Thought you guys might find this of interest. Its being slathered on the news 24/7 here. Personally, I find it all pretty stupid. Next, they'll want to classify pepper spray as a deadly weapon. All it will take is for the one freak time that someone who is allergic to it to get hosed and keel over.
Oh, little side rant about the case in the article. Now, they are saying the guy was targeted and KILLED, simply because he was black. I'm so sick of crap like that.

www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/121003/met_14262977.shtml

Death follows use of taser gun St. Johns deputies subdue man after chase in which cop hurt; suspect dies on way to hospital. By SHAWNA SUNDIN The Times-Union ST. AUGUSTINE -- A St. Johns County man authorities stunned with a taser gun died early Tuesday after a confrontation that included a deputy getting dragged by the man's vehicle. The 39-year-old St. Augustine resident died during an ambulance ride to Flagler Hospital where he was pronounced dead, said Kevin Kelshaw, Sheriff's Office spokesman. The Sheriff's Office did not release the man's name, but Times-Union news partner First Coast News identified him as Lewis King. The series of events began about 1:30 a.m. with a routine traffic stop. Authorities pulled over a 2000 Chevrolet Suburban with a broken taillight at West King and Collier streets in West Augustine, according to the Sheriff's Office. A deputy noticed a suspicious container, questioned the driver about it and then reached into the passenger window to point it out. The driver then sped off with the deputy hanging on, the Sheriff's Office said. The deputy was able to free himself as the driver slowed for a turn. He suffered minor injuries. The driver drove into the woods near Helen and North St. Johns streets and then fled on foot. A man identified as the driver later came out of the woods and refused to comply with instructions from deputies, who then subdued him with a taser. Kelshaw would not say how many times the man was shot with the taser. The suspect continued to resist and then was secured. He complained of breathing difficulties and rescue personnel were called. An autopsy is being performed, Kelshaw said. The deputies involved are not being named because the investigation is ongoing, Kelshaw said. This was the second time that a St. Johns deputy has been dragged by a vehicle in less than a week. Deputy Michael Plott was on bike patrol Thursday when he approached a suspicious truck near Evergreen Cemetery. When the truck started to move, his bike was driven into the ground as he clung to the door for about 200 yards. He suffered scrapes and bruises. The Sheriff's Office has 126 tasers with one used once to twice a week, Kelshaw said. The Community Emergency Team, similar to a SWAT team, first began using them a couple of years ago. The rest of the deputies started using them this summer, Kelshaw said. Taser International, the Arizona-based company that makes the weapon, says 2,500 police departments and sheriff's offices in the United States and abroad use its guns. The weapons shoot two small probes up to 21 feet. The probes transmit powerful electrical pulses into a person, causing temporary loss of neuromuscular control and the ability to perform coordinated action, according to Taser International's Web site. A handful of deaths have come after taser usages, including one in Nassau County in 2002. But Taser International spokesman Steve Tuttle has said tasers are always cleared as the cause of death, and there simply isn't enough electricity to cause permanent damage. Henry Canady, 64, of Hilliard died in March 2002 after he bolted into an abandoned house on his mother's property where pursuing deputies shocked him with a taser, according to the Nassau County Sheriff's Office. Canady's family blamed his death on the taser, but an autopsy showed he died from other causes. Many law enforcement officials prefer tasers to batons, pepper sprays, hand strikes or firearms. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office along with police departments in Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach and St. Augustine use tasers.

WARNER ROBINS - A Unadilla man who allegedly attempted to abduct a woman Tuesday at a gas station died after he was shocked twice with a police stunning device.

The man was identified as Curtis Lawson, 40, of 186 Lawson Road, Unadilla. The body has been sent to Atlanta for an autopsy, which will include a toxicology test for possible drug use.

The GBI is investigating the incident, which occurred after Lawson confronted the woman while she was pumping gas at the Pilot gas station, at the Ga. 247 Connector/Warner Robins exit off Interstate 75 in Peach County. A GBI investigation is departmental policy for the Peach County Sheriff's Office when a suspect dies during an arrest, said Maj. Terry Deese of the sheriff's office.

Deese said there is no indication that any of the officers involved in the arrest did anything wrong.

"It's a tragedy," Deese said. "We don't want arrest situations to end like this. Hopefully, the autopsy will be able to tell us why he died."

At about 12:30 a.m., the 22-year-old Roberta woman on her way home from work had stopped at the Pilot to get some gas when Lawson approached her and tried to get her to go with him, Deese said.

The woman, who was on a cell phone with her boyfriend, was "able to get away" and ran across the parking lot to a convenience store, Deese said.

Lawson, who was barefoot and wearing shorts and a T-shirt, chased her into the store, where clerks attempted to keep Lawson from grabbing the woman, Deese said. A store clerk called 911, which dispatched Warner Robins police because the store is located in a portion of Peach County annexed by Warner Robins.

Meanwhile, a Peach County deputy, on routine patrol, drove up and Lawson ran across the street, Deese said. Minutes later, 911 received a call from a man who said he was in Room 144 of the Red Carpet Inn, the hotel across from the Pilot. The man told 911 "get me some police now."

When police arrived, Lawson was standing outside. Deese said authorities didn't know whether Lawson had made the call or if there was someone inside the hotel room who had made the call. Lawson ran inside and refused police commands to come outside, Deese said. The door was forced open and Lawson fled to the bathroom.

Unable to restrain Lawson with pepper spray, Peach County deputies called for assistance from the Houston County Sheriff's Office for the use of a Taser, Deese said.

A Taser is a "non-lethal device" used to temporarily stun an offender, Deese said. The Taser, similar to a stun gun, is an alternative to having to shoot a suspect, he said.

When Cpl. Ken Beck of the Houston County Sheriff's Office arrived with the Taser, law enforcement officers from Warner Robins, Byron and Peach County were standing at the back of the hotel room near the bathroom, according to a Houston County sheriff's report.

Lawson ignored several commands to calm down, the report said.

"When I was about 3 feet from the door, the offender leaped out of the bathroom towards me with his hand stretched out as if he was trying to hit me," Beck wrote in the report. "At this point, I stepped back and activated my Taser."

The first time, the Taser missed Lawson. A second attempt shocked and stunned Lawson, though he continued to fight police, the report said.

After about 15 minutes and while authorities were waiting for a transport van, Lawson suddenly stopped fighting officers - prompting them to ask if he was all right, the report said.

When there was no response, police checked his pulse and discovered he was not breathing. Officers began CPR and an ambulance was called, but police and emergency workers were unable to revive him, Deese said.

Houston County Sheriff Cullen Talton said that from his understanding of the incident, Beck acted appropriately.

Talton noted that the Tasers, in use at the department for about a year, offer an alternative choice to having to shoot a suspect, while also protecting the deputies. He noted that sheriff's deputies must be certified and receive special training to use a Taser, which includes being stunned themselves to understand its effect, Talton said.



[url]macon.com/mld/macon/news/7455223.htm[/url]


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I added the snippet I did to illustrate, public/media perception.

I was watching something about the WTO riots in Seattle last night. In it they said "peaceful protesters were exposed to dangerous chemical weapons". The "chemical weapon"? OC spray. Then they said 100 deaths have been attributed to OC spray. They also said miscairages, birth defects, and long lasting physiological damage had resulted from OC spray exposure.

My question then was, if the "peaceful protesters", are concerned about the dangersous chemical weapon exposure, why did they ALLOW themselves to be exposed to it? Officers gave repeated warnings to clear the street they were blocking, before spraying.

Also OC spray is pepper. If people are dying from exposure to PEPPER most people have a deadly arsenal on their dinning table.

100 people may have died after being exposed to OC. But I would bet, that out of that 100, 99 had signifigant medical/drug/alcohol problems, and THOSE were the causes of death. 1 case was NYPD using flamable OC then a stun gun or other ignition source.

Tasers won't kill. I've been shocked. But a person acting bizarrely who is shocked, then dies, probably died from whatever was causing them to act bizarely BEFORE the application of the Taser.

But we have to realize that often times police are called to defuse situations that have taken from minutes to days to spin out of control. The police don't create the situations, but as soon as the are called everything that happens becomes their fault.  

They might cause damage on a rare few people with preexisting cardiac conditions, but i fail to see how that small risk would outweight their benefit. It's the best alternative we have at this point to shooting someone.

Sad, sometimes you see these cases and you realize it would've been less hassle to just shoot the guy. [:(] Just another example of being able to do no right in their eyes.

My department still encourages the use of the taser. All of patrol carry one, and if it will prevent a hands on situation (fight, etc.) we are told to deploy it.

Several foot pursuits have been ended with a running "tasering", kinda funny to look at.

You mean like when they are in full stride sprint and then their muscles all go goofy and they do that feet over head tumble face first into the ground?

[banana]

Yes, assuming the darts penetrate fully. Might be very traumatic to someone who was watching, but didnt know what was being "shot".   [:)]

[;)]