Canadian condolences to the family of Tucson PD officer Henry Fung who died of an apparent heart attack on Tuesday this week, one day after he reportedly "volunteered" to take a taser jolt on Monday for "training" purposes.

The medical examiner must STRONGLY recommend that the taser(s) used on Henry Fung be measured for 'output variance'. As we have learned in Canada, not all tasers perform the same way. Many have tested way outside the safety allowables set by Taser International. The medical examiner (and all the doctors in the world) CANNOT rule out the taser until the shock from the weapon itself has been definitively ruled out. Proper measurement is required.

On CBS News last week, Taser International said that proving the taser did NOT play a role in a person's death is an UNPROVABLE supposition. There's your starting point. Click here: http://bit.ly/tT8iYq

It's notable that no one has reported the duration and number of stuns Officer Fung recieved. Usually when a citizen dies after being shocked by a Taser, he or she is blamed, because they had so-called "excited delirium", were on drugs or had a previous medical history (doesn't everyone have a previous medical history??).

Taser International has been warning about multiple and prolonged stuns only in recent years even though, at the beginning, they told police, policy-makers and the public that the taser was "safe to use on any assailant".

That is NOT what they're saying now. One must wonder if Officer Fung was given an opportunity to read the fine print of the latest Volunteer Waiver Taser International put out.

Read closely and it is ALL there: Tasers CAN CAUSE dangerous and deadly metabolic and cardiac changes. Several "suspects" have died MANY HOURS after taser shocks because of changes brought on by acidosis, which causes the muscles surrounding the heart to fail.

The city of Tucson cannot accept the "averages" Taser International spouts -- according to the original spec sheets, the true PEAK OUTPUT of Tasers varies between 151 and 162 milliamps, when "working properly". Any first year med student can tell you that shocks between 30 to 100 milliamps can KILL. Add to that, the invasive nature of a taser used in 'probe mode' - resistance under the skin is next to NIL.

And another shocking revelation: there are NO electrical safety standards for shocks UNDER the skin. Check with the Underwriters Laboratory, the IEC or Canadian Standards Association and you will quickly confirm this fact.

Taser International has some SERIOUS explaining to do. And you can be sure that their damage control machine is in full swing. I follow the company on TWITTER and they are a company which normally posts several TWEETS per day. They've been ominously silent since the day police officer Henry Fung died.

The Department of Justice ought to investigate how this technology was approved without enough rigorous science being applied.

One pig in 1996 and five dogs in 1999 and no true human trials until years after initial sales, should be alarming to all citizens.

Sudden death of Tucson officer shock to family, friends

November 17, 2011
Tammy Vo, TUCSON (KGUN9-TV)

Officer Henry Fung seemed like a perfectly healthy 43-year-old Tucson officer until he collapsed on Tuesday afternoon while visiting his mother at an assisted living facility. He passed away on Wednesday.

"I'm very surprised. He does Taekwondo, kickboxing and works out all the time. It's shocking that he would suffer from a massive heart attack" said his brother John. "He loved his life, especially his wife, her three girls and his son Brandon who is five months old. He also loved being a police officer".

Officer Fung began his career with Tucson Police as a crime scene specialist in 2005. From there, he became a sworn officer working the downtown division.

On Fung's Facebook page on Monday, he wrote about being tased for police training that day and how intense the experience was. 9 On Your Side wanted to know if his death is connected to the taser training?

"In subsequent conversations we had with his attending physicians and cardiologists, that had no bearing on what the eventual outcome was" said Assistant Police Chief, Brett Kline. The Pima County Medical Examiner's Office also confirms that the taser incident has no relation to Fung's death and that Fung may have suffered from some sort of heart condition which led to the attack.

Sgt. John Strader from the Tucson Police Officer's Association told KGUN 9 "He's someone who cared a great deal about his co-workers and his community. Everyone agrees that Officer Fung was always smiling".

The officer's brother says that Henry Fung loved being a father, especially to his son who was born this past Father's Day. "It's so sad that he won't get to see his father or grow up with him".

What will John Fung tell his nephew about his father? "That he was a loving family man, courageous and accomplished his goals by doing what he wanted to do".

Friends have set up a bank account to help the Fung family. If you would like to donate, the account is at Wells Fargo Bank under the name: Blossom Fung.

Taser International's Volunteer Warnings, Risks, Liability Release and Covenant Not to Sue

Tucson PD officer Henry Fung reportedly volunteered to be tasered on Monday as part of his training.  On Tuesday, sadly, Officer Fung died of a fatal heart attack.  Before being tasered on Monday, he would have (likely) been made to sign the following Taser International waiver.  To see the waiver in its entirety, please go to Taser International's site:  http://www.taser.com/images/training/training-resources/downloads/11-5-31%20volunteer%20exposure%20release%20001.pdf

Volunteer Warnings, Risks, Liability Release and Covenant Not to Sue

PRIOR to any TASER ECD Exposure, all volunteers MUST: (1) read the most current TASER ECD warnings; and (2) read and sign this form.

Please fill out the sections below. If you have a condition or pre-existing injury that would be aggravated by muscle contractions, physical exertion, or stress check the appropriate box and notify the Instructor prior to participating in the TASER ECD Exposure.

I have no injuries, physical or mental conditions that could be aggravated by muscle contractions, physical exertion, stress, or exposure to the electrical discharge of TASER ECDs.

I have the following pre-existing physical or mental conditions/injuries that could be aggravated by the TASER ECD Exposure: _________________________________

I freely and voluntarily agree to be exposed to the electrical discharge of the TASER ECD under the following conditions: _____________________________

LIABILITY RELEASE, COVENANT NOT TO SUE AND HOLD HARMLESS

In consideration of receiving information on the TASER products and a TASER ECD Exposure, I acknowledge and agree as follows:

1. I understand that a TASER ECD Exposure results in strong muscle contractions, physical exertion, and stress and involves the risk of physical or other injury. I acknowledge that I have read the above Warnings and Risks and current TASER ECD warnings and with full knowledge of such risks, I voluntarily agree to experience a TASER ECD Exposure and I assume all risks, whether known or unknown, foreseen or unforeseen, inherent in the TASER ECD Exposure.

2. Intending that this form be legally binding upon me, my heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, I hereby waive, release, and forever discharge the instructor, the TASER distributor, my agency and employer, TASER and all of its agents, directors and employees of and from any and all claims, demands, rights and causes of action of whatsoever kind and nature, arising from, and by reason of any and all known and unknown physical and mental injuries and consequences thereof, whether foreseen or unforeseen, suffered by me from any TASER ECD Exposure. I specifically waive any statutory rights I may have regarding the release of known or unknown claims.

3. I further agree that neither I nor my heirs, estate, personal representative, nor any other person or entity will ever institute any action, litigation or suit at law or in equity against the instructor, the TASER distributor, my agency and employer, TASER and all of its agents, directors and employees for any damages, costs, loss or injury arising out of any and all activities related to and including any TASER ECD Exposure.

4. I further agree to indemnify and save harmless the instructor, the TASER distributor, my agency and employer, TASER and all of its agents, directors and employees from all liability, loss, costs and obligation of any and every kind on account of or arising out of any injuries or losses incurred by me, however occurring, arising out of any and all activities related to and including any TASER ECD Exposure.

5. In signing this form, I agree that I have read and understand this entire form; I affirm that I am competent to agree to, sign, and be bound by this form; I understand that it is a promise not to sue and a release and indemnity for all claims; I further understand that by signing this form I am giving up certain legal rights including the right to recover damages in case of injury; and I agree to abide by the terms and conditions of this form.

6. This release does not release any rights I may have under Workers’ Compensation Laws. I waive any Workers’ Compensation subrogation rights against TASER. I agree that any recoveries under Workers’ Compensation Laws do not change, extend or enlarge the waivers and protections inherent in this agreement.

Man hit with Taser has heart attack; review under way

August 8, 2011
Greg Stanley, Rockford Register Star

ROSCOE — A 21-year-old man suffered a heart attack Tuesday after he was struck with a Taser by a Roscoe police officer.

Police confronted Anthony Slaymaker of South Beloit that night on a sidewalk near the McCurry Road and Illinois 251 intersection. It’s unclear what led to the confrontation and why the officer fired a Taser gun.

Slaymaker was taken in an ambulance to Rockford Memorial Hospital where he was put into a medically induced coma. He has since woken from the coma and is recovering in a hospital bed, said Terry Monahan, Slaymaker’s attorney.

“He’s not totally responsive yet,” Monahan said.

Slaymaker hasn’t been criminally charged or arrested. A police report of the incident is not yet available.

Roscoe police Chief Jamie Evans declined to comment on the confrontation.

“We’re still investigating everything, and we’re going to put everything under review,” Evans said.

The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department began an independent investigation into the matter. Once Evans has the results of that investigation, she’ll meet with State’s Attorney Joe Bruscato to determine how best to move forward.

Slaymaker’s family is also waiting for more information and may take legal action against the Police Department.

“We’re not there yet,” Monahan said. “We need some more facts and Anthony to be recovered. We don’t have the police reports from the officers who responded. We’re still trying to determine if any future residual problems may be there.”

Evans said it isn’t clear whether Slaymaker’s medical emergency was caused solely by the Taser gun or whether a medical condition contributed to it.

In October 2009, TASER International issued a nationwide warning bulletin that advised officers against shooting a Taser gun into someone’s chest. The bulletin said it opens the officer, the agency and TASER International to liability if heart damage, such as sudden cardiac arrest, occurs.

Rockford police and the Sheriff’s Department rounded up their Taser guns a day after the bulletin was issued and haven’t used them since.

The use of Tasers has recently caused legal problems for other local police departments and municipalities. The city of South Beloit faces a lawsuit that stems, in part, from former Sgt. Brad McCaslin’s 2008 use of a Taser on a handcuffed woman. McCaslin also faces criminal charges for the incident.

The Winnebago County Board reached an $85,000 settlement agreement in February with a woman who was struck with a Taser by a sheriff’s deputy while she was handcuffed in 2008.

Taser victim died from heart attack

June 18, 2009
The Australian

A QUEENSLAND man shocked 28 times by a police officer with a 50,000-volt Taser died of a heart attack within minutes, an autopsy has confirmed.

Pathologists made the finding in a post-mortem report into last week's death of Antonio Galeano, as Queensland police yesterday corrected the public record after earlier claiming the amphetamine addict was shocked only three times.

That first claim was contradicted by data downloaded from the unnamed senior constable's stun gun.

The data, taken from the weapon within hours of Mr Galeano's death early last Friday, was not released publicly until an exclusive report yesterday in The Australian that revealed evidence he had been shocked repeatedly, each time for a duration of five seconds.

Mr Galeano, 39, eventually collapsed and died while in handcuffs.

The two officers involved in the incident at Brandon, south of Townsville, are now under police protection because of death threats, which police sources claim come from criminal associates of Mr Galeano.

Calls mounted yesterday for a criminal investigation into the use of the Taser on the man, who had earlier allegedly assaulted a woman and was wielding a metal bar when confronted by the officer and his partner, a first-year constable, at a unit at Brandon.

It can also be revealed that the Queensland Police ethical standards command, which is investigating on behalf of acting State Coroner Christine Clements, has questioned why Mr Galeano appeared to have been repeatedly hit by a Taser after being cornered in the bathroom of the unit.

Mr Galeano was initially targeted with the Taser through a broken window of the unit, before being sprayed with capsicum spray and then hit repeatedly with the stun gun after he backed into the bathroom.

Investigators are looking at whether the officer should have allowed Mr Galeano -- who had earlier been discharged from hospital where he had undergone a phsychiatric assessment -- to calm down after the first hit from the stun gun.

The post-mortem found that Mr Galeano had an existing heart condition.

The stun gun's US manufacturers have claimed the weapon cannot cause a heart attack. But a report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal last year said studies on pigs indicated that the weapon could cause an "adverse event" in the heart.

The senior constable who used the Taser is now on leave and has told investigators he only hit Mr Galeano several times.

Deputy Police Commissioner Ian Stewart yesterday said the investigation was also looking at whether the Taser malfunctioned and if the data recorded on the gun was incorrect.

"We are yet to understand exactly what those activations were -- whether they were being fired or whether it was ... placed against an object or person," Mr Stewart said.

But George Hateley, the exclusive distributor of Tasers in Australia, this week said a malfunction was unlikely.

"It is an outside possibility," he said. "And the data taken off the weapon is very accurate."

The data on the Taser prompted Police Minister Neil Roberts and Commissioner Bob Atkinson to this week freeze the rollout of a further 1300 Tasers, and to order a Crime and Misconduct Commission review of Taser policy and training in Queensland.

Both have refused to withdraw from service at least 1200 Tasers already being used by general duties officers since January.