Third person dies after police Taser strike

Guns work better

As a police officer, I have been tazed several times and have tazed several police and paramedic cadets. For the 5 second ride and less. IT IS NOT the cause of death!!! The taser has saved many lives in situations where a justified use of lethal force was present. It will be interesting to see the tox results and criminal/medical history of the deceased, but then again that wouldn't be news worthy. Interesting "journalism" that has a title of "Third person dies.." Yet mentions nothing of the other incidents in the article.

My father is in his 60's and I know it would take more than one officer to take him into custody if he didn't want to go. Age is not the issue.

If you were truly a police officer you would know that EDP's (Emotionally Disturbed Person) are known to have tremendous strength and can be impervious to pain, regardless of age. By the way, 50 years of age does not make an invalid!

i use to be a police officer,and we had to subdue violent people with out a teaser...you mean to tell that more then one police officer coud not subdue a 50 year old mental patient,thats sad,and it speaks of the kind of officers on the force

Split decisions are often deadly. Move the stick closer to reach than the Taser or gun. More studies are needed on the Taser, this is proven. If we had less frivolous law suits the police could be paid more. People suing because parents wont stop drug running their children, like that kid on the bike. How much can the tax payers handle to run any city.

Bruce, there is a risk of to everything we do. Subduing people is also dangerous and is too frequently deadly for the officers who are underpaid to risk their lives for us. I say let's and keep the risk on those crazies that get tazered and away from our police officers.

Examiner read say: "What is this ridiculous need for "less than lethal" devices? If a person is a threat, then lethal force should always be used. If a criminal may harm a police officer, then lethal force should be used" I really hope you're not a police officer. If you are...you shouldn't be. As a police officer in Baltimore City I definately disagree with this. Your thought process is disgusting and disturbing. You automatically assume that the person is a criminal? Many people in Baltimore suffer from mental illness. Does that mean they should die? It's not our job as police officers to play judge, jury, and executioner. It's our job to try to protect all including ourselves. To use lethal force in every case is ridiculous. I'm all for aggressive policing in a city that is out of control but you cross the line.

What is this ridiculous need for "less than lethal" devices? If a person is a threat, then lethal force should always be used. If a criminal may harm a police officer, then lethal force should be used. If more criminals were killed when trying to harm others, there would be fewer criminals. Criminals might also be conditioned to simply lie down on the ground with their hand behind their heads rather than always resisting officers.

This again is irresponsible reporting - "Police struck Thomas Campbell, 50, with the weapon..." This implies the police hit him. A Taser is deployed by firing (2) prongs that attach to a person then a short electrical burst is sent rendering the person immobile. The article implies he died due to the taser. I would rather wait for the results of an autopsy before making that assumption. What was his toxicology? Any known health problems? The Examiner proves once again that it's reporters don't do enough research before print. I think the National Equirer or Star is more reliable. Tasers are effective tools that are used by police agencies across the country if not the world. Sure there will issues with just about any law enforcement tool but, the risk is not as great as the media would like people to think. Next time there should be a line in the article that states the State Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death and not the Examiner.

"Bruce A said: There needs to be a federal ban on these devices. Too many people are dying because of 'taser happy' use. The risk of death is too great." Compared to the alternative of shooting them with a gun? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. The device is not a "non leathal" device . Thousands of officers get "tazered" as a part of the training with little to no problems. More than likely, if responsible reporting was done, it would show that the tazer wasn't the sole cause but a assisted multiple other factors drug intoxication, unknown health problems, etc. Tazers are an excellent tool to protect people (including officers) from being harmed by others. Too many people are dying due to gun happy thugs. Want to try put a Federal ban on that?

Well said Dan. There needs to be a study and report done on how many lives that less than lethal weapons save each year. Many times these days police will use a taser to subdue an aggressive or hostile subject when in the past their only alternative would have been to shoot the individual. Now that the police have the option of going to the taser, some that would have been shot in the past are tasered and they live to tell about it.

Did the autopsy list the Taser as the cause of death? What, there has been no autopsy yet and the cause of death has not been determined? Then why write a headline that says, “Third Person Dies after Taser Strike”? Would your headline have been just as accurate if you wrote, “One millionth man dies after eating Corn Flakes”? Since millions of people have eaten Corn Flakes during the past thirty years, I am confident that many of them have died sometime “after” eating them. For some deaths, it may have taken several years and for some it may have taken less time but you will have to agree that many people have died “after” eating Corn Flakes; wouldn’t you? So, it would be accurate to say that many people have died “after” eating Corn Flakes. But, would it be accurate to write that many people have died “because” of eating Corn Flakes? Please think twice about putting out a sensationalized headline, which will only serve to perpetuate paranoia and help your paycheck. Dan

There needs to be a federal ban on these devices. Too many people are dying because of 'taser happy' use. The risk of death is too great.