Thursday, December 25, 2008

Suspect Tased, Suspect Dies

There's that infamous sequence again, on Christmas Eve of all days:
Deputies arrived and the man jumped into the passenger seat of a patrol car, officials said. The man swung his fists and started kicking at the deputy.

The deputy shocked the man with a Taser gun to get him under control. Investigators said the man was shocked three times and was unphased. A deputy held the Taser gun on the man's body for a "contact stun" on the fourth shock, officials said.

The man was arrested and taken to Houston Northwest Hospital, where he died.

Additional stories here and here. All the stories I've read on this incident note two hallmarks of taser abuse: a) multiple taser applications, and b) an unarmed victim. And yes, when someone is abused with a taser, it's appropriate to use the word "victim" (i.e., "The victim died, in a hospital, soon after being tased multiple times.).