Fergie's Tech Blog

Groups question Taser gun safety after suspects' deaths

This issue has been getting a lot of attention here in Texas, and especially here in Austin.

An AP newswire article by Angela K. Brown, appearing in The Austin American-Statesman (obnoxious, but free, regsitration required), reports that:

In the past nine months, at least six people in Texas — including three in Fort Worth — have died after authorities shocked them with a Taser gun. Just last week in the Dallas suburb of Euless, a 17-year-old died two days after being shocked three times with a Taser. Police say he was high on drugs and violent.

National statistics on Taser-related deaths vary. The American Civil Liberties Union reports more than 130 deaths in the U.S., while Amnesty International reports more than 120 deaths in the U.S. and Canada — both figures since June 2001. The groups want Taser use suspended until studies are done on how the device affects people on drugs or with heart conditions.

Taser International, the primary manufacturer of stun guns, did not return several calls seeking comment for this story. The company said in a May interview with The Associated Press that its product is safe, based on independent studies, and in only about 10 percent of deaths cited by Amnesty International did medical examiners list Tasers as a contributing factor. The company also contends Tasers have saved more than 6,000 lives — suspects who otherwise might have been fatally shot by police.

posted by Fergie @ 7/18/2005 08:38:00 AM