Lethality of Taser Weapons.pdf

1 Lethality of Taser Weapons James Angelo Ruggieri, P.E., MIEE On April 28, 2004, police responded to a disturbance in Montgomery County, Maryland. Eric Wolle, a 45-year old 6-foot-4, 275-pound mentally ill man, had become agitated at the sight of a car delivering Chinese take-out food parked in front of his house. He pushed his elderly mother aside and ran out of the house, apparently believing the car carried agents coming to take him away. Wolle reportedly had not been taking his prescribed medications. The police found him in a nearby back yard, wielding a large machete-type knife, screaming that the police would never take him alive. Wolle ignored the officers’ commands to get down on the ground and was subsequently hit with a Taser, though he continued to struggle with the officers. After being “tased” a second time, he dropped to the ground, still wrestling with police; shortly thereafter, he lost consciousness. The officers immediately began administering Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) but were unable to revive him, and he was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Seven officers were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation and autopsy results. The preliminary autopsy report found that the suspect died of cardiac arrhythmia in a setting of acute psychosis and had a blood alcohol content of 0.18. The final autopsy report confirmed the cause of death as cardiac arrhythmia in the setting of acute psychosis during restraint, and the death determined to be a homicide. Other contributing factors were alcohol intoxication and a markedly enlarged heart with scarring in the heart muscle. The medical examiner concluded that the Taser did not contribute to Wolle’s death. Nearly one year later, and after approximately 100 Taser-related in-custody deaths, I was asked by a law enforcement agency to opine on the lethality of a weapon characterized by the manufacturer as “less-than-lethal” or “no