posted on July 30, 2005 04:52:36 AM
We had talked about the use of a taser to control an unruly child last year.....
Medical examiner ties death to officer's Taser
By David Heinzmann and John Chase
Tribune staff reporters
Published July 30, 2005
The Cook County medical examiner's office has ruled that a Chicago police sergeant's Taser stun gun killed a man, the first time in the United States the supposedly non-lethal device has been determined to have caused death.
Police say they have not seen Deputy Medical Examiner Scott Denton's report on the Feb. 10 death of Ronald Hasse, and they will not decide if any policies need to be changed until consulting with other experts.
"We will evaluate again this particular incident and we will continue to evaluate all of the available information and documentation relative to the use of Tasers," said First Deputy Supt. Dana Starks.
Hasse was shot with the Taser as police tried to subdue him in a 26th-floor Lakeview apartment after they arrived to help Fire Department personnel and Hasse allegedly tried to bite an officer.
Denton said Hasse received the electrical shock produced by the Taser for 57 seconds, more than 10 times the usual amount.
"That's a long time," Denton said. "It's the thing that makes this one different."
The Police Department is still investigating why such a large shock was delivered.
Hasse had a significant amount of methamphetamine in his bloodstream, which Denton said was a contributing factor to his death. He said he could not conclude whether the 57-second Taser shock alone would have been fatal if Hasse's body had not already been under stress of the drug.
Taser International, maker of the device, has waged a persistent media campaign in recent years--mostly via e-mail--to combat research that has suggested doubts about the company's claim that the device is non-lethal under all circumstances. The Arizona-based company immediately challenged Denton's conclusion.
"We believe that the scientific and medical community will publicly challenge this conclusion based upon the lack of credible evidence. Taser International will seek a judicial review of the report, and the basis for which those statements were made," said the company's spokesman, Steve Tuttle.
"We are concerned, as the citizens of Cook County should be, about the process in which a member of the medical examiner's office can be influenced by the opinions of others with no formal medical or engineering degrees."
Denton defended his conclusions and said he did extensive research, read Taser's many statements from its own testing on the effects of the stun gun and consulted with other doctors in the medical examiner's office before concluding the device was the principal cause of Hasse's death.
"I'm not trying to be an advocate or to spin things or attack Taser," Denton said. "This is just really what I think happened."
The Police Department's protocols for use of its 200 Tasers will remain the same as since Hasse's death, Starks said. An order for more of the devices was suspended at that time.
Police are "concerned about what the medical examiner said," Starks said.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
----------------------------------
President George Bush: "Over time the truth will come out."
President George Bush: "Our people are going to find out the truth, and the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind."
Bush was right. The truth did come out and the facts are he misled Congress and the American people about the reasons we should go to war in Iraq.
posted on July 30, 2005 09:50:48 AM
Linda, I think the key buzz word here is going to be "child". As in you have to allow a kid to injure himself or others because some freaky thing could happen.
Like "What do you do when the enemy sends a 10yr running at your position with a satchel charge?"
posted on July 30, 2005 11:20:55 AM
I know desquirrel....trust me I know.
Crowfarm/MG is the one who started on me when I showed that children as young as age 10 were being trained and encouraged to kill our soldiers and Israeli citizens too.
"Whenever the nation is under attack, from within or without, liberals side with the enemy. This is their essence." --Ann Coulter
And why the American Voters chose to RE-elect President Bush to four more years. YES!!!
posted on July 30, 2005 11:32:31 AM
Well said Washington,
The problem the Demomorons will give it the BS statement, "one death is too many" crap. One death from this is nothing. They have criminals die more often from hand to hand struggles. And don't forget, these slimballs are criminals. Time for the Demomorons to wake up and quit sympathizing about the crooks.
Even on your own example, this guy deserved what he received.
End of story.
Hasse had a significant amount of methamphetamine in his bloodstream, which Denton said was a contributing factor to his death. He said he could not conclude whether the 57-second Taser shock alone would have been fatal if Hasse's body had not already been under stress of the drug.
.
.
.
Alive in 2005
posted on July 30, 2005 01:29:38 PM
Ironically on the 8th I was listening to a financial show where one of the experts was recommending the taser stock and another was saying that all it just a matter of time before the first death and subsequent lawsuit would tank the stock. Who knew that that death would be 2 days later.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
No, I'm saying -- I'm merely -- I'm saying what I'm saying. I don't know why I'm always having people say, are you trying to say -- you know what you can do if you want to know what I'm saying is listen to what I'm saying. What I'm saying is what I said ...
posted on July 30, 2005 03:17:09 PMYep, put the tasers away. Shoot 'em instead, right?
Just as long as you shoot them in the head when they are innocent. That way the person is truly dead and the police don't have to worry about interrogating the witness
Heck it saves the taxpayers lots of money. More money to spend on a war perhaps. This way you don't have to house the person in jail, feed him three times and day and it spares the expense of a trial.
Heck the police should just take a shoot kill attitude with everyone no matter what the crime is.
Would you advocate using a taser on your child if he was unruly knowing that these things can kill?
Taser International, maker of the device, has waged a persistent media campaign in recent years--mostly via e-mail--to combat research that has suggested doubts about the company's claim that the device is non-lethal under ALL circumstances.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
----------------------------------
President George Bush: "Over time the truth will come out."
President George Bush: "Our people are going to find out the truth, and the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind."
Bush was right. The truth did come out and the facts are he misled Congress and the American people about the reasons we should go to war in Iraq.
