Evidence that Police Stun Guns Can Kill Mounts As Chicago Medical Examiner

[struggle4progress]

.. Rules Death Was Caused by Taser

Date Published: July 31, 2005
Source: Newsinferno.com News Staff

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

For example, using a number of sources, The Arizona Republic has compiled a list of 140 cases in the United States and Canada since 1999 where a death followed the use of a Taser stun gun. http://www.azcentral.com/specials/taser/#

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

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

http://www.newsinferno.com/storypages/7-31-2005~001.html

[dmkinsey]

1. I have occasional interaction

with our neighborhood "Community Police Officer" because I'm on the board of the neighborhood association.

Anyway, seems like every time I'm in the same room with this guy he says that he used or almost used his Taser on somebody.

I get the impression that the police love their little toy and use it as often as they can.
Seems like a cop-out too.

[wli]

2. it's true of all the "nonlethal weapons"

It seems the "nonlethal" tag is taken as a perpetual "fire at will" order.