Man Dies After Police Use Taser Gun On Him

[theearthisround]

http://www.nbc6.net/news/4001463/detail.html

A man died Wednesday night after he was shot with a Taser gun by police officers in Hollywood.

The incident began around 8 p.m. when a rescue crew saw a man walking down the 7400 block of Sheridan Street. Crews spotted the man after police had received a call about a white van driving erratically, and suspected the man was the driver. Crews thought there had been an accidnet, so they went to render help, but the man apparently became unruly.

Police were summoned to the scene. During the ensuing altercation, a female officer shot the man with an M-26 Taser gun, which carries a charge of 50,000 volts.

[BattyDem]

1. Who knew 50,000 volts could be dangerous?

:eyes:

[Deja Q]

15. It's not as much the voltage as it is amperage and duration of shock.

Static Electricity often exceeds 20,000 volts, even 50,000 volts.

But the duration of the taser blast combined with whatever setting the device was set at would be far more likely contributors to the dude's death.

Of course, add in the health status of the guy. Was he out of shape? About ready to have a heart attack anyway? The health of the individual also matters, though the duration and other taser settings are of far more interest to me...

[sendero]

17. The fact is...

... the beating of the heart is controlled by tiny electrical impulses, as are many brain functions and other body functions.

It is no surprise that administering such a jolt is extremely dangerous. Right now, they think that only the very unhealthy are at risk, but my money is on the eventual finding that it is not that simple.

Law enforcement wants a magic bullet, but this one is not so magic.

[laheina]

20. From what I've heard

A small jolt at the right moment can disrupt the heart. They've seen this happen with people in the proximity of a lightning strike.

[NYC]

2. Kerik didn't sell all of his Taser stock, did he?

Just wondering.

[Us vs Them]

3. Freaky John Titor prediction:

"...However, there are a great many "non lethal" weapon systems in development
that turn out to be quite lethal. Sometimes I watch your television programs
that show SWAT teams using new non-lethal weapons. They usually start out
with, "In the future, the army and police will fight its enemies with new
weapons systems." When they use the word "enemy", they're talking about YOU!"

[BiggJawn]

13. John Titor thinks like I do...

Soylent Green, anyone?

Big shout-out to my fellow PERP Homies!

[KingChicken]

4. They claim it's so safe, but the heart is very sensitive...

How can you shock someone with a large ammount of electricity and expect that the result is always ok?

[Barkley]

5. Welcome to L.A.: Where You'll Get Treated Like a (Rodney) King

Maybe I've watched too many batman cartoons but why don't police have nets to thow over 'unruly' people?

[Occulus]

7. I think it has to do with the net opening in a controlled and

predictable manner. Oh, trust, they've thought of and researched that one. I saw a demo tape of a prototype that went nowhere several years ago. It seemed to work, but only under restrictions of distance and wind, I think.

I also remember someone mentioning that that problem may remain unsolved as a result of the nature of the design itself.

[daleo]

6. Is walking down a street now a suspicous activity?

Was this man perchance, guilty of walking while being the wrong color? Just speculation.

[renaissanceguy]

8. If Taser guns are so safe,

why don't the cops test them out on each other first, just to make sure?

---------------------------
Buy liberal, anti-Bush, and outspoken political merchandise at www.cafepress.com/liberalissues

[cornermouse]

19. Actually, they do.

[Voltaire99]

9. What a way to glow.

"...but the man apparently became unruly."

Oh, in that case, it's OK, then.

[BernieBear]

10. Why do these things have 50,000 volts or whatever..

They've already seriously harmed (dying still falls in that category, right?) several people. Why don't they reduce the electricity. I mean it doesn't take that much to stop someone. Why are they still legal?

Next people's ear drums will be bleeding all over from those "sound" machines they are supposed to be putting out. Jeesh.. this is progress?

BernieBear

[cornermouse]

11. When you shock a stopped heart to restart it,

why would it be a surprise that shocking a beating heart would stop it?

[shadowknows69]

12. elementary my dear furher

Looking for a white van driving erratically so of course they'd stop some guy walking on the street. "he just didn't look right chief."

[BiggJawn]

14. "Hey, Mister! Do you need help?"

"Fuck you!"

"Ooops! Wrong. Answer. (ZAPPPP!!!!)"

[0007]

16. ....anytime a white van is seen driving erratically, 'ya break out

the stun guns. And if the man is assumed to be the driver and he doesn't say "howdy" after being encircled by strangers, 'ya take dead aim with a stun gun.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

18. Cruel and inhumane treatment

and the application of excessive force use to be against the law. Someone (ACLU) needs to file a $10,000,000 wrongful death suite against LA before "tort reform" closes this door as an avenue for citizen redress of state approved torture. This may cool the fervor of the SS Storm Troopers to use this new toy at their every whim of blatant indiscretion.

[Bridget Burke]

21. Latest story: He was on alcohol and/or drugs.

www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-staser17dec17,0,4916693.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

Tests will reveal what he had in his bloodstream. Did that kill him? Or its interaction with the Taser? Aren't many people likely to be Tasered also likely to be under the influence of something? So--they should die? Lots of questions.

He had a record but it doesn't appear he was a threat to anybody. Details of his arrest have not yet been released.

[purduejake]

22. Sorry, but tasers are better than shooting people with bullets

I mean, what other non-lethal forms of defense are out there besides mace, which you can't fire into the wind and doesn't work against drugged up people? Now all of this stuff should be used only when the officer is in danger and I am totally against police inflicting pain on people unless necessary.

[cornermouse]

23. The point is that they are NOT non-lethal. That is the point.

[oneighty]

24. "unless necessary"

Who decides necessary?

180