns to subdue him, police said.

Initially hospitalized in serious condition, Robert Clark Heston was pronounced dead around 7:30 p.m. <snip>

Officers left less than an hour later without making an arrest, only to be called back to the residence minutes later when Heston allegedly started assaulting his father.

Police zapped Heston with Tasers to bring him under control, but he continued to struggle with officers on the ground, police said.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2005/02/21/taser21.DTL

[struggle4progress]

1. Stun-gun maker hires police to tout weapon

Critics say practice could represent conflict of interest
Alan Gathright, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, February 21, 2005

The maker of a police stun gun associated with the deaths of 93 people, including several in Northern California, has hired hundreds of officers to peddle the electroshock device to law enforcement agencies in the Bay Area and across the nation.

Critics question whether Taser International's 263 police consultants, dubbed "master instructors,'' are making it clear to law enforcement agencies that they are working for the stun-gun maker or giving the impression that they represent their departments. Two months ago, a Minnesota officer quit after superiors found he had been moonlighting for Taser without their approval.

"When a police department contacts one of these master instructors for information or a demonstration, do they identify themselves as someone who's been paid by Taser International?" asked John Crew, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California. "The potential conflict of interest is huge.'' <snip>

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/21/MNGHUBERJ71.DTL

[havocmom]

2. Zapped him with TaserS? Plural? Story did not say how many were used

Gee, sounds like maybe some re-training just might be in order. How about one at a time instead of piling on?
:wtf:

[struggle4progress]

3. ... A Salinas man stunned by five police Taser guns died Sunday night ...

... in the intensive care unit at Natividad Medical Center, adding another page to the growing controversy over the immobilizing weapons ...

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/10960921.htm