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Doctors Condemn "Threatening" Taser Court Ruling
Physicians speak out on bullying tactics of Taser International
over its "less than lethal" weapons
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Doctors have condemned as corporate "intimidation" a
court decision ordering a chief medical examiner to remove any
reference to the use of a taser as an antecedent in the deaths
of three men.
Ohio examiner Dr. Lisa Kohler had noted in her autopsy
reports that electrical shocks from Tasers were partially to blame
for the deaths of individuals in three separate confrontations
with police.
Taser International, now notorious for it's stern legal defense
having won 68 out of 68 lawsuits, filed
and won a civil suit, forcing Kohler to delete all
mentions of the weapons and to term the deaths "accidental".
Jeffrey Jentzen, president of the National Association
of Medical Examiners, an organization that represents the majority
of medical examiners in the United States, has
warned that the actions of Taser International and
the court ruling have set a dangerous precedent:
"Our membership is very concerned about these
cases and the reaction of Taser to these cases," he said
last night.
"Our membership is looking into the area and although
Taser has developed its own opinion, there are certainly opposing
opinions as to their involvement in causing sudden death in
individuals.
"Our organization feels that it violates the physician's
ability to make a medical decision. Ordering a professional
physician to change or alter their records is in violation of
their right to practice medicine.
"Taser has sued a number of medical examiners for making
informed medical opinions in an attempt, I think, to both protect
their product and send a threatening message to medical examiners.
"It is dangerously close to intimidation," he said.
"They are attempting to send a message to medical examiners
that if they elect to make that determination they may face
a civil suit."
(Article continues below)
Dr. Matthew Stanbrook of the Canadian Medical Association
(CMA) also voiced
his concern over the legal ruling, stating that the
decision fails to take into account the difficulty of determining
an exact cause of death in almost every case.
"If we were required to have at the level of scientific
and medical certainty that something was the cause of death, before
we were permitted to declare it, most of the people who died in
North America would have died of unknown causes," Stanbrook
said.
"It is a physician making their best judgment given all
the facts available."
Stanbrook has called
for an independent review of the stun guns and has
intimated that most of the existing research into the effects
of the weapon has been carried out by, or at the behest of, Taser
International itself.
Steve Tuttle, Taser's vice-president of communications
responded to the comments stating:
"Taser International's products have been
demonstrated by numerous medical studies to be safe and effective.
Taser International therefore aggressively defends our products
in all litigation brought against the company with the best
legal, scientific and medical expertise available."
Despite Tuttle's claims, many scientists and doctors
have raised
concerns about possible links between Tasers and
potential heart and respiration problems, mental health and an
individual’s state of exhaustion or agitation in confrontations
with authorities.
Taser International CEO Rick Smith told CBC News
in January that medical examiners had to be sure of their facts
because if they made what he called a careless opinion, they will
be held accountable in court.
However, It is not just physicians that are raising such concerns.
Amnesty International has also cited hundreds deaths around the
world after Taser use and has called for a full taser suspension
while a thorough investigation into the impact of the weapon is
conducted.
More recently, a UN Committee said the stun gun "causes
acute pain, constituting a form
of torture".
Deaths occurring where tasers have been used are now a daily
occurrence, yet police and private security forces
worldwide continue to be equipped with the weapons.
Recent
reports have revealed that police are using the Taser
as soon as someone displays a "fighting stance" or simply
to get a non-violent suspect to do what they are told, rather
than for their intended purpose as the last line of defense before
lethal action.
Most recently police in Vancouver have been using
the devices on transit fare dodgers.
As we previously
reported, The Department of Homeland Security is
now looking to evolve the technology in pursuing the introduction
of a device known as the Security Bracelet, a wearable tag that
would allow authorities to inflict pain compliance on suspects
from a distance, while also recommending law enforcement applications
and potential use in "crowd control situations".
Many Civil Liberties Associations and police departments across
North America have called for a moratorium on the weapons. The
stun gun is under particular scrutiny in British Columbia, Canada
as part of an ongoing inquiry following the death of Polish immigrant
Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver's airport in October.
Related:
Another Meaningless Taser Death: Police Use Of Stun Guns Out Of
Control
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