Dog Dies After Taser Shocks (No coke in its system, no comment fm Taser)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

http://www.wweek.com/story.php?story=6501

A healthy 50-pound male pit bull died last month after Portland cops shot it repeatedly with taser stun-guns, the city's first canine fatality involving the weapons. Police insist the tasers didn't kill the dog; rather, they say it died from "over-excitement" after multiple 50,000-volt zaps.

<snip>

Oregon State University's veterinary lab performed a necropsy on the dog. A preliminary report concludes the pit bull died from circulatory collapse but reaches no judgment on whether repeated taser shocks killed it. To Jackson, the idea that a healthy dog just happened to die after being tasered is tough to swallow.

"If you can't say definitively that it played no role, then you have to say that you can't rule it out," Jackson says. "You can't say the dog died of stress when the 800-pound gorilla in the room is what caused the stress."

Police will not release the incident report on the visit to Palfoss' apartment, citing privacy restrictions. Taser International did not respond to several requests for comment.

<snip>

New Human Deaths after Taser

Suspect (17 year old) Dies 2 Days After Being Stunned 3 Times With Taser Gun : http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=3589140&nav=0s3dc5b6

Mayor halts use of Tasers by police (after taser victim dies)

" Police said Rockey Bryson was hit with the Taser after he tried to escape while a jail nurse checked on him.

The family disagrees that Bryson tried to escape and says he was hit 20 to 30 times with the stun gun. They said they had to bury him in a long-sleeve shirt because of visible damage to his arms. "

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1121246819244200.xml&coll=2&thispage=2

Please no flames, I'm not anti police, this isn't about gun control, it's about what I see as a product being sold as "non lethal" when it's not and the way this thing lends itself to abuse.

[Horse with no Name]

1. I'm not sure what I hate most--Pit Bulls or Tasers

IMHO, they are both unregulated weapons.:shrug:

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

6. I've never owned one, but my Sis just adopted one that was dropped

at her door as a pup...

I worry for her kids, but she's great with animals and I'm sure the pup will be raised in a gentle manner.

[etherealtruth]

7. I agree ...

except I would add the word "LETHAL."

[bullimiami]

2. thats the same thing that happens when you shoot someone with a bullet

its not the bullet, its the overexitement that kills them.

novel.


Its not only the pit bulls, its the owners. Ive known plenty of normal people with sweet natured pit bulls.

[MidwestTransplant]

3. Nah couldn't have been the Taser

I once saw something spontaneously combust too ;)

[prole_for_peace]

4. "...died from "over-excitement" after multiple 50,000-volt zaps"

they say it didn't die from the tasers but that line says they were a cause of its death.

[catnhatnh]

5. To late Cop-Hater....

...they will be all over you soon....(Snarf)

[Nikia]

8. Doesn't 50,000 volts cause overexcitement?

When I was shocked at work (not sure how many volts), my heart sped up for a short time afterwards. Yes it could have sped up from stress or excercise, but electricity can cause a physiological response too. It is possible that the dog being stressed caused his heart rate to further escalate, but it is also possible that subsequent shocks caused that too.
When I had panic aatacks, I was told that it is impossible to die from a panic attack, which is a severe acute anxiety attack. Can dogs die of stress alone?

[MisterP]

9. introducing New Bad Cops: now racist in two species!

will they insist the dog had "special neck arteries" too?

[nashbridges]

10. It's more likely to be non-lethal...

If the damn thing is used correctly. 20 to 30 times on a human, or several times on a dog, is not how they are supposed to be used.

It's like saying "I hit someone with a bat to make them stop attacking somebody else" but "it was that 40th hit that killed him."

I was in New Orleans for Mardi Gras about a decade ago and saw first hand what a hit from a taser can do (then I don't think they had the guns, but they had the handheld stun units). Even a perfectly healthy and drunk frat boy hits the ground in record time.

They might not always be non-lethal, but if my choice is between a taser or a bullet, I'd rather risk the taser. Where the problem seems to come from is that these people aren't being told tasers CAN be lethal, so they're more likely to use them in an inappropriate manner. Training is very important.

Remember, even a frozen turkey leg is lethal if you hit someone enough times with it. Both of those situations sound like:

Overexcited Cop + "non-lethal weapon" = death.