Arizona Republic

12/26/04

The makers of Taser electric stun guns say their claims of safety are backed by more than 100,000 police officers who have been shocked during training sessions without suffering a single serious injury. But a doctor working for Taser says a one-second burst from the stun gun was responsible for fracturing the back of a Maricopa County sheriff's deputy in 2002. The doctor, in a memo obtained by The Arizona Republic, tells Taser that he evaluated former Deputy Samuel Powers and found the officer 'sustained a T7 compression fracture as the result of the Taser incident.' Powers was the first person to file a product liability lawsuit against Scottsdale's Taser International, claiming that the shock during a mandatory training exercise forced him into medical retirement and has left him suffering permanent injuries. He has been joined by other police officers around the country who are coming forward with lawsuits and complaints about injuries they attribute to being shocked with a Taser...

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Informant: Thomas L. Knapp