A Tennessee man remains in a coma after being tasered while in custody for public intoxication. The FBI has begun an investigation into why the man lapsed into a coma after being tasered by a jail deputy. According to police, an M26 Taser was fired at the man after he became combative.
Defective Products
Taser 12 Gauge
Outrageous but true: in the midst of mounting public concern over its dangerous stun gun, Taser International has developed and plans to market a 12 gauge shotgun so that its users can fire from a greater distance! That’s just brilliant! In the face of a public outcry over safety concerns and more than 100 deaths in the wake of Taser use, the company wants consumers to be able to fire the weapon even more indiscriminately. This is not the time to be developing new, more lethal weapons. They need to stop and examine the deadly effects of the Tasers on the market right now.
EPA Requests Reduced Use of Teflon Chemical
The chemical manufacturers use to make Teflon, perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, have been asked by the EPA to reduce and eventually eliminate its use due to its carcinogenic properties. Teflon is used in a wide range of consumer goods, including nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing, and food packaging. Currently, the EPA hasn’t established safe levels of PFOA exposure. After reviewing an EPA assessment of the chemical’s risk, an independent panel last month recommended that the agency classify PFOA as a “likely” carcinogen. The EPA will now develop a final risk assessment of the chemical. The agency said in yesterday’s statement that consumer products made with Teflon and other nonstick coatings don’t pose a risk to consumers.
Orlando Jury Rules Against Cop in Taser Case
In what is thought to be the first Taser lawsuit against a cop, a fedral civil jury found in favor of the plaintiff and awarded him $100,000 in punitive damages. The case stemmed from a June 2003 traffic incident during which Dontray Chaney was pulled out of his car and forcibly thrown to the ground for having an obscured license plate. Originally, he was charged with resisting arrest without violence. The taser came into play after Chaney had been thrown to the ground. The officer, Jonathan Cute then tasered him twice for good measure.
Lead Poisoning Treatment Linked to Deaths in Children
The CDC has linked a drug used to treat lead poisoning with cardiac arrest in children. Hospira, Inc, the maker of the drug Endrate, had no comment after the CDC released its results. Mary Jean Brown, chief of the CDC’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch, said hospital pharmacies should consider whether stocking Endrate is necessary, given its risks and the availability of other treatments.
Endrate is considered a chelating agent which contains compounds which upon entry into the body latch onto metals in the body and carry them through the body until natural elimination.
Tasered 6 year old boy’s Family Sues Police
In an article published in the Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel parents of a 6 year old boy will sue the police department that fired a taser at the young boy after a confrontation in the school office. First of all, how can you call this a confrontation? How is it possible the police or anyone else for that matter, have to resort to a Taser gun to control a six year old? He’s six years old and a first grader! We can’t have 6 year olds being tasered with 50,000 volts of electricity because they throw a tantrum.
Florida Legislature to Debate Taser Use
There’s a well-balanced, thoughtful editorial in the Palm Beach Post this morning that is worth a read on tasers. The upcoming legislative debate over taser use comes in light of the tragic and unnecessary death of a Ft. Pierce man. Samuel Hair of Fort Pierce was suffering from mental illness not criminal behavior at the time of his death. He was also wearing a pacemaker. Hair had called police for help and they brought him to the emergency room for treatment. That’s when everything went awry.
3 Police Officers on Leave After Taser Death
A second Fort Pierce police officer and an agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the death of Samuel F. Hair Jr.
Hair, 48, was given a Taser shock by police the night of Feb. 21 in the Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute emergency room and died at the hospital Friday after being taken off life support.
Edwin Minton Jr., a 54-year-old with 16 years on the force who also was working in an off-duty capacity at the hospital when he administered the shocks, has been on leave since the incident.
Victoria’s Secret Product Recalled
The following recall notice was published in News Inferno:
The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Victoria’s Secret Direct, of Columbus, Ohio, have announced the voluntary recall of some 500 Silk Kimono Tops manufactured in the United States by Single of Los Angeles, California. Consumers should stop using the product immediately.
Fort Pierce Man Dies After Being Tasered in Emergency Room
A 48 year old Ft. Pierce man died after being tasered by police in a hospital ER. Samuel Hair, who used a pacemaker, was shocked with a Taser on Tuesday night after he became unruly in the emergency room at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center and Heart Institute. He stopped moving after being hit twice with the weapon, which the manufacturer advertises as a nonlethal law enforcement tool.