Defective & Dangerous Products

• Orlando Taser Case Overturned by Judge

  Joe Saunders | April 11, 2006 6:45 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  A federal judge has overturned a $100,000 verdict against an Orlando police officer who a jury found had violated the civil rights of a motorist he stopped and shot with a Taser in 2003. The crux of the judge's argument hinged upon the fact that the cop stopped the driver for a non-arrestable offense. However, the real story may be that Orlando police have deployed the Taser stun gun more than...

• Tampa Bay Taser Incidents

  Joe Saunders | April 06, 2006 8:56 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  Yesterday was a busy day for police officers deploying the Taser stun gun. A 92 year old Pasco County man living in an assisted living facility was tasered by police after he assaulted another resident. On Clearwater beach, an unidentified man lost his life after being tasered by police. The police were responding to a complaint of "erratic behavior" before tasering the decedent. While I...

• Kansas School Consultant Urges Prudence and Public Notification of Taser Use

  Joe Saunders | March 31, 2006 9:30 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  A consultant for Wichita Kansas public schools is urging school officials to use prudence when deploying taser stun guns on students. It's just as important to inform the parents of tased students as well as the local community of such use. In Hillsborough County Florida, letters are sent home to school parents when a taser is deployed, even by accident.

• Amnesty International Renews Its Taser Warnings

  Joe Saunders | March 28, 2006 9:36 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  As the death toll from Taser use continues to mount across the country, Amnesty International has renewed its call to halt the use of the controversial stun gun. According to the watchdog group, 61 people died after being tasered in the last year. In spite of this, Taser use has increased since 2001. According to the GAO, police officers used the stun gun 70,000 times last year alone.

• Mandatory Taser Training for Cops Passes Florida House Committee

  Joe Saunders | March 18, 2006 11:26 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  Florida police officers would be required to take four hours of training before using the Taser stun gun under HB 303 which was unanimously approved by the Florida House Criminal Justice Appropriations Committee. Presently, no training is required. The training requirement bill surfaced after many people have been seriously injured or killed after being hit by the Taser. Republican Dick...

• University Study Targets Taser Safety

  Joe Saunders | March 14, 2006 9:58 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  Armed with a $650,000 grant from the Department of Justice, two University of South Carolina research professors will undertake a study of the controversial Taser stun gun. The study will focus on the weapon's safety as well as its ability to reduce injuries to police officers and suspects. The study comes at a time of growing public concern about the safety of Tasers and their potential for...

• CA Judge Denies Taser's Motion to Dismiss

  Joe Saunders | March 10, 2006 6:45 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  A California judge has dismissed Taser International's Motion to Dismiss in a lawsuit arising from a 2004 death of a Monterey CA man who had been tasered. Taser International, Inc., asked the district court to dismiss the claims of the Rosa family, contending that (1) Michael Rosa's death was not reasonably foreseeable, (2) its product is not inherently dangerous, and (3) it had no duty to warn...

• Police Use Taser on Elderly Man in Wheelchair

  Joe Saunders | March 08, 2006 6:57 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  Every day I read a new Taser story. Each day the story seems to get more outrageous. Today, the story's about a Harris County (TX) sheriff's deputy using a taser on an elderly man in a wheelchair! The deputy has been placed on administrative leave for improper use of the stun gun weapon. The 73 year old man was shot twice in the groin area by the deputy. At the time of the incident, 12...

• Tasered Inmate Remains in Coma

  Joe Saunders | March 07, 2006 8:48 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  A Tennessee man remains in a coma after being tasered while in custody for public intoxication. The FBI has begun an investigation into why the man lapsed into a coma after being tasered by a jail deputy. According to police, an M26 Taser was fired at the man after he became combative.

• Taser and Military Don't Mix

  Joe Saunders | March 06, 2006 3:51 PM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL

  Randall Udelman, fellow Injury Board blogger in Phoenix, has a nice post on the military's stance on tasers. The military recognizes the stun gun weapon is just too dangerous for any training exercise.