Pubdate: Wed, 29 Dec 2004
Source: Advertiser, The (Lafayette, LA)
Copyright: 2004 The Lafayette Daily Advertiser
Contact:  http://www.theadvertiser.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1670
Author: Jason Brown

PATHOLOGIST SAYS TASERS MIGHT NOT BE AS SAFE AS FIRST CLAIMED

LAFAYETTE - A forensic pathologist at the Lafayette Parish Coroner's
Office said he believes Taser guns may not be as safe as the
manufacturer and the officers who use them claim.

"It is my opinion, as a forensic pathologist, that a stun gun (as a
device that can deliver an electrical current to the human body) has
the potential to contribute to death when there is either significant
coexistent natural disease, such as heart disease or drug toxicity of
the body, or if the device is used in a manner other than according to
manufacturers' instructions," wrote Dr. Cameron Snider in a recent
letter to The Daily Advertiser.

Snider, with the Lafayette Parish Coroner and Forensic Facility,
oversaw the autopsy of Lafayette Parish inmate Dwayne Anthony Dunn,
who died after his arrest. Snider said Dunn, who was Tasered when
arrested, died from cocaine poisoning and not because he was Tasered
by Lafayette police officers.

Dunn was arrested Oct. 4 outside Piggly Wiggly on East Simcoe Street
after he refused to leave the premises, police previously said. When
Lafayette police officers tried to arrest Dunn, he resisted and they
were forced to use the Taser gun on him, police said. Dunn was booked
into the parish jail, and shortly afterward, placed on medical watch
by the staff. Nearly six hours later, Dunn was taken to a local
hospital where he died.

"I have personally not performed an autopsy in which the findings
support that I could list a stun gun as a contributor to a death,"
Snider wrote.

Despite Snider's findings, Joseph Bartels, an attorney representing
the Dunn family, said a lawsuit will soon be filed against the
individual officers involved, the Lafayette Police Department, the
city of Lafayette and the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office in Dunn's
death.

When Steve Tuttle, a spokesman for Taser International, was told about
Snider's opinion on the safety of the gun, he cited various
independent reports that say Tasers are one of the safest means to
subdue violent individuals.

"These reports clearly indicate that the Taser technology, while not
risk-free, is among the safest use-of-force options for law
enforcement officers," Tuttle said. "In fact, injuries to both
officers and suspects have declined with over 6,000 law enforcement
agencies deploying Taser technology worldwide. Taser International
stands behind its safety claims and life-saving value."

Despite Tuttle's confidence in the weapon's safety, a number of
coroners from across the country have linked the gun, either directly
or indirectly, to the deaths of at least 11 people, according to a
published report by The Arizona Republic. The newspaper has so far
collected 29 autopsy reports in researching 84 deaths that have
followed the use of a Taser gun. The Arizona Republic and The Daily
Advertiser are both owned by the Gannett Co. Inc.

Listed among the 84 deaths is another recent incident that occurred in
Louisiana.

On Dec. 4, a Kenner man died after Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office
deputies shocked him twice with the gun. The role being Tasered played
in the death is still to be determined. Six months earlier, someone
else died following deputies using a Taser gun. In that case, the
person died as a result of a head injury after a fall following being
Tasered. The Sheriff's Office has equipped each of its 480 deputies
with a Taser gun.

Of the 84 people included in The Republic's report, 36 deaths were
attributed to drug overdoses, 31 of which were cocaine overdoses.

Tuttle said the gun is often used to subdue individuals under the
influence of drugs, citing a study put out by the U.S. Department of
Justice, which estimates as many as 64 percent of people arrested had
recently used at least one of five drugs: cocaine, marijuana, opiates,
methamphetamine or PCP.

"Fifty-five percent of suspects in our use-of-force database were
suspected to be under the influence of illicit drugs and alcohol,"
Tuttle said.

The company stands by its products' proven effectiveness at subduing
suspects who are thought to be under the influence of drugs. However,
Snider said the pattern of arrestees under the influence should be
considered.

"There are forensic pathologists that feel that when a person is on a
stimulant and they get 'Tasered,' some of these 'Tasings' contribute
to their death," he said.

In Dunn's case, however, Snider said the Taser was not the cause of
his death, nor did it contribute to it in any way.

"This is a cocaine-related death," he said. "If this had anything to
do with a Taser related-death, I would have said so, and I don't care
what Taser International had to say about it."
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MAP posted-by: Derek