Posted on 06/20/2007 11:25:09 AM PDT by DogByte6RER
Man bursts into flames after being shot by a taser gun
Last updated at 13:56pm on 20th June 2007
Police are investigating the firey death of a man who burst into flames after dousing himself in petrol and then being shot with a taser gun.
Officers used the gun after the man had poured gasoline over himself.
Juan Flores Lopez, 47, died on Tuesday at a hospital in Texas.
Police initially used pepper spray when they tried to take Lopez into custody. Then they used the Taser. Some stun guns emit an electric spark when they deliver the jolt of electricity.
The Texas Rangers were also investigating whether a lighter that was on the porch could have contributed to the fire.
"We don't know what ignited the fire," police said.
No one else was injured in the confrontation. It was unclear whether Lopez had been charged with anything.
Two of his sons who live nearby said their father had been threatening for months to burn himself and his house. His wife was seeking a divorce and he did not want to have to leave the house, the sons said.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Now, now. Maybe the PD was forced to hire unqualified personnel, er, common sense challenged individuals by the DOJ and/or the ACLU?
Only FReepers can make this thread funny!
OK, you owe my company a new monitor!
Bet that hurt!
Apparently, if your news subjects don’t have any clue about electricity + gas = boom, lapses in judgement are a hazard of the profession.
A little stupid probably rubbed off.
Thanks!
I smell a Darwin Award here!
.
>>>>I smell a Darwin Award here!<<<<
So that’s what a DA smells like.
Cool!
You're kidding right? Come on.... You taser a guy covered in gasoline, and you don't know what the ignition source was? Please.
Hey Officer! I meant a Bud Light!
OC by itself has the ability to ignite when a taser is used.
If a TASER is used in the normal method of shooting probes with the attached wires into the skin of the target, then it wouldn't produce a spark. The current would flow down one wire, through the target, and back up the other wire. It wouldn't arc, so there would be no spark.
However, if one of the probes did not penetrate the skin, and was instead stuck in clothing the current might arc between the end of the probe and the skin. This is intentionally part of the design, but since that isn't what normally happens, the officers might not expect it.
A TASER also has probes on the end and can be used like a normal contact stun gun as well. If used like that it would likely arc between the end of the gun and the target's skin causing a spark.
If both probes did strike the target and pierce the skin, then my guess is that the lighter on the porch is the ignition source. If the guy was holding it with his finger on the flint, he could have easily created the spark through involuntary muscle contraction due to being TASED.
In any case, I place full blame on the idiot who doused himself with gasoline and then resisted arrest. His actions were a threat of serious injury to everyone around him. His death is the result of his own actions, and officers should not be required to risk being set on fire in order to apprehend him.
Even if they fired bean bag rounds from a shotgun, they would have risked the burning powder expelled from the shotgun igniting the gasoline.
Ack! I can’t believe I clicked on your link again!
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