The Orlando Sentinel
OKLAHOMA CITY — A woman confronted by police outside an Oklahoma City homeless shelter is the latest example of someone who died after being shocked with a Taser, an electric stun gun designed to help officers subdue violent suspects without nightsticks or guns.
But in Milisha Thompson’s case, she 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 convenient 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.”
In Central Florida, the U.S. Justice Department is reviewing the use of stun guns by Orange County deputies in what’s being called a first-of-its kind inquiry.
The investigation, which could take months, follows the deaths of four people who were stunned by Orange County deputies. Deputies in Orange County have stunned more than 2,500 suspects since 2000.
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, so exactly what happens next is unclear, but at some point she struggles with officers and is shocked.
Thompson, 35, soon stopped breathing. The cause of her May 19 death has not been determined, pending results of toxicology tests.
Tasers have been officially listed as a contributing factor in about 12 deaths across the United States, said Steve Tuttle, a spokesman for Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Taser International, which makes the weapon.
Copyright 2007 Sentinel Communications Co.