Nova Scotia’s chief medical examiner says excited delirium, not a Taser used by Halifax police, killed a man in a Dartmouth jail last year. The examiner’s report said artery disease, obesity and physical restraint also contributed to Howard Hyde’s death.
Hyde died on November 22, 2007, after a struggle with guards at a Dartmouth jail. Halifax Regional police had used a TASER device to restrain Hyde (who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia), on the day prior to his death.
Police issed the news release yesterday, saying they hope the report brings closure for Hyde’s family. “Neither the RCMP nor the Medical Examiner’s investigations found any wrongdoing on the part of police,” the release said.
Source: Metro Halifax - 9/18/2008
www.fortresstactical.com
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Is TASER really safer than Tylenol?
"You have Tylenol in your home? As far as an electronic control device killing you, this stuff is safer than Tylenol." - Dr. Mark Kroll
Kroll, an adjunct professor at California Polytechnic State University who specializes in electrical currents, made the comments while addressing a group of 360 doctors, police officers, lawyers and medical examiners attending a three-day conference on sudden death and in-custody deaths. Immediately, the anti-TASER crowd began chanting their usual mantras of derision, despite the fact that supporting data is readily available. I could spend all day posting cases & studies, but why don't I summarize, and let you (the informed reader) come to your own conclusion?
Source: AAPPC - NPDS
From 1998 to 2003, over 1,380 deaths were attributed the overdose (both accidental & intentional) of the analgesic, Acetaminophen (Tylenol). If you'll note, the previously referenced time frame spans a period of 6 years. OK - we're left with 6 years and 1,380 dead.
Let's move on to TASER. The most popular & eagerly posted "list of the dead" contains the names of 373 individuals. This list begins in 1999, and runs to date, which is a period of 8 years. Got it? Good! Let's go way out on a limb, and say TASER was directly responsible for half of this "list of dead". This would be extremely generous of us, since TASER has been cited as being the "cause of death" in just a few cases. All the rest have been ruled as drugs, alcohol, heart problems, etc. This leaves us with 8 years and 187 "tasered dead".
I'll post both figures again for you to compare:
Tylenol (acetaminophen) - 6 years = 1,380 dead
TASER (evil killing device) - 8 years = 187 dead
I hope, dear reader, that you can do the math on this by yourself.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Medical Official: Taser Didn’t Lead To Man’s Death
State forensics officials say a man who died several days after a Houston County Sheriff’s deputy used a Taser on him during a traffic stop was suffering from a fatal illness related to cocaine use and didn’t die as a result of the Taser.
Nicholas G. Cody, 27, of Marianna, Fla., died on June 27, 2008, about a week after he was taken to Southeast Alabama Medical Center for treatment.
An autopsy performed by senior Alabama medical examiner Stephen Boudreau showed Cody died from excited delirium. The autopsy report, obtained by the Dothan Eagle through an open records request, showed evidence of cocaine in Cody’s body at the time of his death. Boudreau called excited delirium a side effect, and not an overdose, related to drug use. He said Cody exhibited bizarre behavior when he was brought into the hospital, and eventually had to be restrained. “The guy came in with an extremely high temperature at the hospital,” Boudreau said. “Your thermostat in your brain is broken, and it doesn’t know how hot you are anymore because of the drugs.”
A Houston County Sheriff’s deputy had stopped Cody for a seat belt violation near a gas station at the intersection of U.S. 231 South and Inez Road on June 15. Cody jumped from the passenger’s side window of the truck and ran away. The deputy used a Taser on Cody after catching up with him and feeling threatened by him.
Boudreau said many drugs can cause excited delirium, but he called cocaine the most common. “It doesn’t matter how much you took for this thing to take place. From its onset it’s probably uniformly fatal,” Boudreau said. “Some of them get a sense of impending doom, some take their clothes off in public, things that most people associate with madness.”
Cody suffered shocks from the Taser multiple times after he became combative with the deputy, according to previous Eagle reports. Sheriff Andy Hughes found that the deputy followed department policy with the Taser during the incident.
Deputies found an estimated $100 worth of cocaine in his Cody’s vehicle during the arrest, according to a previous Eagle report. Deputies had two warrants for his arrest that were not served as a result of his death, including felony unlawful possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor resisting arrest.
Boudreau said the Taser had nothing to do with Cody’s death. He said there are a couple cases of excited delirium a year within central and southeast Alabama. “The reason he got tased is because he had excited delirium. Getting tased had nothing to do with it he was going to die,” Boudreau said. “Police usually realize there was something wrong with the person, but they just can’t control them.”
Source: Dothan Eagle, AL - 9/16/2008
Nicholas G. Cody, 27, of Marianna, Fla., died on June 27, 2008, about a week after he was taken to Southeast Alabama Medical Center for treatment.
An autopsy performed by senior Alabama medical examiner Stephen Boudreau showed Cody died from excited delirium. The autopsy report, obtained by the Dothan Eagle through an open records request, showed evidence of cocaine in Cody’s body at the time of his death. Boudreau called excited delirium a side effect, and not an overdose, related to drug use. He said Cody exhibited bizarre behavior when he was brought into the hospital, and eventually had to be restrained. “The guy came in with an extremely high temperature at the hospital,” Boudreau said. “Your thermostat in your brain is broken, and it doesn’t know how hot you are anymore because of the drugs.”
A Houston County Sheriff’s deputy had stopped Cody for a seat belt violation near a gas station at the intersection of U.S. 231 South and Inez Road on June 15. Cody jumped from the passenger’s side window of the truck and ran away. The deputy used a Taser on Cody after catching up with him and feeling threatened by him.
Boudreau said many drugs can cause excited delirium, but he called cocaine the most common. “It doesn’t matter how much you took for this thing to take place. From its onset it’s probably uniformly fatal,” Boudreau said. “Some of them get a sense of impending doom, some take their clothes off in public, things that most people associate with madness.”
Cody suffered shocks from the Taser multiple times after he became combative with the deputy, according to previous Eagle reports. Sheriff Andy Hughes found that the deputy followed department policy with the Taser during the incident.
Deputies found an estimated $100 worth of cocaine in his Cody’s vehicle during the arrest, according to a previous Eagle report. Deputies had two warrants for his arrest that were not served as a result of his death, including felony unlawful possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor resisting arrest.
Boudreau said the Taser had nothing to do with Cody’s death. He said there are a couple cases of excited delirium a year within central and southeast Alabama. “The reason he got tased is because he had excited delirium. Getting tased had nothing to do with it he was going to die,” Boudreau said. “Police usually realize there was something wrong with the person, but they just can’t control them.”
Source: Dothan Eagle, AL - 9/16/2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Prince Swayzer III - September 2, 2008
San Jose, CA - A 38-year-old man died after violently struggling with police, getting shocked with a stun gun, and swallowing his own stash of drugs, according to police.
Prince Swayzer III was pronounced dead Tuesday night at a local hospital. The coroner's office has yet to determine a cause of death.
San Jose police say they stopped Swayzer early Tuesday evening at North Third and Hensley streets just south of Japantown. They suspected he was a drug dealer. Swayzer began to resist arrest and fight three officers, police said. They reported he swallowed an unknown drug. Swayzer was stunned with a Taser and subdued, according to police.
When firefighters and paramedics arrived at the scene, Swayzer was conscious and refused medical treatment, according to police. He was taken to a local hospital, where he again refused medical attention, police said. Swayzer later died at the hospital.
Source: The Mecury News
Fortressman's notes:
Logic dictates that consuming narcotics can be hazardous to your health...
www.tasernews.blogspot.com
Prince Swayzer III was pronounced dead Tuesday night at a local hospital. The coroner's office has yet to determine a cause of death.
San Jose police say they stopped Swayzer early Tuesday evening at North Third and Hensley streets just south of Japantown. They suspected he was a drug dealer. Swayzer began to resist arrest and fight three officers, police said. They reported he swallowed an unknown drug. Swayzer was stunned with a Taser and subdued, according to police.
When firefighters and paramedics arrived at the scene, Swayzer was conscious and refused medical treatment, according to police. He was taken to a local hospital, where he again refused medical attention, police said. Swayzer later died at the hospital.
Source: The Mecury News
Fortressman's notes:
Logic dictates that consuming narcotics can be hazardous to your health...
www.tasernews.blogspot.com
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