RIGHTS GROUP CRITICIZES TASERS

Amnesty International Says Gun Has Not Been Properly Tested

PEORIA - Someone who is "Tased" suffers no long-term injuries, Taser
International Inc. reports.

But the human rights group Amnesty International has criticized
Tasers, saying the device has not been properly studied and can
impose health hazards, including death.

Amnesty International reported in November 2004 that more than 70
people in the United States and Canada have died since 2001 after
being electroshocked with Taser guns. Attempts to contact an Amnesty
International field officer in Chicago at the Midwest Regional office
were unsuccessful.

Locally, agencies using Taser guns have reported no medical-related
problems, albeit people being arrested often sustain secondary injuries.

"We've had instances where people are injured from the Taser when
fleeing police," Peoria police Sgt. Mike White said. "They've fallen
and sustained lacerations."

More serious are the results a Chicago medical examiner released in
July involving the February death of an Indiana man who was "Tased"
by Chicago police.

According to The Associated Press, the man threatened to infect
police and paramedics with HIV before being "tased." Repeated
attempts to subdue him failed.

Shocks from a Taser were responsible for the man's death, the medical
examiner found, making it the first time that the device has been
named nationally as the primary cause of death, according to The
Associated Press. A contributing cause of the man's death was
methamphetamine intoxication.

"There are a lot of positives with the Taser . . . but there have
been some criticisms recently with some deaths," Tazewell County
Sheriff Bob Huston said. "The jury is still out on those."