RICHARD CUTHBERTSON
He was hog-tied and repeatedly Tasered before going limp and turning blue.
Now the widow of a man who died in Digby police custody more than two years ago is suing the RCMP and three of its officers.
A statement of claim was filed Monday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court on behalf Helen Saulnier. Her husband, Paul Saulnier, died of "restraint asphyxia" while being restrained outside the Digby RCMP detachment.
The claim describes the last moments of Paul Saulnier's life. The man had been taken into custody on July 15, 2005 "due to concerns about his behaviour." He became agitated when asked to provide fingerprints, the claim says, and took off out the door.
There was an altercation with police. The claim says Saulnier was Tasered in the back and then held to the ground.
"Handcuffs were applied to Paul Saulnier's wrists and his legs were secured upward and forward, while Paul Saulnier's torso and head was held on the ground," the claim says. The man was held down in a "hog-tie" and was repeatedly Tasered while handcuffed, the claim says.
Helen Saulnier is accusing three RCMP officers of negligence in her husband's death.
Restraining the man in a "hog-tie" was dangerous and inappropriate, the claims says, and "materially contributed to death by restraint asphyxia."
None of the allegations has been proven in court.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Police Officers From Five States Sue Taser International for Serious Injuries Suffered During Stun Gun Training Classes
Aug 23, 2005 | www.newsinferno.com
While the Canadian Police Research Institute has now stated that Tasers and other “conducted energy devices” are acceptable because the advantages they provide outweigh the risks they pose.In reaching this conclusion in its report to Canadian police chiefs, the Institute was apparently not overly troubled by the enormous number of deaths that have occurred in cases where a Taser has been used.
The specific finding by the Coroner of Cook County, Illinois, that a Taser was, in fact, the cause of death of a man arrested in Chicago also appears to have been ignored in the report as the type of definitive evidence it was seeking to support the claim that the devices can cause death.
This report comes at the same time that police officers in five states have filed lawsuits against Taser International claiming they suffered serious injuries after being shocked with the device during training classes.
One officer, a Missouri police chief, alleges that he suffered heart damage and two strokes after he volunteered to be shocked with a Taser in April 2004, while hooked up to a cardiac monitor that was supposed to show the Taser was safe. The officer also claims he suffered hearing and vision loss as well as neurological damage.
Other injuries claimed by the officers involved include spinal fractures, burns, a dislocated shoulder, and soft-tissue damage. A previous lawsuit file in February 2004 alleged a sheriff’s deputy suffered a fractured back in 2002.
The lawsuits challenge Taser International’s central marketing claim that its device is safe and charge the manufacturer of misleading its customers concerning the potential risks posed by the stun guns. Taser is also accused of minimizing and misrepresenting the 2002 fractured back case even after its own doctor found a one-second shock from a Taser caused the injury.
The lawsuits also allege Taser International withheld reports of injuries to at least 12 other police officers and that the company has ignored credible research suggesting the device can be extremely dangerous, if not fatal.
As with all previous allegations against it, Taser International has stated that it intends to vigorously defend the claims. The company has denied any of the 144 deaths which have occurred following the use of a Taser was caused by its product.
Clearly, both sides cannot be right in this matter. As we reported on August 7, Taser International has now issued a training bulletin warning that repeated blasts of the Taser can "impair breathing and respiration."
According to a posting on Taser’s website, for subjects in a state known as excited delirium, repeated or prolonged stuns with the Taser can contribute to "significant and potentially fatal health risks."
The three-page bulletin appears to counter instructions in a training manual Taser International issued only last year. It also departs from Taser’s previous dismissals of safety concerns raised by groups such as Amnesty International, which has documented 129 U.S. and Canadian deaths of people stunned by Tasers.
The Houston Police Department (HPD), Taser’s biggest U.S. customer, has formed a review committee of police officials and community leaders, including representatives from the NAACP and League of United Latin American Citizens, to study the use of Tasers in the city of Houston.
The committee started by reviewing the HPD use-of-force policy, training sessions that officers receive, and the first 200 incidents in which Tasers were used in Houston.
Houston will also be involved in a study of Taser use conducted by a national police-research organization according to a report in the Houston Chronicle.
Obviously, a non-lethal weapon becomes a problem when it starts killing people. Many experts and critics of the Taser stun gun believe that time has long since passed.
For example, using a number of sources, The Arizona Republic has now compiled a list of 144 cases in the United States and Canada since 1999 where a death followed the use of a Taser stun gun. http://www.azcentral.com/specials/taser/#
The sources used included autopsy reports, computer searches, police reports, media accounts, and Taser International’s own records. To date, the research indicates that medical examiners have cited the Taser to some extent in 18 deaths. In four cases it was a cause of death, in 10 it was a contributing factor, and in four it could not be ruled out as a cause of death.
This, however, seems to be just the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to Taser International’s mounting problems with respect to its approximately 100,000 stun guns now being used by some 7,000 U.S. law-enforcement agencies.
Despite the company’s spirited defense of its product, Taser International’s stock has continued to fall from $33.45 in December 2004 to $9.72 on July 30, a decline of over 70%.
From the very beginning, many experts questioned the safety of the 50,000 volt “non-lethal” weapon. A lack of adequate testing and independent medical evidence supporting the company’s bold marketing claims have been cited by such diverse critics as Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, and a consulting electrical engineer as reasons for removing the stun guns from the market until more extensive testing is done especially with respect to how the device affects pregnant women, people on drugs, or those with heart conditions.
Even the International Association of Chiefs of Police have suggested that further testing is needed. The organization advocates using the device only to subdue violent suspects; not to use it on handcuffed persons unless they are “overly assaultive;” to use it the least number of times; and to seek medical attention for anyone who has been shocked.
In addition, all types of Taser-related lawsuits abound. Personal injury and death claims have been commenced in a number of states. In March of this year, Mesa, Arizona, settled a claim by a 43-year-old man who fell out of a tree after being shocked twice with a Taser by a city police officer. The City paid $2.2 million to the man who became a quadriplegic and another $200,000 to the hospital where he was treated.
A class-action lawsuit was commenced only last week in U.S. District Court in Chicago by the city of Dolton, Illinois, on behalf of police departments across the country for being misled about the safety of the Taser and for leaving the police with weapons that are too dangerous to use on the street.
The law firm representing the city of Dolton claims to have already been retained by other police departments in four states. Paul Geller, an attorney from that firm, states that the law suit would be dropped if Taser would agree to take back the stun guns.
The potential for huge personal injury and death claims have left many municipalities rethinking their purchase of Tasers. Some police forces like those in Birmingham and Lucas County (Ohio) have either stopped issuing the weapons or have pulled them of the street altogether. Other cities like Chicago have backed off making additional purchases.
The mayor of Birmingham ordered police to stop using Tasers after the death of an inmate who had been shocked with a Taser several hours before he died.
The mayor of Dolton, which suspended their use, calls his city’s purchase of Tasers “a mistake” because “they need far more testing.” He went on to say that losing the money his city paid for the Tasers was far less than the financial risk posed by even one wrongful-death lawsuit.
On January 6, 2005 Taser officials disclosed that federal authorities had launched an inquiry into claims made by the company with respect to its safety studies. The Securities and Exchange Commission was also probing an end-of-year sale which appeared to inflate sales in order to meet annual projections.
In May, The Arizona Republic also reported that “Taser International was deeply involved in a Department of Defense study that company officials touted to police departments and investors as ‘independent’ proof of the stun gun’s safety...This information is surfacing at a time when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Arizona attorney general are pursuing inquiries into safety claims that the Scottsdale firm has made.”
On July 17, the Associated Press reported a Texas man died after being shocked between three and six times with a Taser by an off-duty police officer who was acting as a security guard. The man’s wife said she was suing Taser International because her husband “didn’t deserve the death penalty.” It appears the men had done little more than trespass on private property and confront the officer who had chased him.
The report went on to state: “In the past nine months, at least six people in Texas – including three in Fort Worth – have died after authorities shocked them with a Taser gun.”
On July 27, a prisoner being held in a Queens, New York, police station died after being shocked with a Taser.
Finally, on July 30, several news sources reported that (for the first time) the Cook County (Chicago, Illinois) Medical Examiner had ruled the February 10 death of an agitated 54-year-old man was caused by being shocked excessively with a Taser.
The finding indicated that the 57-second shock was sufficient, in and of itself, to have killed the man. Why such a long shock (ten times the usual amount) was administered has not been explained.
Although the Chicago police force will continue to use the Tasers they already have, an order for additional units was suspended.
Taser has vigorously defended its stun guns in every situation where it has been linked to an injury or death. The company continues to maintain that Tasers are non-lethal and that all of the reports regarding deaths and injuries associated with the device are baseless and can be explained
away on the basis of other causes.
A recent training bulletin issued by Taser, however, advised police that “repeated, prolonged, and/or continuous exposures to the Taser may cause strong muscle contractions that may impair breathing and respiration, particularly when the probes are placed across the chest or diaphragm.”
Given all of this information, it is difficult to image how the Canadian Police Research Institute reached its conclusion that the benefits of the Taser and similar devices outweigh the risks they pose to anyone who is shocked with any of them. It now appears that the courts will be the forum in which the final verdict on the Taser will be rendered.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Subdued with Taser, pepper spray and baton, B.C. man dies in hospital
Arrested Monday, Robert Knipstrom died early Saturday
Last Updated: Saturday, November 24, 2007 | 7:18 PM ET
CBC News
A 36-year-old British Columbia man has died in hospital more than four days after being subdued by RCMP officers with a Taser and nearly every other available weapon except firearms.
The case is being investigated as a death in police custody, focusing partly on whether the use of force was in line with RCMP policy and criminal law, the RCMP announced Saturday.
RCMP Insp. Brendan Fitzpatrick tells reporters that "soft hand tactics were used, hard hand tactics were used, as well as pepper spray, an Asp baton and a conducted energy weapon, a Taser" in the arrest of Robert Knipstrom.
(CBC)
Robert Knipstrom of Chilliwack, who died early Saturday in Surrey Memorial Hospital, was arrested Monday at a Chilliwack equipment rental store after an epic struggle with Mounties.
The investigation so far indicates that "soft hand tactics were used, hard hand tactics were used, as well as pepper spray, an Asp baton and a conducted energy weapon, a Taser," Insp. Brendan Fitzpatrick told reporters.
An Asp is a collapsible metal baton. Police said after the arrest that Knipstrom was agitated and acting erratically when he arrived at the store and suffered head injuries while being subdued.
A debate about the use of Tasers — promoted as a non-lethal alternative to guns — has expanded in Canada after a series of incidents, notably the deaths of a Polish immigrant at Vancouver airport in October and an inmate at a Dartmouth, N.S., jail in November.
Anti-Taser protesters rallied in Toronto and Vancouver Saturday, carrying signs bearing such slogans as "Tasers are not Toys."
In the latest case, it remains unclear whether the high-voltage Taser projectiles actually hit Knipstrom and whether the weapon played a role in his death, Fitzpatrick said.
Police hope an autopsy will establish the cause of death and perhaps provide clues to Knipstrom's behaviour before his arrest, he said.
The RCMP distributed a message from the Knipstrom family that seemed to suggest his relatives do not see him as blameless in the incident.
"The family is shocked and saddened by the recent incident between our son and the Chilliwack RCMP," the message said.
"We apologize on behalf of our son to staff at the Eze Rent-It Centre for any distress that was caused because of this incident.
"We would appreciate the media respect our continued privacy at this time as we grieve the loss of our son."
Canadian man dies 4 days after being Tasered
VANCOUVER, Canada -- A Canadian man died Saturday, four days after police used a Taser stun-gun on him because he reportedly was acting erratically in a store, police said. He was the third person to die in recent weeks in Canada after being shocked by the hand-held weapon.
Members of the Polish community attend a rally in Vancouver, Canada, Saturday, for Robert Dziekanski.
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Robert Knipstrom, 36, died in a hospital after two officers used pepper spray, a Taser and their batons to subdue the British Columbia resident. Police earlier said Knipstrom was extremely agitated, aggressive and combative with the two officers who responded. He was conscious and speaking when he was taken to the hospital.
The cause of death has yet to be determined. Although a Taser was used against Knipstrom, it was not immediately clear what role, if any, it played in his death, said Inspector Brendan Fitzpatrick.
Investigations into Knipstrom's death have been launched separately by the British Columbia Coroner's Office and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, police said at a news conference Saturday.
The case comes as Canadian police face intense criticism over the death of Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant who died at Vancouver airport last month after officers used a Taser and manhandled him.
A Nova Scotian man also died earlier this week, 30 hours after being shocked with the Taser at a jail where he was being held on assault charges.Friends, family mourn 'good kid' who died after Taser incident
(CNN) -- Friends and family identified the 20-year-old Frederick, Maryland, man who died after police used a Taser stun gun on him Sunday morning, according to a local television station.
Jarrel Gray, 20, died after police used a Taser gun on him Sunday morning, family and friends say.
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The man, who friends and family identified as Jarrel Gray, was involved in a fight at an apartment complex about 5 a.m. Sunday, police said. Authorities have not released Gray's name.
"I haven't heard anything except that he's gone," Troy Thomas told WJLA-TV. Thomas, who said he was Gray's uncle, told the television station, "I lost my best friend."
Cassandra Rollings, a friend of the family, appeared at the apartment complex where Gray died, holding a large photo of the young man wearing a tie. Gray was a "very good kid," Rollings said.
Deputies responded Sunday morning to a report of a fight at an apartment complex and found four people in a scuffle, Cpl. Jennifer Bailey of the Frederick County Sheriff's Office said Sunday.
Eric Cargenas, a man who lives in the apartment complex and said he saw the fight, told WJLA that two people started fighting after a yelling match.
A deputy used a Taser on Gray, who fell unconscious, Bailey said. He was taken to Frederick Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
His body was taken to the medical examiner's office in Baltimore for an autopsy. The results of some tests could take several weeks, according to an office spokeswoman.
Baltimore is about 50 miles east of Frederick.
The sheriff's office has not publicly identified the deputy who allegedly used the Taser, but Bailey said the deputy was placed on administrative leave with pay while authorities investigate the incident.
Since June 2001, more than 150 people have died in the United States after being subdued with stun guns, according to Amnesty International, which has called for police departments to suspend use of the devices pending study of their possible risks.
More than 7,000 of the nation's 18,000 law enforcement agencies use the devices, Amnesty says.
Recent deaths involving Taser devices have received much publicity. Last month, a police officer at Vancouver International Airport in British Columbia, Canada, used a Taser gun on a 40-year-old man making his first airplane trip outside Poland. He died.
In a statement released Friday, Taser International cited the Vancouver case and said it "appears to follow the pattern of many in-custody deaths or deaths following a confrontation with police. Historically, medical science and forensic analysis has shown that these deaths are attributable to other factors and not the low-energy electrical discharge of the Taser."
A bystander's video of the October 14 incident in Vancouver shows the victim continuing to struggle after being shot with the device.
Taser International said on its Web site that the struggle "is proof that the Taser device was not the cause of his death." Cardiac arrest caused by electrical current would have caused immediate death, the company said.
"We are taken aback by the number of media outlets that have irresponsibly published conclusive headlines blaming the Taser device and/or the law enforcement officers involved as the cause of death before completion of the investigation," said Tom Smith, the company's founder and chairman of the board.
But Amnesty International, noting that coroners have determined Tasers were a contributing factor in more than 30 deaths, said such a link cannot be ruled out.
The devices use compressed nitrogen to shoot two probes -- connected to the device by wire -- up to 35 feet at speeds exceeding 100 mph.
An electrical signal transmitted through the wires contacts the body or clothing, "resulting in an immediate loss of the person's neuromuscular control and the ability to perform coordinated action for the duration of the impulse," according to the company.Friday, November 23, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Taser trap - Not speed trap
Trooper Tasers Alleged Highway Speeder
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH_qVJfaYZAGardner fires, and Massey shrieks and falls.
"Face down! Face down! Put your hands behind your back!" Gardner orders.
A woman screaming hysterically emerges from the passenger side of the sport-utility vehicle Massey was driving, and the trooper tells her to get back inside "or you're going to jail, too."
Massey could not be reached for comment Wednesday. There was no phone listed for him in the Vernal area, where authorities said he is from. The highway patrol declined to make Gardner available for comment.
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