Taser Guns Linked to 334 Deaths by Amnesty International
Published: December 17th, 2008 • Comments: 7
Amnesty International has released a report which links 334 deaths to the use of Taser guns between 2001 and August 2008. Contrary to claims by the manufacturer that the stun guns deliver non-lethal shocks, the Amnesty International indicates that the government should limit use of the weapons to life-threatening situations or stop using them altogether because of their potentially lethal effects and ease of abuse.
Taser International claims that their stun guns are safe and non-lethal. However, Amnesty International challenges these claims, releasing a detailed report about the safety of Taser guns, titled “USA: Less than lethal?”
The Taser gun is designed to incapacitate neuromuscular function by delivering a shock that uses Electro-Muscular Disruption technology. Many law enforcement agencies have deployed the weapons to allow police to incapacitate someone who poses a threat, but there have also been a number of reports of overuse and abuse of the weapons, which could have fatal consequences.
“Tasers are not the ‘non-lethal’ weapons that they are portrayed to be,” said Angela Wright, author of an Amnesty International report that was released on December 16, 2008.
The report found that 90% of the Taser gun deaths examined involved people who were unarmed and did not appear to present a serious threat. In addition, many of the deaths were associated with repeated use of the weapons or prolonged shocks that were longer than the standard five seconds.
Out of the 334 deaths identified nationwide which involved the use of Taser guns, Amnesty International indicates that at least 50 have been directly attributed to the Taser shocks by medical examiners and coroners.
According to Bloomberg News, Taser International is currently a party in at least 40 Taser gun wrongful death lawsuits or personal injury cases, and they have previously been dismissed from over 70 other cases.
The first Taser lawsuit that resulted in a verdict against the manufacturer of the weapon was returned in June 2008 by a California jury, who awarded $6.2 million to the family of a man who died after receiving multiple shocks from a Taser gun.
Comment by Steve on 18 December 2008:
According to the article, “…90% of the Taser gun deaths examined involved people who were unarmed and did not appear to present a serious threat.” Whose judgement determines a “serious threat?” These incidents must be looked at based upon the law (i.e. Graham v. Conner) and not in the sterile analytical time line allowed by hindsight.
Comment by John on 18 December 2008:
This heavily biased, and inaccurate report hardly deals with facts. This article for a legalistic web provides a classic example in the final paragraph. Dated 16 December, the author notes the $6.2 million judgement against Taser. The should have known and reported that the courts threw out the vast majority of that award some time ago. It would be further worth noting that the individual was held 85 percent responsible for his own death. In 40 states of the U.S. that would have ended the case at that point.
FTR: The electrical shock from Taser has never killed anyone. Doubt is resolved by knowing that of the hundreds of thousands of volunteers that have be exposed, there have been zero deaths. Statistically impossible if Taser is a significant factor.
Pingback by Police Taser Lawsuit Settlement Announced by San Jose : AboutLawsuits.com on 9 January 2009:
[...] report released by Amnesty International last month called on the government to limit police Taser use to life-threatening situations or to stop using them altogether. The organization cited 334 Taser [...]
Pingback by Police Taser Use Lawsuit Filed Against New York City : AboutLawsuits.com on 26 February 2009:
[...] December 2008, Amnesty International issued a report identifying 334 Taser deaths in the United States between 2001 and August 2008 linked to the use of of the stun guns by police. [...]
Pingback by Taser Guns Linked to Seizures When Shock Delivered to Head - AboutLawsuits.com on 18 March 2009:
[...] year, Amnesty International issued a report that linked the widespread use and overuse of Taser stun guns to 334 deaths between 2001 and August 2008, with at least 50 of the deaths being directly attributed to the Taser [...]
Pingback by Michigan Police Taser Use Leads to Death of 15-Year Old Boy - AboutLawsuits.com on 27 March 2009:
[...] serious threats by using a special Electro-Muscular Disruption technology. However, a number of deaths have been linked to the use of Tasers, and consumer groups have maintained that the weapons are widely misused and [...]
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[...] December 2008, Amnsty released a report that found 90% of all Taser gun deaths examined involved people who were unarmed and did not appear [...]