It's no shock Taser use needs limits (AJC)

[struggle4progress]

Published on: 05/16/05

Did Gwinnett County deputies kill Frederick Williams when they hit him five times in 43 seconds with a hand-held Taser stun gun packing a 50,000-volt wallop? <snip>

However, if the Taser caused or contributed to Williams' heart attack — perhaps by interfering with electrical signals that regulate heart activity — there's no way to tell. The autopsy report by Dr. Stephen F. Dunton, the Gwinnett County medical examiner, notes that when electricity disrupts heart rhythms, it leaves no physical evidence.

"Microscopy of the heart therefore can neither confirm nor exclude a diagnosis of sudden cardiac death due to electrocution," Dunton writes, concluding that "the manner of death is ruled undetermined."

So, in the absence of physical proof, you're left to consider other forms of evidence. Williams was 31 years old, in good physical shape and played on his company's soccer team. In addition, the autopsy shows no sign of illegal drug use or pre-existing heart problem, all of which argues against death by natural causes. <snip>

http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/bookman/2005/051605.html