Daily Mail – Police fired Tasers at a terrified Alzheimer’s sufferer in a troubling incident that reopens the debate on the controversial weapon. Six officers were called to take the unarmed 58-year-old man to hospital but he had no idea what was going on and lashed out at them. What happened next left his wife ‘heartbroken’ and his neighbours in tears. Read Article
New Scientist – Being hit with a Taser stun gun in the chest can lead to cardiac arrest and death, according to a new study. The research by Douglas Zipes, a heart specialist at the Krannert Institute of Cardiology in Indianapolis, Indiana, was based on records he acquired as a plaintiff’s expert witness in a number of lawsuits involving US police use of the controversial stun gun. Read Article
The Australian – A man armed with a knife and a crossbow was tasered by police before they shot him dead at a commune in northern NSW, police say. The man was shot at least once after he allegedly threatened the officers at the rural property on Billarimba Rd at Rocky River. Police were called to the retreat, about 30km from Tenterfield, at 8.10pm yesterday. Read Article
Huffington Post – A man who was shocked by a Taser stun gun while in custody this week at Edmonton police headquarters has died. Jeff Oatway, 34, had been in a coma on life support after he was taken to hospital on Wednesday. Doctors declared him dead on Friday, said his father, Cliff. Read Article
Sydney Morning Herald – A little-reported case of a Taser-associated tragedy highlights the need for better training with the weapon, writes Geesche Jacobsen. It was 29 minutes past midnight when two junior police officers entered the backyard of a Sefton home. They had been told to wait while their colleagues at the front of the house were getting ready to move in with police dogs to restrain an agitated 25-year-old Vietnamese student. Read Article
RT – A grand jury is expected to soon hear a case from last year in which an unarmed, 68-year-old retired black military veteran was killed by police officers in New York. Four months later, no one has been charged in the murder. Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., a former US Marine, was killed on November 19, 2011 after police officers broke down the door of his White Plains, New York apartment. Chamberlain, who suffered from a heart condition, had accidently triggered a medical alert system on his person and then failed to respond to calls for help. Read Article
ABC – The New South Wales Police Force has released figures showing Taser use by officers is down, in the wake of the death of a man who was stunned in central Sydney on the weekend. Tasers were deployed by officers 881 times in 2011 compared with 1,151 times in 2010, according to the figures. Police say the reduction comes despite a steady increase in the number of stun guns in use by the force. The force currently has 1,272 of the devices. Read Article
AllGov – Although the Taser™ was invented to give law enforcement a non-lethal alternative to the handgun for subduing uncooperative or even violent suspects, more than 500 Americans have been killed by Tasers since their use began to take off in 2001, which is almost one per week. According to a 2008 Amnesty International Report that examined more than 300 deaths, 90% of Taser death victims are unarmed. Read Article
Telegraph – NSW Police will evaluate an advanced double-shot Taser – capable of shooting two electric charges without reloading – to assess whether it should replace the current single-charge model. The Sunday Telegraph can reveal that senior officers have requested a prototype of the double-cartridge X2 Taser after receiving a demonstration of the device late last year. Read Article
SBS – The death of 21-year-old Brazilian national, Roberto Laudisio Cruti, on a Sydney street after being tasered by police has ignited questions about the safety and police use of these weapons. Tasers, the brand name for the electro-shock device used by police, deliver currents of 50,000 volts and are designed to incapacitate. They can be used in “drive stun” mode (hand held) or fired on a wire with barbs at a range of around 6.4 meters. Read Article
The Australian – A Brazilian diplomat has called for a “clear and transparent investigation” into the Taser death of Roberto Laudisio Curti, as friends of the 21-year-old student from Sao Paulo claimed he may have been the victim of mistaken identity. With NSW police refusing to publicly discuss the circumstances surrounding the fatal stun-gun incident in Sydney’s CBD on Sunday morning, the tragedy quickly escalated into an international furore, with several major news outlets in Brazil referring to the “murder” of Mr Laudisio Curti by Australian authorities. Read Article
ABC – The death of a man tasered by New South Wales police has raised questions about a weapon designed to stun rather than kill. View Video
AAP – A man who died after police stunned him with a Taser in central Sydney may have been from South America. Police have conceded he may not have been involved in any crime, even though he was identified as a suspect following a report of a robbery at a convenience store in King St early on Sunday morning. Officers confronted him in Pitt St about 5.30am (AEDT) and tried to arrest him. Read Article
AAP – A man who may not have been involved in any crime, and may not have posed a danger, has died after police stunned him a with a Taser in central Sydney. Officers had identified the man as a suspect after a report of a robbery at a convenience store in King St about 5.30am today. They confronted him in Pitt St and tried to arrest him. When he resisted, they used capsicum spray and a Taser. He stopped breathing and died despite the efforts of police and paramedics. Read Article
LA Times – San Bernardino police officers who used a Taser on a mentally ill man shortly before he died were justified in their actions, the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office said Thursday. Sgts. Eric Fyvie and Travis Walker and Officers Von Verbanic and Joey Zinkand acted in a legal way when they restrained Frank Cleo Sutphin, 19, who suffered from schizophrenia and depression and was living at a San Bernardino care facility when he died. Read Article
The “must have” for police services worldwide, but with serious civil liberties issues associated, not least as it is marketed as “non-lethal” but as our news archive shows that is a little bit away from the truth. To read the archive CLICK HERE
ABC – Victorian police officers will soon be allowed to carry tasers, in a move that brings Victoria into line with New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. But unlike other states, Victorian officers will use a new type of taser which can fire a second electric shock. Civil liberties groups are alarmed, saying the new weapons should have been trialed first. Read Article
CBS — The Lake County Coroner’s office says police blows and a Taser shock are to blame in part for the death of a man who was involved in a confrontation with North Chicago police last November. As WBBM Newsradio’s John Cody reports, Lake County Coroner Artis Yancey says the death of Darrin Hanna, 45, was caused in part by trauma inflicted by police after they shocked him with a Taser. Read Article
Chicago Tribune – Four months after 45-year-old Darrin Hanna’s death sparked public protests against the North Chicago police, the Lake County Coroner has determined that his death was caused in part by trauma inflicted by police and shocks from a Taser, an official said today. Read Article
Associated Press – A Frederick man’s parents are seeking a new trial on their civil claim that a Frederick County sheriff’s deputy wrongfully caused his death by shocking him twice with a Taser. The Frederick News-Post reports that lawyers for Tanya Thomas and Jeffrey Gray filed the motion Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. A federal jury ruled last month that Cpl. Rudy Torres didn’t use excessive force against Jarrel Gray, 20. The jury found that Torres assaulted Gray but said he wasn’t liable because he was protecting himself. Read Article
PressTV – A Florida police officer who tasered a 20-year-old US woman until she was brain dead has been cleared of wrongdoing. The Florida Highway Police says the officer was trying to prevent the woman from fleeing and cleared the officer of any wrongdoing this week. Danielle Maudsley went into a coma in September after Florida Highway Police Trooper Daniel Cole tasered her in the back as she tried to escape from the police while handcuffed. Read Article
Amnesty International – The deaths of 500 people following police use of Tasers underscores the need for tighter rules limiting the use of such weapons in law enforcement, Amnesty International said. According to data collected by Amnesty International, at least 500 people in the USA have died since 2001 after being shocked with Tasers either during their arrest or while in jail. Read Article
Daily Mail – Police forces across Britain have been warned to beware of a flood of high-powered stun guns disguised as mobile phones which are being smuggled into the country. Operated by pressing a button on the side of the device, the weapons can disable victims with a million-volt charge – many times more powerful than a police Taser. Read Article
Cincinnati News – Authorities have released details on the death of a high school student at the University of Cincinnati that prompted an investigation by News 5. Everette Howard, 18, was stunned by a Taser gun deployed by officers at the University of Cincinnati six months ago. “One thing that runs through my mind often is if he didn’t get Tased, he wouldn’t be dead,” mentor Ekundayo Igeleke said. Read Article
Chicago Tribune – Calumet City police had been called to subdue Stephon Watts 10 times in less than two years, using Tasers at least once on the 15-year-old with Asperger’s syndrome. On Wednesday, officers were called again to the teen’s home, where two officers found Watts in his basement wielding a kitchen knife. Watts “lashed out” with the knife and struck one of the officers in the forearm, said police Chief Edward Gilmore. Read Article
