Traffic stop, murder by taser.

[brewguy]

Man dies after troopers use Taser on him
The Associated Press


NEW BRIGHTON, Minn. --A man died after state troopers stunned him with a Taser when they said he became "uncooperative" after being involved in a wreck.

The State Patrol said five troopers were placed on standard, administrative leave after the man's death Tuesday. A patrol spokesman would not describe what kind of "uncooperative" behavior was involved.

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is leading the investigation.

"This is a traumatic event for a lot of people," superintendent Tim O'Malley said. "Someone has died and in fairness to that person, the troopers, family members and others who may have been affected, we need to make sure that we're accurate and thorough."

The man who died was identified as Mark C. Backlund, 29, by his father, Gordon Backlund. He had been driving to the airport to pick up his parents, who were returning from a trip to Florida.

The crash occurred during the evening rush on Interstate 694, and no other vehicles were involved.

Gordon Backlund said he was told his son's heart stopped, but he added his son had no heart conditions. Autopsy results are not expected until Thursday afternoon at the earliest.

"We're looking for what really happened," Gordon Backlund told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis. "And it is just going to take time to figure this out."

State Patrol Lt. Mark Peterson didn't return telephone calls Wednesday or Thursday from The Associated Press seeking more information.

Peterson told the newspaper that State Patrol troopers began carrying Tasers about 18 months ago, mirroring their growing use among police departments nationwide.

A U.S. Justice Department study released in October said arrest-related deaths involving Tasers or other conducted-energy devices are rising, although overall numbers are low. From 2003-2005, there were 36 such deaths total, with a jump from 3 cases in 2003 to 24 in 2005.

The report noted that more than half of those deaths were blamed on other causes, including intoxication, and not the Taser's use itself.


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http://www.bnd.com/430/story/230585.html

[Garpman]

Probably mentioned something about the Skull & Bones.

[dnar]

I had no idea that a taser gun could stop your heart from beating. That's scary.


rand

[LittleRedToyota]

I had no idea that a taser gun could stop your heart from beating. That's scary.

don't believe the hype.

i don't think there is conclusive evidence one way or the other, but the science seems to say it does not cause heart attacks. (the media reports often forget to mention that the guy who died just ingested a large dose of cocaine, etc.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/14/bu...=1&oref=slogin

http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/0031-9155/52/24/001

http://medicalphysicsweb.org/cws/article/research/31906

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1008080329.htm

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2...ists-tase.html

remember that every police officer (or at least nearly every one) who is certified to use a taser gets zapped by one as part of his training...i don't think there is a single case of one of these police officers dying.

i would still much, much, much rather be tased than OCed...or hit with a baton...or have someone try to put a wrist lock or some such control hold on me. taser is far and away the safest method of forceful control available today. (and, the simple fact is that sometimes police officers do have to forcefully control people.)

just my 2 cents.

[KeithPA]

i don't think there is conclusive evidence one way or the other, but the science seems to say it does not cause heart attacks. (the media reports often forget to mention that the guy who died just ingested a large dose of cocaine, etc.)

400+ people have shot by tasers and not survived. Some are in perfect health, some are not, some are on drugs. But the fact remains they were alive before getting shot.

The latest taser death I knew of before this was a man in Canada in his twenties that was in perfect health.

[LittleRedToyota]

400+ people have shot by tasers and not survived. Some are in perfect health, some are not, some are on drugs. But the fact remains they were alive before getting shot.

The latest taser death I knew of before this was a man in Canada in his twenties that was in perfect health.

do you have references for any of these? (preferably not mass media news stories, but actual scientific sources...though those may be hard to come by.)

i'm not saying people have not died after being shot with tasers. but it does seem, from what i have seen, that the taser was not the cause.

of course, it could be that i just haven't seen the evidence in cases where a taser actually did cause death. so, if you have some references, i would love to see them.

if i can find evidence that tasers really do kill people, i'll jump on the "tasers are evil" bandwagon...though i'd like to know what option people would rather the police use instead.

[jsb889]

I really think pepperspray should be used before the taser. I haven't read any reports of someone dying from pepperspray, or any other permanent damage.

People have died from tasers, not spray (AFAIK). I say spray em, if that don't work, tase or shoot.

[KeithPA]

do you have references for any of these? (preferably not mass media news stories, but actual scientific sources...though those may be hard to come by.)

i'm not saying people have not died after being shot with tasers. but it does seem, from what i have seen, that the taser was not the cause.

of course, it could be that i just haven't seen the evidence in cases where a taser actually did cause death. so, if you have some references, i would love to see them.

if i can find evidence that tasers really do kill people, i'll jump on the "tasers are evil" bandwagon...though i'd like to know what option people would rather the police use instead.

There are none. There has only been one study on tasers to my knowledge and I believe it was funded by or even run by Taser Intl. The taser industry constantly refers to this study saying they are safe.

Here's my study:

A + B = C
Man + Taser = Dead Man

The only way you could ever say "a taser caused death" is because too much current flowed through the lined. That doesn't happen, but the electrical shock caused something in your body to do something else or shut something down and you ended up dead.

[ex. you died because your heart shut down, why did it shut down? the taser confused the hearts electrical impulses. You can't prove the taser did it, theres no storage bank saying "electrical shock hit the heart" but something caused it to shut down.] - not sure if that makes sense, don't know much about the human body

Basically, you can never prove a taser was responsible for the series of bodily events that killed you, but it has to start somewhere, otherwise there are 400+ people that just coincidentally suffered health conditions at the exact moment they were tasered.

kinda get it what i'm saying?

[ShakeyDad]

Hey, here's a stretch.....DO WHAT THE COPS TELL YOU TO. !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do not become "uncooperative". And you wont have to worry about becoming dead. Simple as that.

[Intrigue]

Hey, here's a stretch.....DO WHAT THE COPS TELL YOU TO. !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do not become "uncooperative". And you wont have to worry about becoming dead. Simple as that.

Yep. My folks always told me:

"No matter how right you think you are, just cooperate, be polite and sincere, and do exactly what the officer says. If you really are right, you will have your day in court"