Pubdate: Wed, 23 Nov 2005
Source: Herald, The (WA)
Copyright: 2005 The Daily Herald Co.
Contact:  http://www.heraldnet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/190
Author: George Sanchez And Andre Briscoe
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

TASER NOT KEY CAUSE OF DEATH, DA SAYS

Salinas: Victim's Family Disputes Findings

The death of Robert Clark Heston was caused primarily by drug use and 
not from multiple hits from Taser stun guns used by Salinas police, 
the District Attorney's Office concluded Tuesday after a 10-month probe.

The investigation was undertaken to determine whether there was 
enough evidence for filing criminal charges against Salinas police 
officers who stunned Heston, 40, five times on the afternoon of Feb. 
19 at his father's home in the 100 block of Rodeo Avenue.

After authorities kept ordering more autopsy reports, Heston's 
relatives said Tuesday they weren't surprised by the District 
Attorney's findings.

"We already knew that they were going to shop around until they got 
the results they wanted," said Misty Kastner, Robert Clark Heston's 
sister. "It doesn't excuse that fact that the amount of times he was 
stunned was too many, especially when he was on drugs. That is a no-no."

The Herald has attempted to obtain the autopsy reports, which have 
not been released, since early August.

"There's no perfect solution to any of this," said Assistant District 
Attorney Berkley Brannon. He said he couldn't say whether the 
findings would prompt changes in the way local law enforcement uses Tasers.

"This office definitely isn't taking a position on Taser use," Brannon said.

The District Attorney's full report on Heston's death includes a 
summary of three autopsy reports.

The first was conducted two days after Heston died. The County 
Coroner's forensic pathologist, Dr. Terri Haddix said Heston's death 
was the result of multiple-organ system failure, triggered by a heart 
attack that was prompted by the man's agitated drug state and the Taser jolts.

Salinas Police Chief Daniel Ortega and Monterey County Sheriff Mike 
Kanalakis each ordered another autopsy report following Haddix's 
findings. The second and third reports listed the cause of death as 
nearly the same and identified Taser use as a contributing factor.

Both doctors stressed that the death should be ruled accidental 
because of Heston's history of drug use and said that police couldn't 
have known the side effects of their weapons on Heston. Both reports 
said the underlying cause was methamphetamine intoxication, which 
affected Heston's already agitated state as police attempted to subdue him.

Dr. Steven Karch, a retired medical examiner for the city of San 
Francisco, wrote that without the high levels of methamphetamine 
found in Heston's system, the Taser shocks alone would not have put 
him in harm's way. He acknowledged, however, that there's no precise 
way to tell how the Taser affected Heston. "Taser use is the 
confounding issue in this case, largely because so little is know 
about the effects of this device on individuals with heart disease, 
let alone methamphetamine intoxication and excited delirium," wrote Karch.

Excited delirium is a controversial syndrome that has been used to 
explain in-custody deaths across the country.

"The published peer-reviewed research consists largely of anecdotal 
reports describing people who have been shocked with this device. 
There is a paucity of experimental literature," Karch said.

"There's a huge gap in the science. Let's face it," said Assistant 
District Attorney Berkley Brannon. "There's no scientific way to 
portion the precise responsibility of bringing about death in any 
case where officers are in a violent (brawl) with a subject."

Brannon repeated the doctors' assertions that there were numerous 
factors involved in Heston's death, including the fact that he had 
ingested a large dose of methamphetamine and had an enlarged heart 
due to drug use.

"Heston was on a violent rampage," Brannon said. "The police tried to 
subdue him and used a Taser. Mr. Heston violently resisted the police 
until the very end," he said.

Making note of Heston's criminal record, he said, "There's no doubt 
the Taser was part of his death. But the Taser use is attributable to 
Mr. Heston."

But Kurt Kastner said his brother-in-law was not on a rampage when 
officers first came to the residence earlier in the day. They should 
have arrested him then, he said, because the alcohol or drugs he had 
consumed were a violation of his parole.

"He didn't attack anybody," said Kastner. "He was throwing things out 
the door. He wasn't throwing things directly at the cops or any one 
person.... My father-in-law told them that if they weren't going to 
arrest him, then they might as well leave.

Kastner said he told police, "Hey, you better not leave. All hell is 
going to break loose if you leave."

Nearly an hour later, a group of officers returned, subduing Heston 
inside the house with five hits from their Taser guns. He died the next day.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman