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Sunday, August 29, 2004

Taser listed as contributing factor

Aug. 29, 2004

Michael Rosa, 38, Del Rey Oaks, California

Michael Rosa was wandering through yards and screaming. When police approached, he picked up a 2x4 piece of wood and swung it at officers. Police shocked him with a Taser. After being handcuffed. Rosa started having difficulty breathing. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. Rosa had a 2003 arrest for cocaine possession. The coroner said Rosa died of a heart attack from methamphetamine intoxication. But he listed Taser as a contributing factor in the death. The coroner says the Taser shock and the struggle with police combined with the drugs led to Rosa’s death.

Wednesday, August 25, 2004

Coroner: taser pushed for revision of autopsy

August 25, 2004
Robert Anglen, Arizona Republic

A South Carolina coroner says stun-gun manufacturer Taser International is pressuring his office to reverse an autopsy that found a Taser contributed to the death of a man last week.

Anderson County Deputy Coroner Charlie Boseman said a shock from a Taser was the "last straw" for a man who died Aug. 16 in a struggle with deputies at a detention center.

William Teasley, 31, is one of 68 people to die following a police Taser strike since 1999. His death marks the seventh time a medical examiner has linked the stun gun to a death.

"We still feel that way," Boseman said. "That is not going to change."

Tom Smith, president of Scottsdale's Taser International, denied any attempt to change the autopsy. He said two company representatives called the Coroner's Office to see if they could assist in the investigation. "They called to provide information," Smith said, adding that there was no attempt to pressure the coroner. "That was not the intent, not the intent at all."

Boseman said his office and the hospital pathologist who conducted the autopsy received calls from Taser asking that the stun gun be excluded from the report. "They were pretty upset. They didn't like us making that statement in our report," Boseman said. "They just wanted us to (cite) the underlying medical diseases." Teasley suffered from multiple health problems, including an enlarged heart and spleen, hardened arteries and an obstructed airway. "He had really bad cardiac disease. He was a drinker. He had a (tracheotomy)," Boseman said. "I think (the Taser) set him off into cardiac arrest."

The Taser stun gun is marketed as an alternative to deadly force and is used by more than 5,000 law enforcement agencies, including every major police department in the Valley.

For years, Taser officials cited autopsy reports as proof that the stun gun has never caused an injury or death. But an Arizona Republic investigation found that Taser did not possess those autopsy reports.

The newspaper's review of autopsy reports and interviews with medical examiners has linked the stun gun to six other deaths.

Medical examiners in four cases involving suspects who died in police custody cited Tasers as a cause or a contributing factor in the deaths. In two other cases, Tasers could not be ruled out as a cause of death.

Taser has challenged autopsies in these cases, claiming that coroners got it wrong and saying that most medical examiners don't have the experience to examine fatalities following a shock from a stun gun. Taser officials have blamed underlying medical conditions and say the deaths would have occurred with or without the shock from a Taser.

Taser stock price has fallen about $14 since the deaths were first reported in July. Stock that was trading at $40 a month ago was trading at $26.62 on Tuesday.

The Republic, using computer searches, media reports, police reports, autopsy reports and Taser's own records, has identified 68 cases in the United States and Canada of death following a police Taser strike since September 1999.

The paper has requested autopsies for all 68 cases and has so far obtained 23.

Of the 68 cases, records show that nine people were armed when they were shocked with a Taser. Only three cases involved violent assaults or homicides. Most of the cases involve people who were shocked for refusing to obey police commands or who attempted to fight with officers. Drugs were noted in 31 cases and mental illness in 14.

Police said Teasley, who suffered from severe mental and physical health problems since a car accident last year, was arrested on Aug. 16 for disorderly conduct. As Teasley was being booked into jail, he became aggressive and violent. Jail staff shocked him with a Taser, which uses a 50,000-volt charge to incapacitate a suspect. Teasley stopped breathing. Boseman, who has been with the Coroner's Office for 34 years and has worked on hundreds of autopsies, said the cause of Teasley's death was cardiac arrhythmia due to health problems and the Taser shock. "That was the last straw," he said of the Taser.

Smith acknowledged that Taser has disputed findings in autopsies linking Taser to deaths. But he said Tuesday that Taser has not challenged Teasley's case. "It's too early. . . . People need to stop jumping to conclusions," Smith said. "I was talking to investigators today, and there is new information that hasn't come out yet. Such as (Teasley's) fight continued over a minute after the Taser was deployed. . . . That's coming from the officer who fired it."

Smith said Taser officials called to answer any questions the coroner had about the stun gun, including the gun's output. He said Taser has sent representatives to South Carolina to assist in the investigation of Teasley's death, which is being conducted by the State Law Enforcement Division. "I've got people out there in South Carolina helping in the investigation at the request of the investigating team," Smith said. "There has been no pressure. Or nothing related to it."

Monday, August 23, 2004

When Stun Guns Go Bad: After five deaths in one year, police chiefs order an investigation into Taser use

August 23, 2004
Graham F. Scott, Macleans

EARLY LAST WEEK, high and paranoid on cocaine, Samuel Truscott barricaded himself in his Kingston, Ont., bedroom with a knife and a baseball bat, threatening to hurt himself. Police were called, and when pepper spray failed to subdue the 43-year-old man, he was zapped through an open window with a Taser -- the sophisticated stun gun that disrupts muscle control and is used by more than 5,000 police forces worldwide. After being disarmed and searched, Truscott was taken to hospital for an evaluation of his mental health. Within hours he suffered a seizure and died.

Two days later, Ontario's deputy chief coroner reported the cause of death was a drug overdose -- not the stun gun. Still, Dr. James Cairns made it clear he was not yet ready to dismiss Tasers as a factor. How could he? Truscott was the fifth Canadian to die in the past year after being shocked with a police Taser. Formal investigations and coroner inquiries are ramping up in Brampton, Ont., as well as in Vancouver.(In both instances, drugs seemed to have played some role.)And now the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has asked for a full review of the science and techniques of Taser use in Canada and around the world.

All this heightens a controversy that has been on the boil in the United States, where more than 50 deaths have been associated with the device over the past four years. Amnesty International and other human rights groups have issued calls to suspend their use. But Steve Tuttle, VP of communications at Arizona-based Taser International Inc., says such doubts are groundless, citing the more than 50,000 incident-free uses in the field as proof the devices are safe. "Our technology is explicitly designed not to cause fatalities," he says. "We've still not been listed as a direct cause of death."

That's true -- in only a few cases has a Taser been tagged as a contributing factor in a police suspect's death, and it's never been labelled the direct cause. But there is also little scientific consensus on the actual safety of the device, particularly when it's used on addicts or people with heart disease or pacemakers. Dr. Andrew Podgorski tested several early-model stun guns in 1989 at Canada's National Research Council. He found that pigs with implanted pacemakers could die from the electrical shocks. "I published this in a report," says Podgorski. "We suggested to police that maybe they shouldn't use the stun guns because nobody knows who has an implanted pacemaker."

Taser International says it has made significant improvements since then. And police forces believe in the Taser in part because standard training encourages officers to test the jolt on themselves. "It made me feel like I had no control over anything," wrote one officer of the experience, "I could not fight back." Another simply wrote, "Hurt like hell. Dropped like a stone." Edmonton police are one of 62 Canadian forces, including the RCMP, employing Tasers. Const. Shawna Goodkey, who works in the Officer Safety Unit, says the device "actually decreases injury for our subject and our officers out there because they can control somebody within five seconds."

Tasers work by shooting two small metal probes, attached to wires, into the body from up to six metres away. If both probes make contact -- even through several layers of clothes -- then the circuit is completed and the person's muscles are immobilized by 50,000 volts of electricity. That sounds like a lot -- it is -- but a Taser jolt is not the same as sticking your finger in a light socket and receiving a continuous shock. The Taser's zap is intermittent, and lasts five seconds -- just enough to force muscles into a rigid state.

The argument for Tasers is that they're a preferable alternative to guns, at least in situations where suspects are not armed. But police allow there are no silver bullets. Any time force is used, something bad can happen. The question where it comes to stun guns: when is it worth the risk?

Tasers in Canada
The Main Users
RCMP 640
MUNICIPAL FORCES
Edmonton Police Services 134
Vancouver Police Department 36
Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police Services 24
CORRECTIONAL SERVICES
B.C. Sheriff's Service 55
Court Services Branch, Federal Ministry of Attorney General 53
Alberta Solicitor General's Correctional Branch 18
NUMBER OF POLICE AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES DEPLOYING
Tasers in Canada: 62, In U.S.: over 5,400
Number of devices in use in Canada: 1,193
In U.S.: over 100,000
NUMBER OF DEATHS ASSOCIATED WITH TASER USE:
Five in Canada, 50 in U.S., over four years
[SOURCE: Taser International Inc., media reports]

Thursday, August 19, 2004

Pathologist: Taser A Factor In Man's Death At Jail

August 19, 2004
www.thecarolinachannel.com

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Fire forced use of taser, Vancouver police say

August 17, 2004
CP

Vancouver -- Almost two months after a man died in Vancouver police custody following a jolt from a stun gun, the department announced yesterday they had no choice because a fire forced them to move quickly.

Police now say a fire at the Continental Hotel forced two officers to move into the washroom where Robert Bagnell, 54, had barricaded himself.

Deputy Chief Constable Doug LePard said smoke was filling the building and the officers couldn't stay there.

Monday, August 16, 2004

Fire prompted Taser use, say police

August 16, 2004
CBC News

Vancouver Police have released more details about the events leading to the arrest and death of a 44-year-old man arrested in late June.

Robert Bagnell died in police custody on June 23 after officers used a Taser to subdue him.

But police didn't reveal for another month that Bagnell had been shot with a stun gun.

Now police have have revealed that a fire in the hotel where Bagnell had barricaded himself in a bathroom, forced them to move in and use the Taser.

Deputy Chief Constable Doug LePard says officers had planned to wait for Bagnell to calm down – as he was alone, and was in no danger.

"Just as they were settling down to wait, the fire alarm in the building went off, smoke began to fill the building, the police could not stay there any longer and they could certainly could not leave Mr. Bagnell behind."

LePard says two officers tried to remove Bagnell – and used a Taser only as a last resort.

This is the first time since the incident occurred, that police have mentioned there was a fire in the building, or that a fire played a role in the decision to use a Taser.

LePard apologized for not making the information public sooner. "I'm not sure why that information wasn't provided. If it was an oversight, if was our oversight then we apologize for that."

Police have maintained Bagnall had "lethal" levels of cocaine in his bloodstream when he died. However, no official cause of death has been released.

Fire forced use of taser, Vancouver police say

August 16, 2004
Canadian Press

Almost two months after a man died in Vancouver police custody following a jolt from a taser, the force announced Monday they had no choice because a fire forced them to move quickly.

Police now say a fire at the Continental Hotel forced two officers to move into the washroom where Robert Bagnell, 54, had barricaded himself.

Deputy Chief Const. Doug LePard said smoke was filling the building and the officers couldn't stay there.

“They certainly couldn't leave Mr. Bagnell behind. The call to arrest Mr. Bagnell had now turned into a rescue.”

He said usually police would have just waited until the man was ready to come out.

“That would be our normal strategy, is to wait the guy out. There would be no reason to intervene.”

Mr. Bagnell was zapped twice with a Taser during the arrest and stopped breathing.

Ambulance attendants tried for more than an hour to revive the man.

His death prompted the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner to order a review into the use of the taser to subdue suspects.

Last week, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police announced it has commissioned a comprehensive review of research, reports and data on the use of tasers in Canada and around the world.

The review will be conducted by the Canadian Police Research Centre, a partnership of the chiefs association, the RCMP and the National Research Council.

At least six people have died in Canada after being shocked by tasers.

The public and Mr. Bagnell's family only learned a taser was involved in Mr. Bagnell's death a month after he died.

The Deputy Chief couldn't say Monday why it took even longer to release the details of Mr. Bagnell's arrest.

“If it was an oversight then we apologize for that. Because obviously that is important information.”

Mr. Bagnell was experiencing a “psychotic episode,” which Deputy Chief LePard said was likely triggered by cocaine.

“My understanding is that he would have died from the level of cocaine that was in his blood stream at time. Whether or not that's what killed him we do not know.”

When police moved into the fifth floor washroom where Mr. Bagnell had barricaded himself, he was naked and covered in blood because of a cut to his leg.

Mr. LePard says the two officers tried to calm him down, but he grabbed on to fixtures in the bathroom and refused to leave.

“The situation was urgent. Smoke continued to fill the building. In order to get Mr. Bagnell to release his grip the officers touched Mr. Bagnell with the Taser for less than two seconds.”

A report has been provided to Crown counsel to review if charges are necessary.

VPD - Follow-up to In Custody Death of Robert Bagnell

Almost TWO MONTHS after Bob died, the VPD suddenly announced that there was a fire in the building the night Bob died and that tasers had to be used to "rescue" him from this burning building!! We have since learned that the *fire* was a small electrical fire from a faulty cable box in a first-floor apartment and that it posed no credible to threat to anyone beyond the first floor. At the coroner's inquest, some of the police officers testified that they saw and/or smelled smoke from the fifth floor. Others testified that they did not. However, all agreed that the fire alarm made communication among each other difficult and that the fire posed a significant danger to Bob's life. They were quite adamant that this "wood-framed" building would go up in flames very quickly. We visited the building with our lawyer and with CBC and we learned that it was a solid brick city-owned and frequently inspected building.

Not long before the VPD made this announcement, my mother asked of their police officers why they didn't just leave Bob in the washroom until he tired himself out since he wasn't a danger to anyone. The officer's answer? "That's a very good question, Mrs. Bagnell."

Here's what the VPD had to say 54 days after Bob's death.


August 16, 2004
Deputy Chief Constable Doug LePard
Vancouver Police Department

"As you are aware, B.C.`s Police Complaints Commissioner has ordered a review of the use of the Taser by BC police departments and, specifically, the use of it in connection with the in-custody death of Robert Bagnell on June 23rd.

When police were called to 1390 Granville St. (the Continental Hotel), they heard banging, crashing and yelling coming from a 5th floor communal bathroom. An ambulance attendant told them that the man inside, Robert Bagnell, was believed to have taken cocaine earlier. Police did not rush in.

Since Mr. Bagnell was alone in the washroom and was little danger to anyone else, police were prepared to wait. In the meantime, they called for less than lethal options, including a Taser and a beanbag shotgun. Shortly after, Emergency Response Team members arrived with that equipment.

The officers on the scene believed that Mr. Bagnell was experiencing a psychotic episode possibly triggered by cocaine. The banging and yelling coming from the washroom did not let up. Police tried calling to Mr. Bagnell, but were ignored.

Mr. Bagnell was alone. He was no danger to anyone else. There was no chance he could escape and hurt anyone. He was possibly committing a minor criminal act of destruction in the bathroom, but there was still no reason to rush in. Our members decided the safest course of action was to wait and hope Mr. Bagnell calmed down. Then things changed.

Just as they were settling down to wait, the fire alarm in the building went off. There was a fire on the ground floor of the hotel. Smoke began to fill the building. The police could not stay there any longer and they could certainly not leave Mr. Bagnell behind. The call to arrest Mr. Bagnell had now turned into a rescue.

When police entered the bathroom, they found Mr. Bagnell naked and covered in fresh blood from a wound to his leg. The floor was covered in blood and sweat and shards of broken porcelain were within his reach as he continued to yell and thrash.

Police attempted to calm him and use a low level of force to remove him by pulling on his feet, but he grabbed onto the fixtures in the bathroom stall and held on. Two large officers working together could not dislodge him. The situation was urgent. Smoke continued to fill the building.

In order to get Mr. Bagnell to release his grip, the officers touched Mr. Bagnell with the Taser for less than two seconds and he let go. Police were able to pull him back about a foot before he got another grip on the door frame. The Taser was applied again for less than a second and he released his grip.

As he was pulled into the hallway, he continued to fight as he was handcuffed. People suffering psychotic episodes driven by cocaine can often exhibit extraordinary strength and be oblivious to pain. He was kicking so hard that flexible restraints broke when police tried to restrain his feet with them.

Soon after he was restrained, police noticed that he had stopped breathing. Nearby ambulance attendants ran over and immediately began CPR. Ambulance and fire personnel tried for more than an hour to revive him, but were unsuccessful.

As you are aware, a toxicologist report later indicated that Mr. Bagnell had lethal levels of cocaine in his blood, along with a cocktail of other drugs."

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Police chiefs to review use of Tasers

August 11, 2004
CBC News

The Canadian Association of Police Chiefs has commissioned a review of data and research on the use of Taser guns in the wake of two fatal incidents involving the high voltage stun devices.

"The Taser has undergone extensive research and has a solid track record for safety," said Jim Cessford, chairman of the association and chief of the Delta, B.C., police department.

"We have noted many instances in which the Taser has prevented injuries and saved the lives of private citizens and police officers. However, we understand the interest in this enforcement tool now that it is more widely utilized,'' he said.

The review will be conducted by the Canadian Police Research Centre – a coalition of the police chiefs association, the RCMP and the National Research Council.

The police chiefs association said it has commissioned "a unique and comprehensive review of scientific research, field reports, and data on the use of Tasers in police work in Canada and around the world.''

Tasers emit a jolt of 50,000 volts that interrupts the body's electrical impulses, causing involuntary muscle seizures. Last year, Tasers were blamed in about 50 deaths in the United States. In Canada, at least five people have died after being shot by Tasers.

The Arizona-based manufacturer of the weapons, Taser International, says the weapons are safe. It says none of the deaths have been directly attributed to a shot from a Taser.

Last week, B.C.'s Police Complaints Commissioner ordered an investigation into the use of Taser guns a month after a man died when he was shot with one in a hotel room in Vancouver.

In Ontario in July, a man died when police used a stun gun to immobilize him at a hotel in Mississauga. The hotel receptionist had called police to report a man breaking things in his room.

On Monday, Ontario's coroner said a Kingston, Ont., man who died Sunday just hours after being shot with a Taser by police was killed by a drug overdose.

Amnesty International has called for a ban on Tasers until further safety tests are done.

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

Drugs, not Taser, caused Kingston man's death: coroner

August 10, 2004
CBC News

Ontario's chief coroner has ruled the death of a 43-year-old Kingston man was not caused by a Taser gun. Dr. Jim Cairns said the death of the man, who died hours after being shot with a Taser Sunday morning, was caused by a drug overdose.

"I can state categorically that the Taser did not play any role whatsoever in his death," Cairns said.

Police were called Sunday to a home in Kingston where a man had apparently overdosed on drugs and was threatening to harm himself.

He'd barricaded himself in a bedroom and was armed with a knife and a bat. Police first tried using pepper spray to subdue him without success. They then used a Taser gun.

The man was taken to Kingston General Hospital where he suffered a seizure and died several hours later.

Tasers emit a jolt of 50,000 volts that interrupt the body's electrical impulses, causing involuntary muscle seizures. Last year, Tasers were blamed in about 50 deaths in the United States. In Canada, five people have died from Taser shots.

Last week, B.C.'s Police Complaints Commissioner ordered an investigation into the use of Taser guns a month after a man died when he was shot with one in a hotel room in Vancouver.

In Ontario in July, a third man died when police used a stun gun to immobilize him at a hotel in Mississauga. The hotel receptionist had called police to report a man breaking things in his room.

Amnesty International has called for a ban on Tasers until further safety tests are done. The Arizona-based manufacturer of the weapons, Taser International, says the weapons are safe.

Police chiefs launch taser review

August 10, 2004
Canadian Press

Ottawa — The country's police chiefs have launched a review of all information on the use of taser guns in the wake of two recent deadly incidents involving the weapons.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police announced Tuesday that it has commissioned “a unique and comprehensive review of scientific research, field reports, and data on the use of tasers in police work in Canada and around the world.”

The review will be conducted by the Canadian Police Research Centre, a partnership of the chiefs association, the RCMP and the National Research Council.

“The goal of the study is to work with interested communities and synthesize the broad range of research that has already been done into the taser, especially now that it has been in wide use across North America,” said Jim Cessford, chairman of the association and chief of the Delta, B.C., police department.

“The taser has undergone extensive research and has a solid track record for safety.

“We have noted many instances in which the taser has prevented injuries and saved the lives of private citizens and police officers. However, we understand the interest in this enforcement tool now that it is more widely utilized.”

At least six people have died in Canada after being shocked by tasers.

The devices fire two barbs attached to a wire that deliver a 50,000-volt shock on contact for up to five seconds. The weapon is meant to immobilize aggressors by shocking their muscles.

Police like the taser because it offers a “less than lethal option” for dealing with dangerous and unstable people. But critics say the weapon is sometimes lethal.

Amnesty International has said the weapon should be banned until more tests are done to determine its safety. The human rights group says the guns can be deadly when someone is in a weakened state because of heart problems or drug use.

On Monday, Ontario's coroner said a Kingston, Ont., man who died just hours after being shot with a taser by police on Sunday was killed by a drug overdose.

“I can state categorically that the taser did not play any role whatsoever in his death,” Jim Cairns, Ontario's deputy chief coroner, said in a release.

The death of Samuel Truscott, 43, “was due solely to a drug overdose,” Dr. Cairns said.

Last month in Vancouver, a man who was high on cocaine died after police shot him with a taser gun.

About 50 people have died after being shot with tasers in North America, most in the U.S. The weapons are not approved for use in Britain and only recently have some Canadian police forces started issuing them to officers.

Autopsy finds police Taser gun played no role in man's death

August 10, 2004
JAMES RUSK, Globe & Mail

Kingston suspect subdued by officers died from a drug overdose, coroner rules

Ontario's police watchdog called off an investigation yesterday into the weekend death of a Kingston man after an autopsy concluded that police use of a Taser gun played no role in his death.

The Special Investigations Unit, which automatically reviews deaths in which police are involved, had been called in on Sunday after Samuel Truscott, 43, died in Kingston General Hospital.

His death occurred about two hours after Kingston Police Service officers subdued him using pepper spray and a Taser gun.

After the autopsy in Toronto yesterday morning, Ontario deputy chief coroner James Cairns said the cause of death was a drug overdose.

"After a review of the medical record and the autopsy findings, I can state categorically that the Taser did not play any role whatsoever in his death.

"The death was due solely to the drug overdose," Dr. Cairns said.

He also said that the police needed to use the Taser to subdue Mr. Truscott, who was armed with a knife and baseball bat.

"The Taser worked appropriately. Mr. Truscott walked unaided to a police cruiser and was immediately taken to hospital, where he died approximately two hours later despite medical care."

SIU director James Cornish said in a statement that the investigation had been terminated because "there is no basis to believe that any criminal act on the part of any officer caused or contributed to the man's death."

Even though the coroner concluded that the use of a Taser did not play a role in Mr. Truscott's death, its use remains controversial.

At least 50 people in North America have died after being shocked by Tasers, which administer five-second shocks of up to 50,000 volts of electricity.

The British Columbia Police Complaints Commissioner ordered an investigation into the case of Robert Bagnell, a Vancouver man, who died in June after being stunned by a Taser.

The SIU is investigating the death in July of Jerry Knight, a Brampton man, after Peel Regional Police used a Taser to subdue him.

Once the SIU investigation in the Knight case is finished, Ontario will conduct a coroner's inquest.

Dr. Cairns said that the inquiry will look at whether the use of a Taser played a role in Mr. Knight's death and, more generally, the issue of Taser safety.

"I don't want any confusion that I'm stating that Tasers haven't got an issue," he said.

"I'm purely looking at the facts of this one [the Kingston case], and the facts are easily obtained and quickly obtained and are irrefutable in this case. . . . I did not want this one running away when you have absolute, clear evidence that it had no role."

The option of Tasers

August 10, 2004
Globe & Mail

The Taser has been described as a non-lethal alternative to guns for police officers facing an aggressive suspect. This was evidently the case in the death in Kingston Sunday of Samuel Truscott, who was shot with a Taser when pepper spray failed to subdue him and who then walked unaided to the police cruiser to be taken to hospital, where he died. Ontario deputy chief coroner James Cairns announced after yesterday's autopsy that the Taser had played no role in Mr. Truscott's death; he died of a drug overdose.

However, Dr. Cairns said he wasdrawing no conclusion about the use of Tasers in general. Enough people have died after the use of the stun gun -- more than 50 to date in the United States and Canada -- that the "non-lethal" tag is ripe for re-evaluation. After the death in June of Robert Bagnell, a B.C. man who had been subdued with a Taser, provincial Police Complaints Commissioner Dirk Ryneveld asked Victoria Police ChiefPaul Battershill to investigate the use of Tasers.

The Taser shoots barbs at people as far as six metres away. The barbs are on wires connected to a battery. The more powerful Tasers administer 50,000 volts for five seconds, causing temporary loss of muscle control. The question is to what extent the use of Tasers may be lethal if a person is in a weakened condition or is a heavy drug user. Mr. Bagnell, for instance, was shot with a Taser after a complaint that he had been screaming and destroying bathroom fixtures; he stopped breathing while being handcuffed and arrested. The toxicology exam found a potentially lethal amount of cocaine and other drugs in his body.

The best argument for Tasers is to consider the alternative. Pepper spray often proves inadequate. Bullets are predictably fatal and may hit bystanders. After the death west of Toronto last month of boxer Jerry Knight, who had been subdued with a Taser, Craig Platt of Peel Regional Police said, "If we take the Taser away, it's one less option that we have."

One option may be not to take the Taser away but to impose strict regulations on its use. If, for instance, officers are found to be using it less discriminately than they should because of its non-lethal reputation, authorities might choose to limit the Taser's use to situations in which there would otherwise be absolutely no alternative but a firearm. The conclusion of the B.C. investigation may help in this regard.

Friday, August 06, 2004

Tasers: What Police and Media Aren't Saying

August 6, 2004
Dee Hon, TheTyee

Three months have passed since Roman Andreichikov died in the hands of Vancouver police. The Tyee was alone in exploring what happened. The 25-year-old's heart stopped beating after police shot him with an electric stun gun then pinned him to the floor of his Granville street apartment. Since then another man, 54 year-old Robert Bagnell, died in similar fashion in his home just a few blocks away.

The deaths of these two men, and those of other British Columbians before them, raise pressing questions. Why did they die, and what should be done to keep others from a similar fate? To this date, few people are asking the appropriate questions.

Now comes the announcement of a provincial investigation into the Vancouver Police Department's use of Tasers. Victoria's police chief will head the inquiry because, says B.C. Police Complaints Commissioner Dirk Ryneveld, the Vancouver department's delays in disclosing information create "an adverse perception of the ability of the VPD to conduct an impartial investigation."

Ryneveld raises the very concern The Tyee pointed to in its June 25 article, saying "I believe the use of the Taser may have saved lives, but there may also be a category of individuals, those on drugs, whose adrenaline is already pumping, that just can't take 50 volts of electricity."

Ryneveld is referring to a state known as "excited delirium," the central focus of the Tyee's article, though glossed over by other media until now.

The provincial inquiry, independent from the VDP and delving into the dangerous complexities of arresting and controlling suspects suffering so-called 'excited delirium, is badly needed.

Especially because major media outlets, when they finally have examined these in-custody deaths, have remain fixated on questioning the Taser gun's safety, and ignore other factors that may be involved. Publicly, police brass spend more time defending their use of the weapons than re-evaluating how officers deal with mental-health emergencies. Is it any wonder then, that people keep dying in police custody?

'Excited delirium' underplayed

Medical experts assert that a complex phenomenon known as excited delirium may be what's really responsible for the deaths of Andreichikov and Bagnell - as well as hundreds or thousands of others. But while the media overlook this factor, police forces use excited delirium as a crutch; ignoring their own role when people die in their hands.

Our society routinely demands our police to make snap decisions of life or death importance. Yet we collectively fail to ask the proper questions - ones that will give our officers meaningful answers and information to help them make those choices. So when the next person inevitably dies in police custody, there will be plenty of blame to share.

Roman Andreichikov's death on May 1, 2004 was heralded by virtual silence. The brawny personal trainer was high on cocaine and mumbling deliriously when his friend Rahim Hadani called for paramedics. Though there was no crime in progress, Vancouver police were the first to arrive.

According to Hadani, Andreichikov was behaving irrationally, but not violently when police Tasered him then pinned him aggressively to the floor. His last words, as officers pressed their weight into his back were reportedly "I can't breathe."

The VPD issued three short paragraphs about the incident in its May 3 daily media briefing, simply announcing the death and the start of its investigation. The Province newspaper reprinted the release almost verbatim in a news brief. The only other details to hit the pages of Vancouver's big dailies were in the obituaries.

Tyee stonewalled by VPD

While most media ignored Andreichikov's death, the VPD stonewalled The Tyee's attempts for answers. Despite the department not answering a single question on any topic, The Tyee published 'Dead in Custody' June 25. The article detailed how psychosis - as a result of either illness or drug use - coupled with violent restraint can result in the deadly phenomena known as excited delirium.

Psychosis floods the victim's bloodstream with panic hormones, and the struggle with police further jacks the system until the person's heart fails.

Some critics wonder if Tasers make these situations turn for the worse, by further stressing the victims' hearts. But it is also possible the weapons halt the escalation of violence in these confrontations, preventing further harm.

What the police also kept hidden was that while The Tyee was pressing them about Andreichikov's death, Robert Bagnell died, high on cocaine, after struggling with police and being Tasered. Bagnell's death on June 23 was just two days before The Tyee published its story.

The VPD waited a full month before announcing what happened. Bagnell's mother Riki only learned the details of his death from watching the news on TV. She had assumed he died from an overdose, until she learned of his confrontation with police.

New York Times rouses Sun

It's possible nothing would have been said in the media about Bagnell's death, had the timing been any different. He could have been just another Vancouver drug user dead and forgotten.

But on July 18, the New York Times told the story of Kris J. Lieberman, questioning if the police Taser was responsible for his death, and the deaths of several others. The 3,500-word article was a scathing critique of the weapon. The Times called on experts who said the weapon lacked independent testing.

Nearly a month after the Tyee's report raising questions about Andreichikov's death, Tasers and excited delirium, the VPD's announced Bagnell's death. This arriving five days after the New York Times ran its front page story on Tasers, local media finally took up the subject.

The Vancouver Sun produced its own article questioning the VPD's use of Tasers. In addition, it reprinted a more in-depth article by The Arizona Republic. The VPD responded by publicly Tasering reporters like BCTV's John Daly to show the weapon's safety.

But no members of the media paused to wonder why coroners have not been finding the Taser responsible for people's deaths, despite 50 instances where victims were Tasered before they died.

A lone voice

At least two people publicly questioned if there was something going on beyond just Tasers. Vancouver police chief Jamie Graham and B.C. Schizophrenia Society director Richard Dolman wrote an article for The Sun's July 29 commentary page which not only defended Taser use, but mentioned another suspected culprit - excited delirium.

Many mental health advocates support the use of Tasers when they can be used to instead of more lethal firearms.

The chief of police, it appears, has been reading The Tyee. Parts of Graham and Dolman's article seem to paraphrase sections of Andreichikov's story. One quote from San Francisco medical examiner Steve Karch appears exactly as it did in The Tyee's piece.

But Graham seems to use excited delirium to absolve police of any responsibility for people's deaths. It's drug use that dooms the victims of excited delirium. Graham, like The Tyee, uses Karch's quote, "If the death occurs while police are trying to restrain the victim, the police will be assumed to be responsible."

But Karch is not a research scientist, and his view is not the majority one.

Deeper inquiry needed

As The Tyee's article also pointed out, "researchers note that every excited delirium death is preceded by a forceful struggle with police. A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal examined the deaths of 21 people due to excited delirium in Ontario. In all 21 cases, the deceased were forcefully restrained in a prone position, sometimes with pressure placed on the neck. Twelve of them (57 percent of the total) had a psychiatric disorder.

Only a minority of them - eight out of 21 (38 percent) - had cocaine in their system.

"In other words, while other factors may vary, the use of forceful takedowns remains a constant element in excited delirium deaths. Larger American studies have corroborated these findings."

Graham is right when he says there's not a lot we know about how to prevent excited delirium deaths. But available evidence suggests minimizing the use of force whenever possible. His officers need to have the best information lest they harm when they are trying to help. And that starts with shining light in the proper direction.

Vancouver police Taser probe under fire

August 6, 2004
CBC News

Advocacy groups are welcoming the announcement of an investigation into the use of Taser guns by police in Vancouver, but they still have concerns about the scope and impartiality of the inquiry.

On Thursday, the B.C. police complaints commissioner ordered the chief of police in Victoria to investigate the death of Robert Bagnell. Bagnell, 44, died after being shot by a Taser while police in Vancouver were trying to arrest him.

The Bagnell case is only one of many incidents in which the safety of the high-voltage electrical weapons has been questioned, said Murray Mollard, executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.

Limiting the scope of the inquiry to the Bagnell case alone makes the investigation too narrow, he said.

"Quite frankly, we think the use of Tasers should be assessed in light of experience throughout the province, not just in a case where there's been a tragic death," Mollard said.

While Amnesty International also welcomes the inquiry, it wants to see an independent group, rather than the police themselves, conduct the study.

"It's a good first step to get the issue on the table, but certainly we'll be looking for independent medical [and] scientific research into the use of Tasers and the impact that has on the people it's used on," said spokesperson Don Wright.

The international human rights group is also calling for a ban on Tasers until they're proven safe. The energy weapons emit a jolt of up to 50,000 volts, disrupting the body's electrical impulses and causing involuntary muscle spasms.

Taser safety investigation announced in B.C.

August 6, 2004
Canadian Press

B.C.'s Police Complaints Commissioner has ordered an investigation into the police use of Taser guns after a man who had been shocked with one died.

Dirk Ryneveld said Thursday he has asked Victoria Police Chief Paul Battershill to lead the probe, which will examine whether Tasers can be deadly.

"I understand there are some scientific studies are underway about the issue, but that may take some time," Ryneveld said.

"My concern is the immediate safety of the public."

Battershill has been asked to make some interim recommendations for how and when police should use Tasers.

He has also been asked to look into the death of Robert Bagnell.

Bagnell, who was high on cocaine and other drugs, was hit by the high-voltage charge of a police Taser in a Vancouver hotel room. He died at the scene June 23.

It marked the fifth time someone in Canada has died after being hit by a Taser.

Bagnell's sister, Patti Gillman, told the Vancouver Province on Thursday that her family hadn't formally complained to the commissioner.

"So they're doing this independently, which is nice to hear, I guess. I'm glad that somebody is going to ask them to take a look at this," she said.

Gillman, of Trenton, Ont., said she thinks police need to consider restricting the use of Tasers.

"We're gaining some statistics. My brother is statistic number five. The numbers are growing," she said.

Vancouver police waited a month before confirming one of its Tasers hit Bagnell. A police spokeswoman said the official cause of Bagnell's death has not yet been determined.

Ryneveld said the Vancouver force's delay in disclosing to the family and the public that a Taser had been used "has created an adverse perception by the public of the ability of the Vancouver Police Department to conduct an impartial investigation."

Tasers fire an electrical current through two barbs for about five seconds. The goal is to completely immobilize victims, shocking their muscles to the point that it causes them to fall down.

About 50 people have died after being shot with Tasers in North America, most in the U.S. It is not approved for use in Britain and only recently have some Canadian police forces started issuing them to officers.

Amnesty International has said there is a growing body of evidence that Tasers should be banned until more tests are done to determine how safe they are.

Vancouver police Taser probe under fire

August 6, 2004
CBC News

Autopsy links another death to taser

August 6, 2004
Robert Anglen, Arizona Republic

An Alabama medical examiner cited electrical shock from a Taser stun gun as a cause in the death of a mental patient two years ago.

It is the sixth death that an Arizona Republic investigation has linked to the stun gun. The Scottsdale manufacturer claims that Tasers have never caused a death or injury.

LeRoy Riddick, Alabama regional medical examiner, reported in a June 28, 2002, autopsy that Clever Craig Jr., 46, died of a heart attack during an episode of delirium "following electrical shock from Taser while resisting arrest."

It marks the fourth case in which a medical examiner has cited Taser as a cause or a contributing factor in the death of a suspect in police custody. In two other cases, medical examiners said the stun gun could not be ruled out as a cause of death.

Officials with Taser International Inc. said other medical experts who reviewed Craig's case this week found Taser played no part in his death.

"We haven't seen anything that fits electrical death," Taser Chief Executive Officer Rick Smith said. The report, he said, "is more descriptive in nature than causal."

The Taser stun gun is marketed as an alternative to deadly force and is used by more than 5,000 law enforcement agencies, including every major police department in the Valley.

For years, Taser has cited autopsy reports and medical examiner findings as proof that the gun never caused an injury or death.

The Republic found that Taser did not possess those autopsy reports. Instead, it relied on anecdotal information from police and media accounts.

In a report on Craig's death, Taser officials stated that he died of heart disease.

"Oral discussions with (police) departmental personnel indicate cause of death was cardiovascular bivalve heart disease," Taser reported. "One valve was bad. With the struggle, the cardiovascular collapse caused the death. No final report available."

Smith has rejected the findings in each of the cases linking Taser to a death, saying medical examiners are generalists who don't have the expertise to examine fatalities following a shock from a stun gun. He said deaths would have occurred with or without the stun gun, a result of pre-existing health conditions and drug intoxication. Unlike the other five cases, Craig's autopsy revealed no traces of opiates, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, amphetamines or cocaine.

Taser did not have a copy of Craig's autopsy until The Republic provided it this week.

The newspaper has identified 44 cases in the United States and Canada of death following a police Taser strike from September 1999 to March 2004. Using public-records laws, the newspaper has requested autopsy reports for each case and has obtained 23.

Riddick wrote that when Craig was shocked, the man was suffering from excited delirium, a state in which suspects work themselves into a frenzy during confrontations with police. Riddick concluded that the death was a homicide. He could not be reached for comment this week.

Craig, a paranoid schizophrenic, died June 28, 2002.

Relatives called 911 around 4 a.m. to report that Craig was acting strangely. When police arrived, they found the 6-foot, 200-pound Craig holding a barbell. Officers ordered him to drop the weight. He refused, and they shocked him twice in about 40 seconds. According to police, Craig struggled for five minutes after being shocked. When officers handcuffed him, he was unresponsive.

Two months ago, a Mobile, Ala., grand jury determined officers were justified in firing their Tasers.

Doctors asked to review the case by Taser said the fact that Craig struggled after being shocked shows the stun gun did not contribute to his death.

"This is conclusive evidence that he was not in ventricular fibrillation after receiving the Taser discharge," Wayne McDaniel and Robert Stratbucker wrote in an Aug. 4 report.

Edward Freelander, department of pathology chairman at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, questioned Riddick's autopsy.

"Dr. Riddick's lack of attention to the existing, extremely serious heart disease is very strange," Freelander wrote in an Aug. 3 report. "Despite some strange language, there is nothing to suggest that the Taser fragmented the heart or that the current went anywhere near it to cause a rhythm problem."

Craig's relatives and friends are convinced that the Taser is to blame.

"It triggered a heart attack," said Lee Pease of Mobile, who is married to Craig's ex-wife.

An Alabama state trooper for 26 years, Pease knows Tasers are popular with law enforcement officers. But he doesn't trust the stun gun.

"I don't think there has been enough training on it," he said. "I certainly support the police but this I don't know."

Complaints commissioner orders Taser probe in B.C.

August 6, 2004
CP

Victoria -- B.C.'s Police Complaints Commissioner has ordered an investigation of the use of Taser guns after a man died in Vancouver when police used one on him.

Dirk Ryneveld has asked Victoria Police Chief Paul Battershill to head the probe, which will examine whether Tasers can be deadly when used by police.

Robert Bagnell died in Vancouver on June 23 after he was hit by a police Taser, which emits a high-voltage charge.