Man dies after cops taser him

[proud2BlibKansan]

Taser use questioned after death
By LYNN HORSLEY The Kansas City Star

Witness statements indicate that a man who died Saturday in police custody was using PCP and cocaine before his arrest, a Kansas City police spokesman said Sunday.

Karl W. Marshall, 32, of Overland Park died Saturday night in a Police Headquarters holding cell, about two hours after he was struck three times by a Taser during a struggle with officers. It was the first time anyone has died in Kansas City after a Taser was used.

But Capt. Rich Lockhart, a Police Department spokesman, said the public should not conclude the Taser was responsible for the death.

“It’s way too early to blame Taser for this,” Lockhart said. “We need to be cautious and not rush to judgment.”

more. . .
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/13744445.htm

[evlbstrd]

1. Ever notice that the victim is always on PCP or coke?

"Ah, well, that explains it," is the unspoken subtext. As if they deserved to die.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Of course he was on drugs!!

Good lord, why would they ever want to taser someone who wasn't a whacked out druggie type!

[Montauk6]

3. Sounds like they're gearing up for the Budzyn/Nevers defense

Remember the Malice Green case in Detroit back in the early 90s? I think this was the trial that put CourtTV on the map.

Flashback: Larry Nevers and Walter Budzyn, 2 Detroit cops, are struggling with Green, beating him about the head with those cop flashlights. He dies. They argue that his death was from damage to his system, courtesy of cocaine. They lose. But their sentences were overturned, IIRC.

[kentuck]

4. Ever notice there are more people killed with tasers than with bullets?

Does that mean they are safer than guns?

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Of course they are

Ask any cop. ;)

[Nabia2004]

6. “It’s way too early to blame Taser for this”

... Marshall became combative and struggled with officers, refusing to be handcuffed. He was struck twice with a Taser while on a balcony outside a second-floor apartment before officers could shackle him and take him to a police van. He continued to struggle, and officers shocked him a third time.

... officers used the Taser in “drive stun” mode, in which the weapon is applied directly to the body and delivers the shock as long as it is in contact with the person. Lockhart distinguished that from probe mode, which fires two probes to deliver an electrical shock, disrupt the nervous system and immobilize the suspect."

I wonder how long it will be before the Taser is recognized as a possible deadly weapon?

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. "disrupt the nervous system"

Sounds like there are deadly potentials.