Not-so-non-lethal?

[Nihilist]

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/10/31/D8L3L5G83.html

156 deaths from a supposedly "non-lethal" weapon. If that many people have died, how many now have serious health problems from it?

[Hirudinea]

156 deaths from a supposedly "non-lethal" weapon.

I believe the prefered term is "Less Lethal" now.

If that many people have died, how many now have serious health problems from it?

I would doubt any, the people who died from stun guns probably died from heart problems, and if they suvive the stun gun then they were healthy and hence would have no after effects. Anyway I'ed much rather be shot with a stun gun than a real gun, you want to talk about lethal, now a gun is lethal!

[nbk2000]

Police Stun Gun Kills Teen With Bible
Oct 31 8:42 AM US/Eastern

A teenager carrying a Bible and shouting "I want Jesus" was shot twice with a police stun gun and later died at a St. Louis hospital, authorities said.

In a statement obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, police in Jerseyville, about 40 miles north of St. Louis, said 17-year-old Roger Holyfield would not acknowledge officers who approached him and he continued yelling, "I want Jesus."

Police tried to calm the teen, but Holyfield became combative, according to the statement. Officers fired the stun gun at him after he ignored their warnings, then fired again when he continued struggling, police said.

Holyfield was flown to St. Louis' Cardinal Glennon Hospital after the confrontation Saturday; he died there Sunday, police said.

An autopsy was planned for Tuesday.

The statement expressed sympathy to Holyfield's family but said city and police officials would not discuss the matter further.

Calls Tuesday to Jerseyville Police Chief Brad Blackorby were not immediately returned. The department has been using stun guns for about five months, according to the statement.

In a report released in March, international human rights group Amnesty International said it had logged at least 156 deaths across the country in the previous five years related to police stun guns.

The rise in deaths accompanies a marked increase in the number of U.S. law enforcement agencies employing devices made by Taser International Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz. About 1,000 of the nation's 18,000 police agencies used Tasers in 2001; more than 7,000 departments had them last year, according to a government study.

Police had used Tasers more than 70,000 times as of last year, Congress' Government Accountability Office said.

Amnesty International has urged police departments to suspend the use of Tasers pending more study. Taser International said the group's count was flawed and falsely linked deaths to Taser use when there has been no such official conclusion.

The city of St. Louis also drew unwanted attention for crime this week when it was named the most dangerous U.S. city by Morgan Quitno Press. The ranking looked only at crime within St. Louis city limits, not its metro area.

I can tell just by the name that it was a negro that got blasted. :)

The poor cops are going to get sued for giving the negro what he wanted...an express ticket to Jesus! :D

[megalomania]

Well, if there was ever a case of “beware what you wish for” this is it! This is a public relations disaster for the cops. They murdered a poor innocent Christan boy, the bible still clutched in his twitching fingers.

This post was made to the St. Louis Street Racing Forum after the incident by someone who is allegedly a family member…

Police killed my cousin and I need a lawyer
I don't know if this is the right place but I know almost everyone frequents the OT more than anything else...

Last night my cousin (Roger Holyfield, 17) was in Jerseyville and got tazed six (6) times, causing his heart to stop. This lead to his brain swelling, and hes at Cardinal Glennon Hospital right now.

They are doing tests to find out if he is brain dead, which was the doctors medical opinion. The ****ing police killed my cousin for no ****ing reason.

If any of you knew my cousin they knew he was a ****ed up individual but he was just getting back on his feet. He, or anyone for that matter, does not deserve this.

If anyone knows of a GOOD lawyer to be used to sue these 6 mother****ers I would appreciate if you would share your knowledge with me, as my family needs one soon.

I honestly don't even know what kind of lawyer to get for a situation like this....

EDIT: Oh, and from what we understand he was sitting on a curb at Sonic, holding a Bible and kept repeating "I love Jesus, I love my mom." over and over. He was tazed after being handcuffed for soliciting.

The doctor said if he makes it through at best he would be a vegtable for the rest of his life...

The news says he got tased twice, this guy says six times... I would be inclined to believe six zaps would be far more likely to stop your heart than two. The lawsuit begins :)

[sparkchaser]

But how many zaps does it take for your brain to swell? I don't think that a stungun would do that unless he was hit in the head. Maybe there's another underlying problem? If he was sitting at a curb at sonic repeating "I love Jesus, I love my mom" over and over,.... I don't know, sounds kinda fishy to me. And after they handcuffed him did he get violent, warrenting the taze? Too little second hand info here to make judgements, or suppositions about tazers.

[Red Beret]

There's always two sides to a story, seriously, if some dude is sitting there saying "I love jesus, I love my mum", on the street, something aint right.

And as for, "non-lethal" it's (as was said) now "Less Lethal". Pepper spray could kill you if you had an allergic reaction to it. The police here are soon to start using the X-26 TASER. Should be interesting, wonder if an underground market will start for them.

[The Noid]

I've seen several studies on stun guns and other less than lethal weapons. It seems now that police are very interested in paintball style weaponry. One new round is essentially a paintball case filled with pepper spray and another round filled with a chemical that stinks like no other. From what I've read the "stink balls" are pretty effective. I know the police around my location are going to test out the stink ball in the next year, or atleast that's what I've been told. We had an incident here in the city involving a tasering gone wrong and they are looking for better ways to deter suspects.

[the_twitchy1]

Anything, applied incorrectly or unluckily, can be lethal. A paintball in the throat can kill in some instances. I've even seen stories in the news of a kid dying because he was hit in the chest with a baseball. Not the bat, the ball. Would you class a baseball as a lethal weapon?

Semantics are used by people to change how you feel about things. "Non-lethal' makes you feel comfy and safe because the police are now using weapons that won't kill you... so even if you get into trouble you won't get killed. "Less lethal" doesn't have the same ring.