Taser killed man, pathologist finds (Sun-Times)

Chicago Sun-Times



http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-taser29.html

Here's an argument against both tasers and meth.

That's not to loaded is it. :eyes: Also since the pathologist says the Taser killed the man I guess it doesn't have any real bearing on anything. Why is it there?

Jay

Notice that while the coroner says he had a LETHAL dose of meth in his system, it was the taser that got the blame.

Also, the death's been ruled a homicide... but nobody's a suspect.

Typical CYA and CAB report.

Jay

It's a non-OD drug. While technically possible, it's virtually impossible. It can have effects such as hardening of the arteries (leading to stroke or heart attack), but does not directly cause overdose. A far more prevavlent side-effect is amphetamine psychosis, which is inevitable with prolonged use and causes good people to do terrible things.

BTW: I'm all for taser use, when used properly. My problem is that in too many cases they aren't used with good judgement.

If not, why not?

testing done on Tasers before they are allowed into the open. Ray Samuels, Newark NJ police chief said that Taser-type technology has a place in police work but he'd like to see the truth about it's safety first. Also, he is genuinly concered about abuse.

work regarding the safety threshold for tasers. Ruggieri may be proven correct however Taser International has rebutted his publication, see below.

QUOTE
Analysis Claiming 'TASER™ Danger' Miscalculates Safety Threshold by Factor of 100

Report Applied Incorrect Standard to Evaluate TASER Output

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - TASER International, Inc. (Nasdaq: TASR), a market leader in advanced non-lethal devices, today responded to a report presented at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences conference in New Orleans wherein Mr. James Ruggieri presented an erroneous paper claiming that the electrical output of the TASER M26 is above the fibrillation threshold for 50% of the population.

"Mr. Ruggieri made a significant miscalculation, leading him to an insupportable conclusion," noted Max Nerheim, Vice President of Research and Development for TASER International, Inc. "Mr. Ruggieri's assertions are predicated on published safety guidelines in International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 479-1. Unfortunately, the standards published in IEC 479-1 are only applicable to low frequency, continuous duty cycle, AC electrical currents of less than 100 Hz, such as one would experience from an electrical wall outlet and not the output one would receive from a TASER device. Rather, the TASER M26 output is a pulsed, damped sine wave current with a frequency equivalent to 50,000 Hz. High frequency and pulsed outputs are covered under IEC 479-2, which indicates that the fibrillation threshold for currents similar to the TASER M26 are 100 times greater than the standard in IEC 479-1 errantly used by Mr. Ruggieri," continued Mr. Nerheim.

"In fact, there are three separate methodologies within IEC 479-2 which demonstrate the TASER M26 output to be significantly below the IEC fibrillation threshold. The appropriate standards under IEC 479-2 are consistent with data from both animal experiments and over 100,000 human volunteers, including myself and every other senior manager and engineer at TASER International, without a single incident of ventricular fibrillation. This is also backed by the over 66,000 actual field use applications by law enforcement. His misrepresentation was further evidenced by the remarks and questions raised by medical experts in attendance. It is disappointing that Mr. Ruggieri chose not to allow us to provide this technical feedback by reviewing his opinions before presenting them in a public forum."

"Furthermore, I was surprised that Mr. Ruggieri did not notice the error with his results as they are diametrically opposed to the dozens of independent studies of numerous government agencies that have concluded the TASER system, while not risk free, is generally safe. We invite interested readers to download a more in-depth analysis of this topic at http://www.taser.com/savinglives," concluded Mr. Nerheim.
UNQUOTE

...died after being shocked by a taser...bad for business, you know.

57 seconds. Imagine. Count with me now:

1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10...etc. And they wonder why he died?

when someone has died from a Taser by now. Be curious to see how the claim was treated. Only thing I can figure why there haven't been big dollar payouts over it is that they are mostly carried by LEOs.

Cautionary Information:
The ADVANCED TASER is a less-lethal weapon. It is designed to incapacitate a target from a safe distance without causing death or permanent injury. While the medical evidence strongly supports that the ADVANCED TASER will not cause lasting after effect or fatality, it is important to remember that the very nature of physical confrontation involves a degree of risk that someone will get hurt or may even be killed due to unforeseen circumstances and individual susceptibilities. Accordingly, the ADVANCED TASER should be treated as a serious weapon and should only be deployed in situations where the alternative would be to use other force measures which carry similar or higher degrees of risk
NEVER POINT THE ADVANCED TASER® AT ANOTHER PERSON UNLESS INTENDING TO USE. NEVER AIM THE ADVANCED TASER AT THE EYES OR FACE. KEEP THE ADVANCED TASER OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN. ALWAYS REPLACE LOW BATTERIES. IN ORDER TO EXTEND THE WEAPON LIFE, AVOID DROPPING UNIT. KEEP HANDS AWAY FROM THE FRONT OF THE UNIT AT ALL TIMES UNLESS THE SAFETY SLIDE IS FORWARD AND THE ADVANCED TASER IS DEACTIVATED. NEVER TILT THE ADVANCED TASER WHEN FIRING (unless you are firing at a target laying on his side). IF GOING ON AN AIRPLANE, YOU MUST PUT THE ADVANCED TASER IN YOUR CHECKED LUGGAGE, IT CANNOT BE CARRIED ON BOARD. ALWAYS REPLACE AIR CARTRIDGES BY THE EXPIRATION DATE PRINTED ON EACH AIR CARTRIDGE. DO NOT FIRE THE ADVANCED TASER NEAR FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS AND FUMES. THE ADVANCED TASER CAN IGNITE GASOLINE OR OTHER FLAMMABLES. SOME SELF-DEFENSE SPRAYS ARE FLAMMABLE AND WOULD BE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO USE IN CONJUNCTION WITH ADVANCED TASER. THE ADVANCED TASER CAUSES TEMPORARY PARALYSIS. THIS PARALYSIS CAN BE DANGEROUS AND EVEN FATAL UNDER SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES.