Deaths prompt Taser questions

OKLAHOMA CITY – A woman confronted by police outside a homeless shelter is the latest person to die after being shocked with a Taser, an electric stun gun designed to help officers subdue violent suspects without nightsticks or guns.

And because Milisha Thompson was already on the ground and in handcuffs, her death has raised questions about whether police are abusing the stun guns by using them as a labor-saving device to control uncooperative people.

“It’s a legitimate law-enforcement tool,” said Florida State University criminology professor George Kirkham, a former police officer. “But it’s supposed to be used as a defensive weapon. The problem we’re seeing around the country is it’s being used abusively.”

Amnesty International USA, which has done a study on Taser use, has counted 250 cases in which people died after being stunned with a Taser. The human rights organization cannot say whether the shock from a Taser actually caused those deaths. But some experts contend the weapon can be deadly, particularly when used on suspects who use drugs or suffer from heart problems.

A blurry surveillance video shows Thompson running near the homeless shelter, seemingly agitated. The picture is poor, but she can be seen struggling with officers, and she is Tasered.

Thompson, 35, soon stopped breathing. The cause of her May 19 death has not been determined, pending results of toxicology tests.

Police Chief Bill Citty insisted officers acted appropriately because the 6-foot, 260-pound Thompson was kicking and posed a danger, even though her hands were shackled.

Tasers have been officially listed as a contributing factor in about 12 deaths nationwide, said Steve Tuttle, a spokesman for Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Taser International Inc., which makes the weapon.

The company has prevailed in all 45 wrongful-death or injury cases in which it has been a defendant, Tuttle said.

Taser International and police say that no weapon is risk-free and that Tasers actually save lives by helping officers avoid more dangerous weapons.

In Oklahoma City, the police chief said, Thompson ran up to officers and was being disruptive, so police put her in handcuffs, Citty said.

Citty said Thompson continued to be combative, so officers used the Taser.