Vermont Taser Death Investigation Stalls

September 13, 2012
By William Boardman, IVN

Vermont Taser Death Investigation Stalls

None of the officials involved in Vermont’s first taser death can explain why it’s almost three months since a Vermont State trooper tasered Macadam Mason, a 39-year-old epileptic artist who died almost immediately, and there’s still no completed autopsy report.

The same officials in two states, Vermont and New Hampshire, also failed to reveal last June that Taser International, the taser manufacturer, almost immediately intervened in the investigation, submitting guidance and background information for the Vermont State Police and the NH medical examiner’s office that was in the midst of performing Mason’s autopsy. That was June 21 and Taser’s involvement remained unknown to the public until reported September 9 by the Burlington Free Press.

Taser’s covert intervention into Mason’s taser-related death is part of apparently long-standing policy on the company’s part to intervene as early as possible to protect the Taser brand from bad publicity.

With some 500 taser-related American deaths since 2001, Taser has already changed its characterization of its 50,000 volt stun gun from “non-lethal” to “less lethal.”

Taser’s approach to taser deaths is to challenge anyone suggesting that taser was in any way to blame. Last July when OpEdNews.com ran a story headlined, “Taser Death In Vermont: Trooper Zaps Unarmed Epileptic Artist,” Stacey Todd of Taser International posted a comment asserting that: “It’s premature to describe Mr. Mason’s death as a ‘Taser death.’ To simply infer that the use of one police tool may be to be to blame for this man’s death is irresponsible as there are no facts to support that causal relationship.”

All reports of the event of June 20 are consistent, relating that when trooper David Schaeffer shot his taser at Macadam Mason, Mason dropped to the ground and never regained consciousness. He was taken to a hospital in NH where he was pronounced dead.

When asked, “do you think Mason would be dead even if no taser was used,” the Taser International spokesperson did not answer the question. Instead, Stacey Todd wrote that: “Until a medical expert, coroner or medical examiner, determines a cause of death it’s speculation to state that the Taser device caused Mr. Mason’s death.”

In fact, in three different cases in Ohio in 2005-06, when the Chief Medical examiner’s office in Summit County, Ohio, made exactly that determination, Taser International took the county to court. After a four-day trial in 2008, Ohio Judge Ted Schneiderman found for Taser on every item in the company’s complaint, as well as some items it had not requested, and ordered the medical examiner to re-write three separate death certificates.

The judge’s 13-page decision in May 2008 described three events that unambiguously included tasers and fatalities, as well other factors like extreme drug use, a badly slashed wrist, serious mental impairment, and obesity. These descriptions alone raise doubts about the taser use directly causing any of the three deaths, but tasers were indeed deployed just a matter of minutes before each of three men died, belying the judge’s conclusion that: “The Taser device had nothing to do with their deaths.” [emphasis added]

In Arizona, where Taser International is based in Scottsdale, the Arizona Republic newspaper of Phoenix covered the decision in a story that starts: “Taser International has fired a warning shot at medical examiners across the country. The Scottsdale-based stun gun manufacturer increasingly is targeting state and county medical examiners with lawsuits and lobbying efforts to reverse and prevent medical rulings that Tasers contributed to someone’s death.”

The medical examiner appealed the decision on seven separate issues, getting upheld on one and denied on the rest. In April 2009, the three-judge appeals court denied the medical examiner’s constitutional due process argument on the ground that it had not been raised in the original trial. The appeals court also reversed the trial judge for granting Taser items it had not requested.

In a pointed dissent, Judge Donna J. Carr argued that Taser International had no basis for bringing the suit in the first place “because it has not suffered an actual injury and because the interests it seeks to protect do not fall within the zone of interest to be protected by the statute.” The statute in question is concerned with preserving the integrity and finality of cause-of-death determinations.

Judge Carr went on to say that the cases the majority cited to support its position “involved persons with direct interests in the cause of death of the decedent, such as persons accused in the death, not corporations seeking to make a preemptive strike to preclude lawsuits from being filed against it.”

In Ohio, at least, “the controversy of medical examiners and Taser-related deaths” continued to make news in 2012 when WCPO-TV in Cincinnati looked into the taser-related death of a teenager that was ruled “unknown/undetermined” after he was tasered by a police officer. That ruling was challenged by the family’s attorney who said, “He’s a very clean and upstanding kid, very healthy kid…and the only thing that happened that night is he was tased and then he died and she’s saying this doesn’t matter, the Taser doesn’t matter…I don’t think so.”

WCPO also reported on a 2003 study by the Dept. of Defense that discussed the difficulty of assessing tasers as a cause-of-death, since electric shock leaves no tracks. Without direct evidence, medical examiners must rely on inference to assess the elements of a death, the same inferences that seemed so obvious to the Summit County medical examiner until Taser took her to court.

Asked if she had an opinion of the courts’ rulings, medical examiner Dr. Lisa J. Kohler said, “Yes.” She did not elaborate except to say, “I respectfully disagree with the original ruling. The death certificates reflect that disagreement in that they are unsigned.”

Whether any of these events have anything to do with the delay in Vermont getting Macadam Mason’s autopsy report from NH is anyone’s guess. Taser International has contacted at least some of the officials involved. The Vermont Attorney General’s office and the Vermont State Police won’t comment. The NH Medical Examiner’s office says that Taser hasn’t influenced them. The NH Attorney General’s office refers inquiries to the Vermont Attorney General and other NH officials refers autopsy questions to the Vermont State Police. The Vermont State Police won’t comment beyond saying that, when it gets the autopsy report, it will forward copies to the Attorney General and to the Orange County State’s Attorney Office, which has primary jurisdiction, since Mason died in Thetford in Orange County.

ENGLAND: IPCC finds police officers were right to use Taser on man having epilpetic fit

May 4, 2011
Manchester Evening News

A police watchdog has found that officers who used a Taser gun TWICE on a man who was having an epilpetic fit were right to do so.

But officials at the Independent Police Complaints Commission have now asked for a review of GMP's policy for dealing with people experiencing medical episodes after Howard Swarray was zapped at a Whalley Range gym.

Mr Swarray, 41, was working out at the Powerleague gym on Wilbraham Road when he suffered a seizure and collapsed.

Witnesses said that as he came round he began to struggle with staff and paramedics and police were called.

One officer was recorded en route as saying: "If he is getting aggressive I am sure 50,000 volts will stand him up."

When police arrived they unsuccessfully tried to handcuff Mr Swarray, who remembers nothing of the incident.

One officer then hit him on the arms and legs before his Taser-trained colleague, who had made the earlier comment, authorised himself to use the weapon, which is allowed under GMP policy.

He discharged it once and when it appeared to have no effect fired it again, this time in 'drive stun' mode.

Mr Swarray was then handcuffed but officers said he continued to act aggressively so they used 'various methods' to restrain him further, including bending his
toes back. Another officer stood on his legs.

Mr Swarray was then sedated with the horse tranquilliser ketamine and spent more than two weeks in hospital which included eight days in a drug-induced coma.

Eventually he was diagnosed with kidney failure.

A health expert told the IPCC that although a Taser could cause muscle damage it was most likely that Mr Swarray's condition was caused by physical exertion or resisting physical restraint.

Three ambulance staff were treated in hospital for bruises after the episode, which happened on 23 November 2009.

Mr Swarray submitted a complaint via his solicitor claiming the use of the Taser on him was innappropriate and that officers used excessive force.

But the IPCC investigation found that while some of the tactics used were 'questionable', 'no officers breached policies or procedures or comitted misconduct'.

Despite those findings the watchdog has asked the Association of Chief Police Officers to carry out a review into the tactics used for dealing with people experiencing serious medical episodes.

They have cited 'sufficient public concern' around incidents such as Mr Swarray's for doing so.

IPCC Commissioner Ms Naseem Malik said: "It is evident from our investigation that the officers involved were responding to an incident in which a man appeared to be violently resisting attempts to deliver medical treatment.

"Subsequent medical evidence shows Mr Swarray had been in the recovery stage of an epileptic seizure and not in control of his actions. However, although the initial report had suggested Mr Swarray was having a seizure, at the point the officers arrived to provide assistance it is evident the exact cause of Mr Swarray's behaviour had not been fully established.

"The fact is all of the actions taken by the officers were within their training and did not breach force policies. There is nothing within either ACPO or GMP policies that prevents the use of Taser against a person who has suffered an epileptic seizure.

"With hindsight actions such as giving commands and attempting compliance through pain to a person who was already known to be unresponsive were questionable. However the officers were considering options within their training and the officer who discharged the Taser believed he had no other option.

"The language used by the officer en route to the incident was inappropriate and suggested a certain mindset. However it is evident he then considered tactical options before deciding to use the Taser.

"However, while our investigation has found individual officers have acted correctly, the overriding concern remains that a medical condition exists that can prompt an individual to be in a totally disorientated state which can result in them being incredibly violent, yet the only option open to police officers in dealing with such an individual at present appears to be to deliver controlled violence.

"While I recognise that police need to protect the public and themselves against violent individuals, my concern is whether there is an alternative to the use of a Taser to deal with people whose violence arises from a medical condition such as epilepsy. For this reason the IPCC is writing to ACPO to suggest that, in conjunction with relevant charities or healthcare providers, they consider whether other, potentially less violent tactics could be used in these types of situations to ensure people suffering medical emergencies receive the right care and that frontline police officers have the relevant knowledge to assist them.”

Family: Taser Used On Justice Thomas' Kin

July 09, 2010
NEW ORLEANS, LA

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was traveling to New Orleans to find out why his nephew was subdued with a stun gun at a hospital, his niece says.

Kimberly Thomas told WGNO-TV, New Orleans, she called the justice immediately and described him as outraged.

Derek Thomas, 24, refused to put on a hospital gown at West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero after being admitted Thursday, Kimberly said. Derek Thomas said he asked to leave the hospital and was then threatened with an electronic stunning.

The young man is epileptic. Kimberly said a security guard hit him and then used a Taser, sending him into a seizure.

Clarence Thomas has refused to comment on the incident, The Washington Post reported.

Kimberly Thomas said her brother's chart included the information about his epilepsy.

British police shot man with Taser after he suffered epileptic fit in gym

Hostile behavior is not unusual when someone is recovering from a seizure, according to an Epilepsy Foundation report entitled Inappropriate Response to Seizures. "Accordingly, restraint of persons soon after a seizure may exacerbate or precipitate combativeness the opposite of the intended result," according to the report.

See also an ABC News report from November 23, 2006: Arrested for Epilepsy. "The Epilepsy Foundation said that the best thing police or bystanders can do when they see someone undergoing a seizure is to not restrain the person. Rather, they should simply let the seizure pass, watch to make sure the seizure sufferer is not in harm's way, and comfort the person when it ends. Call 911 if the episode lasts more than 5 to 7 minutes, the group advises."

April 13, 2010
Daily Mail

Police watchdogs have launched an investigation after a Taser was used on a man suffering an epileptic fit.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission has launched an investigation after Greater Manchester Police officers allegedly shot the man with a 50,000-volt stun gun after he collapsed in November.

Paramedics were called to the Powerleague gym in Whalley Range, Manchester, after the 40-year-old man suffered from a seizure.

They then asked for police back up after he started biting and punching the ambulance crew.

During the incident one officer discharged a Taser at least once into the man, who was also restrained.

The man, who spent more than two weeks in hospital after the incident, made a complaint via his solicitors, alleging the officers were negligent and had used excessive and unnecessary force.

The matter was then referred by Greater Manchester Police to the IPCC.

The IPCC will carry out an independent investigation into the allegations.

IPCC Commissioner Ms Naseem Malik said: 'This man suffered an epileptic seizure and it is clear paramedics were struggling to treat him due to the violence of that seizure.

'Our investigation will be thorough and examine the appropriateness of the actions taken by the police officers who attended to assist the paramedics.

Superintendent Mike Freeman, of Greater Manchester Police's Professional Standards Branch, said: 'This matter was referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission by GMP in line with the IPCC's policy that complaints arising from the discharge of tasers are referred to them.

'The role of the IPCC is to determine the method of investigation and in this case it will be independently managed.

'Officers were called to this incident because the 40-year-old man in question was suffering a seizure and posing an immediate threat to the safety of himself and others and had assaulted a number of paramedics.

'As an IPPC investigation is underway it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.'

Generalized tonic-clonic seizure after a taser shot to the head

March 17, 2009
Canadian Medical Association Journal

Esther T. Bui, MD, Myra Sourkes, MD and Richard Wennberg, MD
From the Division of Neurology, Krembil Neuroscience Centre, University Health Network, Toronto Western Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.

Correspondence to: Dr. Richard Wennberg, Toronto Western Hospital, Ste. 5W444, 399 Bathurst St., Toronto ON M5T 2S8; fax 416 603-5768; r.wennberg@utoronto.ca

Abstract

During a police chase on foot, a previously well police officer was hit mistakenly by a taser shot meant for the suspect. The taser gun had been fired once, sending 2 barbed darts into his upper back and occiput. Within seconds, the officer collapsed and experienced a generalized tonic-clonic seizure with loss of consciousness and postictal confusion. Subsequent magnetic resonance imaging scans of the head and electroencephalograms were normal. The patient has experienced no recurrence of seizure over more than a year of follow-up. This report shows that a taser shot to the head may result in a brain-specific complication such as generalized tonic-clonic seizure. It also suggests that seizure should be considered an adverse event related to taser use.

The taser stun gun, manufactured by Taser International in Scottsdale, Arizona, is a weapon used increasingly among law enforcement personnel to temporarily incapacitate detainees. Questions have arisen in both the scientific literature and the lay press about the device's safety.1–3 In this article, we report the occurrence of a generalized tonic-clonic seizure in a person who received a taser shot to the head.

Case report

The patient was a previously well police officer in his 30s who took part in a police chase involving a suspected robber. He and a colleague cornered the suspect, who initially appeared to surrender but then attempted an escape. The officer had begun to chase the suspect on foot when he experienced a sudden, severe pain in the back of his head. He later described the moment as feeling like he had been "hit by a bat." He recalled letting out a brief gasp before losing consciousness. He had no recollection of falling to the ground on top of the suspect. Police records indicate that the officer's colleague had fired a taser shot meant for the suspect but that the 2 copper darts had instead struck the officer in the occiput and upper back. The officer had been wearing an armoured vest. Immediately after being shot, he was found by his colleague to be unresponsive and foaming at the mouth. His eyes were rolled upward and he had generalized tonic-clonic movements with apnea lasting for about 1 minute. He did not have urinary incontinence. Postictally, he was initially confused and combative. Emergency medical services personnel were able to restrain him. They recorded a Glasgow Coma Score of 9 within 5 minutes after arrival; 5 minutes later, his score was 13.

The patient's next memory was of being in the emergency department. During this period, he felt as if he were in "a bad dream." As he gradually regained orientation over the next few hours, he became aware of thoracic tightness that was aggravated by deep breaths, and a severe headache. He was monitored overnight, then discharged in stable condition.

The patient had no history of febrile or unprovoked seizures, head injuries, headaches, meningitis or encephalitis. He had no family history of seizures or of other neurologic or psychiatric conditions. His developmental history was normal. He was not taking any medications.

The results of a general physical and neurologic examination were normal. Results of routine blood tests were unremarkable except for an elevated leukocyte count of 12.9 (normal 3.6–11.0) x 109/L 30 minutes after the event (decreasing to 11.2 x 109/L 5 hours later) and an elevated serum creatine kinase level of 580 (normal < 232) U/L.

The patient returned to full-time work 5 days after the incident. He experienced persistent headaches, dizziness, back pain and chest tightness. Magnetic resonance imaging scans of the head (1.5 and 3 Tesla) as well as routine and 24-hour ambulatory electroencephalography were performed 1, 2 and 12 months after the seizure. All findings were normal.

A diagnosis of mild traumatic brain injury (concussion), in addition to provoked seizure, was considered after a neurologic consultation during assessment of the patient at a rehabilitation centre 6 months after injury. A psychiatric consultation 7 months after injury suggested an Axis I diagnosis of adjustment disorder with depressed and anxious mood. Formal neuropsychological testing performed 9 months after injury showed no definite evidence of cognitive impairment in any domain.

The patient has not had further seizures since the injury more than 1 year ago. His symptoms of anxiety, difficulties concentrating, irritability, nonspecific dizziness and persistent headaches have not completely resolved. Treatment trials have included amitriptyline 50 mg nightly, topiramate 25 mg nightly, escitalopram 10 mg nightly, almotriptan 12.5 mg as needed and ibuprofen 200–400 mg as needed.


Comments

A taser stun gun is a device designed to temporarily immobilize a human target by delivering a direct-current type of shock through 2 barbed copper darts. The shock causes involuntary muscle contraction. Neuromuscular transmission is thought to be affected primarily at the level of the peripheral motor nerve, although studies have shown that stimulation of the spinal cord may occur with dart penetration as far away as the anterior torso.4,5 The muscle contraction induced by tasers is typically tonic, with retained consciousness, no clonic movements and no postictal confusion.4 The manufacturer's website estimates that a single shot lasts about 5 seconds, delivers 19 pulses per second with a typical charge of 100 microcoulombs per pulse, generates an average net current of 2 milliamperes and has an estimated peak voltage of 1300 volts.6

The data are sparse on how this device may affect the central nervous system. A case has been reported involving intracranial penetration by a taser dart with loss of consciousness for 5 minutes.7 The person who had been struck recovered shortly afterward with a mild headache. No details were reported on whether a seizure occurred, although only 1 of the 2 darts struck the patient.7 Another case report describes cranial penetration by a taser dart (with the second dart found in a hair braid) with transient decreased consciousness; no further details were given.5 Other reports of secondary loss of consciousness related to taser shots have involved only cases of severe traumatic head injuries that resulted from falls during neuromuscular incapacitation.5

The description by witnesses of the event involving our patient is most compatible with a generalized tonic-clonic seizure. The loss of consciousness, clonic movements, foaming at the mouth and postictal confusion experienced by our patient differentiate the episode from the usual transient incapacitation induced by tasers. The taser current that passed to his brain from the dart in the occiput probably provoked the seizure directly, with a mechanism akin to that of seizures induced by electroconvulsive therapy. In electroconvulsive therapy, an initial charge of 38–60 millicoulombs is used, according to therapeutic protocol in the United States.8 It is plausible that a copper dart penetrating the scalp and discharging 95 pulses of 100 microcoulombs each could trigger a generalized convulsion.

Given previous case reports of taser-induced cardiac arrhythmias, one could speculate that an initial induced cardiac arrhythmia and a secondary hypoxic seizure, or convulsive syncope, occurred in our case. Convulsive syncope is believed to result from reticular disinhibition in the brainstem resulting from hypoxia-induced cortical dysfunction.9 However, this mechanism seems unlikely in this case, especially given that the points of impact of the taser darts were over the head and upper back and not the heart.

Even less likely is the possibility that the convulsion was induced by a concussion resulting from the direct physical impact of the darts or impact of the patient's head on the ground. Our patient's prolonged period of unresponsiveness and subsequent postictal confusion is not typical of a concussive convulsion, which is usually characterized by immediate onset and a rapid recovery that takes place over a few minutes.10 On the other hand, we believe that his persistent symptoms after injury may be attributable in part to postconcussion syndrome, presumably secondary to mild traumatic brain injury caused by either the impact of the taser dart or the subsequent fall to the ground during the provoked seizure.

Until now, most reports of taser-related adverse events have understandably concentrated on cardiac complications associated with shots to the chest.2 Our report shows that a taser shot to the head may result in brain-specific complications. It also suggests that seizure should be added to the list of taser-related adverse events.

Footnotes

Une version française de ce résumé est disponible à l'adresse www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/180/6/625/DC1

This article has been peer reviewed.

Contributors: All of the authors were involved in the preparation of this manuscript and approved the final version submitted for publication.

Competing interests: None declared.

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Hume M, Dhillon S. Questions hang over taser death. Globe and Mail [Toronto] 2007 Oct. 26; Available: www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071025.wtaser1026/BNStory/National/home (accessed 2009 Jan. 7).

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Mangus BE, Shen LY, Helmer SD, et al. Taser and taser associated injuries: a case series. Am Surg 2008;74:862-5.[Medline]

Kroll MW. Cardiac safety. Scottsdale (AZ): Taser International; 2007. Available: www.taser.com/research/Science/Pages/CardiacSafety.aspx (accessed 2009 Jan. 9)

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Arrested for Epilepsy - When a Seizure Gets You Thrown in Jail

November 23, 2006
By JIM AVILA and LARA SETRAKIAN, ABC News Law & Justice Unit

Roughly 3 million Americans live with epilepsy. And a surprising number of them go to jail for it.

Why? Around the country, police officers and bystanders who see someone having a seizure mistake it for disorderly, criminal behavior.

That's what happened to Daniel Beloungea of Pontiac, Mich. On most days Daniel lives the normal life of a 48-year-old single man. But roughly once a week, he loses total control of his body and mind to an epileptic seizure.

A seizure took over Beloungea's body while walking through his suburban Detroit neighborhood last April. When an onlooker in a neighbor's house saw Beloungea having the seizure, which includes rapid repetitive arm motion, she misinterpreted it as criminal conduct. Specifically, she thought Beloungea was masturbating in public.

With that misconception in mind, she called the police. When the Oakland County Sheriff's Department arrived on the scene, Beloungea was still undergoing his seizure, acting disoriented and not responding to questions.

When officers couldn't get through to Beloungea they drew their weapons, shocked him with a high-voltage taser, hit him with a baton and wrestled him to the ground. They then handcuffed him and put him in a police car.

Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe said that the officers tasered Beloungea because he lunged at one of them. Beloungea and his lawyer say the more police got physical the more Beloungea got agitated and aggressive -- typical behavior, according to the Epilepsy Foundation of America, for a person restrained while having a partial complex seizure. Beloungea's wild motions and inability to communicate were not defiance or resistance, but classic symptoms of epilepsy

The officers put Beloungea in jail, citing assault of a police officer and resisting arrest. Throughout the incident Beloungea, was wearing a medical alert bracelet identifying him as an epileptic, stating his name and the contact numbers of people who can be reached in case of an emergency.

Later, Michigan state psychologists who examined Beloungea would confirm that he was having a seizure at the time of his arrest and that he was no danger to himself or to others.

The Epilepsy Foundation of America said it sees cases like Beloungea's around the country. The foundation said it could cite more than a dozen cases of police violence toward people in the midst of a seizure over the past 10 years. In 1999, Joaquin Gonzales died after he was arrested and hog tied while having an epileptic seizure in a Taos County, N.M., jail. County officials fired the guards on duty that night and paid Gonzales' family a $1.25 million settlement for his wrongful death.

Eric Hargis, the Epilepsy Foundation's CEO, cites one common aspect in each of those incidents: Police should have been better trained to recognize the seizure and not to use force on an epileptic.

"It's fairly easy, really, with limited amount of training for a police or other emergency first responder to be able to spot a seizure & this didn't have to take place," Hargis told ABC News.

"All [Beloungea] is guilty of is having a medical condition that resulted in a seizure."

The foundation sent a short set of guidelines to police departments around the country to help officers recognize and deal with victims of such seizures, but the Oakland County Sheriff's office claimed never to have heard of it until after Beloungea's case.

Look and Learn
When most people think of epileptic seizures, they think of people shaking on the ground -- symptoms of what's called a tonic-clonic or grand mal seizure. What Beloungea goes through is called a partial complex seizure, and it's actually more common.

A partial complex seizure does not come with the violent shaking symptoms most people associate with epilepsy. It involves a spell of unorganized, unintentional behavior: picking at clothes, chewing motions, and wandering aimlessly.

The Epilepsy Foundation said that the best thing police or bystanders can do when they see someone undergoing a seizure is to not restrain the person. Rather, they should simply let the seizure pass, watch to make sure the seizure sufferer is not in harm's way, and comfort the person when it ends. Call 911 if the episode lasts more than 5 to 7 minutes, the group advises.

Beloungea was ultimately found not guilty by reason of insanity. Beloungea is not insane -- he's simply epileptic. But his lawyer, Otis Underwood, told ABC News there was no other way to get Beloungea off the charges than the insanity defense. The catch: He had to spend 20 days locked in a criminal mental facility.

Beloungea said he's still waiting for an apology from the Oakland Sheriff's Office. What would Beloungea say if he could address them directly?

"I would say, 'In a situation like mine, look for a medical bracelet. Pay attention to what you're doing, know your job. Don't just grab a taser gun & 50,000 volts in a situation like mine could kill a person.'"

Beloungea's case is closed, for now. He's just hoping police will know better next time his body betrays him.

November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month.