LATEEF MUNGIN
Copyright 2006 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gwinnett County attorneys say any blame in the 2004 death of a jail inmate who died after being repeatedly shocked by the deputies using a Taser gun should rest with the weapon’s maker, according to court documents.
The county accuses Taser International of providing false training documents, relying on biased safety studies and failing to warn users that the stun guns can be lethal if used repeatedly, according to papers filed this week in response to a lawsuit against the county by the family of Frederick Williams.
Williams died in May 2004 after sheriff’s deputies used a Taser on him repeatedly during a violent scuffle at the county jail.
In filing the claim, Gwinnett attorneys are attempting to shift the potential blame and financial liability in the case to Taser International and Prison Health Services, which provided medical care at the jail.
Prison Health Services has refused to comment on the lawsuit.
Taser International executives said they are confident the stun gun had nothing to do with Williams’ death.
The legal tactic places the county’s attorneys in apparent conflict with Gwinnett Sheriff Butch Conway, who has been a staunch defender of using the stun guns despite two Taser-related deaths at his jail.
Conway said Thursday he remains a Taser supporter and was unaware of the county’s legal move before being contacted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“I have not changed my view on Tasers,” Conway said. “I really can’t comment too much more on it.”
He also wouldn’t say whether his department would continue to use the weapons.
He has been an outspoken supporter of the 50,000-volt stun guns and purchased dozens more after the deaths at his jail. Conway has defended the weapons despite a nationwide controversy over Taser use and three anti-Taser protest marches in Gwinnett.
A Taser executive on Thursday expressed confidence that the company would be cleared and seemed unruffled by the county’s legal move.
“We do not second guess the actions of Gwinnett County personnel in this tragic death and we will not be filing any cross claims against Gwinnett County,” said Steve Tuttle, Taser vice president of communications. “We are confident that the Taser device was not a cause of Mr. Williams’ death, and the safety of the Taser device has been documented by medical science. We know that Taser technology saves lives every day.”
Conway is a defendant in the federal lawsuit. which also names four of his deputies and two Gwinnett police officers allegedly involved in the incident. Taser International and Prison Health Services also are defendants.
Joan Crumpler, attorney for Williams’ wife and four children, said the county’s cross claim is rare in these type of cases. “The way I read it is that they are conceding that somebody is responsible for the death,” Crumpler said. “They are saying that somebody is responsible for this. Just not us.”
The suit claims the Prison Health Services employee on the scene did not show a sense of urgency after Williams lost consciousness. The county’s new filing did not state why PHS should be held responsible.
Bret Thrasher, the attorney who filed the cross claim for the county, declined Thursday to comment.
Williams lost consciousness and died after struggling with officers at the jail and being handcuffed and manacled before being shocked with a Taser repeatedly.
In June 2005 --- more than a year after Williams’ death --- Taser International issued a statement warning that multiple or prolonged shocks could impair breathing and lead to death.
The Williams lawsuit is the second Taser-related wrongful death suit against the Gwinnett sheriff’s department. The first was filed in federal court in September on behalf of Gwinnett inmate Ray Charles Austin.
Austin died Sept. 26, 2003, after being shocked by a Taser at the jail during an altercation in which he bit off a portion of a deputy’s ear.
January 20, 2006