Posted on 08/11/2005 9:00:39 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Two weeks before a man being taken into custody by Santa Rosa police died of drug-induced delirium, the manufacturer of the Taser stun gun issued a bulletin warning law enforcement that people with that condition were at risk from repeated or prolonged shocking.
Santa Rosa police, however, said information in the bulletin, issued June 28 by Taser International of Scottsdale, Ariz., wasn't anything new.
"That information is in our training," said Sgt. Clay Van Artsdalen, Santa Rosa's training officer. "There is nothing new in the bulletin."
Police used Tasers, as well as pepper spray and a neck restraint, to subdue Carlos Fernandez, 31, at his Santa Rosa home July 16. He died a short time later.
The Sonoma County coroner attributed his death to excited delirium induced by methamphetamine. It is a condition in which a person exhibits erratic behavior, extreme strength and, sometimes dies suddenly.
The American Civil Liberties Union, noting Fernandez was the fourth Northern Californian to die in the past three weeks after being shocked by a Taser, is requesting all Santa Rosa police records regarding the incident.
"We don't feel Tasers should be banned. If an officer can deal with a situation with a Taser rather than shooting them with a gun, that is a positive outcome," said Mark Schlosberg, police policy director. "But they should be regulated and used as an alternative to deadly force and not widely used as now allowed under most police department policies."
Tasers are hand-held weapons that shoot two small probes up to 25 feet. The probes lodge in a person's skin and deliver a shock of 50,000 volts. The officer can apply additional shocks by pulling a trigger.
The bulletin by Taser International warned the electrical shocks may cause strong muscle contractions and breathing problems and applications of the shocks should be limited.
Subjects with excited delirium already have a potentially fatal condition caused by overexertion and breathing problems, which puts them at greater risk from the shocks, according to the bulletin.
It is a condition that is often caused by drugs.
Especially in those cases, Taser International said the stun gun should be considered a "five-second window of opportunity" to subdue the subject.
"That is what we like to do, but it just depends on the situation," Van Artsdalen said. "That is when they are incapacitated. If we can take somebody into custody at that time, that is optimal. But sometimes a probe misses or they are in a position that we can't."
Sheriff's officials said deputies aren't instructed to refrain from using Tasers if a subject is on drugs or alcohol. But if they do use a Taser, the person is to be monitored closely and checked out by medical personnel, the officials said.
"The other options are physical blows from a baton or a physical fight, which is also hard on the body," Sheriff's Lt. Bob McMenomey said. "We would not say don't use a Taser. But (suspects) are to be watched closely. And when they are booked into the jail, the staff is notified that a Taser was used."
Fernandez was shocked six times with a Taser during the July 16 incident in which police responded to his home after a 911 call. His wife, Karla Fernandez, told emergency dispatchers he was exhibiting symptoms of paranoia and might be on drugs.
The other Northern California deaths were Dwayne Zachary, 44, of Sacramento, who died Aug. 4; Eric Mahoney, 33, of Alameda, who died Aug. 3 in Fremont; and Brian O'Neil, who died Aug. 1 in San Jose. None of those deaths has been directly attributed to Taser use.
The only death that has been attributed to a Taser was that of a man in Chicago who was shocked for 57 seconds as police tried to subdue him Feb. 10.
In contrast, the Tasers used by Sonoma County law enforcement agencies fire in five-second bursts. There are no local policies limiting the number of times a person can be shocked.
Police say they are familiar with the excited delirium condition.
"I can tell you from experience that people have been dying from excited delirium for decades, absent the Taser, absent the pepper spray and absent the carotid restraint," said Lt. Dave Edmonds of the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department, which is investigating the Santa Rosa death.
"You are talking about heart cessation," he said. "Drugs are not good for that, pre-existing heart conditions are not good for that and fighting the police is not good for that."
Police also say it is a condition that only is diagnosed after the fact, not by the officer responding to a call.
"What we see is somebody who exhibits methamphetamine intoxication," Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Steve Bair said. "Excited delirium appears to be a medical finding by the coroner."
They aren't cheap. > $1,000, or so I was quoted.
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