Despite cardiac arrest warnings, police fire Tasers into chests of suspects in the UK and U.S.
British police have fired Tasers hundreds of times at suspects' chests despite explicit warnings from the weapon's manufacturer not to do so because of the dangers of causing a cardiac arrest, the Guardian can reveal.
Following the death last Wednesday of a man in Manchester after police hit him with a Taser shot, figures obtained from 18 out of 45 UK forces show that out of a total of 884 Taser discharges since 2009 – the year when Taser International first started warning the weapon's users not to aim for the chest – 57% of all shots (518) have hit the chest area.
There is evidence that shots to the chest can induce cardiac arrest. Dr Douglas Zipes, an eminent US cardiologist and emeritus professor at Indiana University, who last year published a study that explored the dangers of chest shots, told the Guardian: "My admonition to the UK police would be avoid the chest at all costs if you can."
He said the proportion of shots landing on the chest was huge, adding: "I think the information is overwhelming to support how a Taser shot to the chest can produce cardiac arrest."
The manufacturer's warning in its training materials is clear. It states: "When possible, avoid targeting the frontal chest area near the heart to reduce the risk of potential serious injury or death.
"Serious complications could also arise in those with impaired heart function or in those with an implanted cardiac pacemaker or defibrillator."
Firing at the back is the preferred option where practical.
Zipes said Tasers were first found to have the ability to "capture" heart rhythm in a way similar to that of a pacemaker after Taser itself commissioned a study on pigs published in 2006.
If fired close enough to the heart, the 50,000 volt weapons have the ability to interfere and take over the electrical signals in the heart in rare cases – something that can be avoided altogether by hitting other parts of the body.
Zipes, who has acted as an expert witness in Taser death cases, said his peer-reviewed paper for the Journal of the American Heart Association documented eight cases of people in the US who have died or suffered significant brain damage following a cardiac arrest linked to a Taser shot.
But, despite the apparent dangers of chest shots, a series of requests under the Freedom of Information Act suggests that police are routinely aiming Taser shots at that part of the body.
In the US, Taser was recently ordered to pay $5million to the family of 17-year-old Darryl Turner, who died in 2008 after being shot by police with a Taser.
The lawyer in that case, John Burton, from Pasedena, California, said that by aiming for the chest, UK police were being irresponsible.
"This is just so irresponsible. I'm shocked to hear this," Burton said. "If UK cops are shooting people in the chest it just shows that they just don't take things seriously."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk-news/2013/jul/14/police-tasers-cardiac-arrest-warnings
Taser use; get the data:
Contrary to medical advice and manufacturer's warnings, UK police are firing Taser stun guns at the chests of suspects in the majority of cases, according to newly released data.
There is evidence to suggest that shots to the chest are more dangerous because they can result in cardiac arrest. The manufacturer's own training guidance states: "When possible, avoid targeting the frontal chest area near the heart to reduce the risk of potential serious injury or death."
Of the 45 UK police forces that were asked about taser gun use, 18 replied with statistics. The original freedom of information request included questions about the total number of uses and the number of times that an individual had been hit in the chest area by a Taser weapon between 2009 and 2012.
On average, 57% of all Taser discharges resulted in an individual being hit in the chest. There were however large differences between police forces - from 100% of three Taser uses by City of London police, to 17% of the 24 occasions that Suffolk police used the weapon.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2013/jul/14/taser-use-police-forces-uk-data
