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Taser International Wins Lawsuit to Change Cause of Death
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "Taser International recently started a legal campaign against medical examiners who claimed tasers contributed to the cause of death for several people. On Friday, an Ohio judge ruled in favor of the stun gun manufacturer (free registration may be required). While they do have a number of scientific studies on which they establish their claims, it's interesting that the alternate cause of death they champion — excited delirium — appears only in police reports on the deaths of difficult or drug-addled inmates, not in medical textbooks. Of course, that may change soon — Taser is funding and promoting research on the subject. Coroner reports such as the ones in this case contributed to the UN's opinion that taser use is torture."
Failure to maintain adequate breathing, or something like that.
A power company lineman died today from excited delirium when he accidentally came in contact with a live power line.
Co-workers are reported as saying he didn't appear to be excited or delirious prior to his unfortunate accident, although witnesses do report that his body appeared to become quite excited at the moment of contact with the fatal current.
Full story at 11.
Ummm...yeah...
Strat
Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
DON'T TASE ME, BRO'!!
Wait a sec ... is that a Glock?!!
DON'T SHOOT ME, BRO'!! TASE ME, TASE ME, BRO'!!
Research shows that 67% of those who use the term "research shows", are just making shit up.
For the lack of a better sig.
Sorry, that was me :/ Having 50kV running through my body gives me issues with bowel control
which is totally what she said
which is totally what she said
Time to manufacture conductive underwear then. Just short the tazer and avoid the trouble.
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
WARNING: Do not look into Taser with remaining heart.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
Technology -- No Place For Wimps! Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Chatroom -- http://www.wemissjerry.org
I agree with you, but you probably shouldn't have tazed him.
To get a few things out of the way, YES! being tazered is generally better than being shot. YES! sometimes force is necessary.
The first big problem here is a company with a vested interest abusing the courts to override the official objective opinion of a medical examiner.
If Taser International is concerned that M.E.s don't know enough about Tasers, they should send them a compilation of their medical data. The M.E.s will then consider the source, and consider the data. I seriously doubt that M.E.s have a vendetta against the taser at this point.
Second, a jolt to the heart while at rest or a bit nervous is not the same as a jolt to the heart when extremely agitated with massive amounts of adrenaline in the system. Further, a single jolt can be uite different in effect than multiple jolts in a short time.
Given that some percentage of the population have some sort of undiagnosed electrical heart disorder that may or may not ever trigger a problem, it's hardly surprising if the taser (a device that disrupts biological electrical activity by design) carries a non-zero risk of death. It would be somewhat astonishing if it didn't carry a risk.
None of that means that the taser has no place in law enforcement, after all, physically wrestling people to the ground and pinning them carries a non-zero risk as well. But ignoring a non-zero risk can only encourage excessive use and causee needless deaths.
Distorting the collection of scientific data by applying legal arguments to scientific reports is simply not acceptable. Were I the coroner, I would demand that my name be removed from the report on the grounds that it no longer reflects my considered scientific opinion. Let the judge sign it if he's so sure.