Hullabaloo

Saturday, January 24, 2009

 
Harmless

by digby

The number of in-custody sudden deaths rose dramatically during the first year California law enforcement agencies began using stun guns, raising questions about the safety of the devices, according to a new study at UCSF.

The electronic weapons are intended to be a nonlethal alternative to the gun.

"Tasers are not as safe as thought," said Dr. Byron Lee, one of the cardiologists involved in studying the death rate related to Tasers, the most widely used stun gun. "And if they are used, they should be used with caution."

The researchers analyzed sudden death data from 50 law enforcement agencies in the state that use Tasers. They compared the death rate pre- and post-Taser deployment - analyzing data for five years before each agency began using Tasers and five years afterward.

They found a sixfold increase in sudden deaths during the first year of Taser use - amounting to nearly 6 deaths per 100,000 arrests.

"I didn't expect what we found," said Lee. "I thought we would find no difference in the rate of sudden death. But there was a rather dramatic rise."

After the first year, the rate of sudden deaths dropped down to nearly pre-Taser levels, suggesting that police and others in law enforcement altered the way they were using the devices to make them less lethal.

[...]

Tasers, known as "conducted energy" devices, send out high-frequency pulses which can cause a very rapid, dangerous heart rhythm, said senior author Dr. Zian H. Tseng, an assistant clinical professor in cardiology.

He says that the lethality may be the result of holding the charge for a long time rather than using a short pulse. But that's a very difficult

One would hope that law enforcement will see that the willy nilly, all purpose use of tasers must be stopped in light of these findings. This use of tasers to shut up someone who is already in custody (as in the "don't tase me, bro" case) or when a traffic violator doesn't respond quite quickly enough for the officer's taste is much too risky. They are clearly lethal weapons and they have no way of knowing if the person they are tasing has heart condition or some other health problem that would turn even proper taser use into a deadly choice. If their use is continued, which I think is a mistake, the least they can do is ensure that they are only used as a form of self defense.

But I doubt they will curb their use based on common sense and now scientific evidence. It will probably take many liability claims before they learn their lesson on this. Sadly, that's how we do things in America.

Oh, and by the way:

A man tased by a Soddy Daisy police officer earlier this month has died after weeks in a coma.

According to his obituary, he died on Thursday at a local hospital.

An outside investigation is ongoing to determine what happened the morning he was injured. A police report shows Redden was tased because he appeared to be on some type of narcotic. It also states he wouldn't obey verbal commands and was kicking and swinging at first responders.

The police report states he was tased three times, but family and friends believe it was more.

According to witnesses, the man was tased while he was restrained on a stretcher.

Update: Meanwhile, New Orleans goes all in.




h/t to many readers


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digby 1/24/2009 11:00:00 AM |