We begin our little story with an article from NorthCountryGazette.org:
Pinellas County Taser Deaths - Excusable Or Not?Fabulous. If you put the headline together with the text, it sounds like Pinellas County, FL is a veritable hotbed for Taser Deaths. So what's the big deal? The day after we posted this article under our Fair Use Policy, we received an e-mail as follows:
June Maxam
North Country Gazette
7 May 2008
Between June 2001 and June 2007, there were at least 245 cases of deaths of subjects soon after having been shocked using Tasers. Of these cases, in seven cases, medical examiners said tasers were a cause or a contributing factor or could not be ruled out as a cause of death.
In 16 cases, coroners and other officials stated that a taser was a secondary or contributory factor of death.
In dozens of cases, coroners cited excited delirium as cause of death. Excited delirium has been questioned as a medical diagnosis.
Several deaths occurred as a result of injuries sustained in struggles. In a few of these cases, head injury due to falling after being shocked contributed to later death.
In 2005, a medical examiner ruled for the first time that a taser was the primary factor in a death. [...]
Comment: Continue to part II