Cyclist Tasered for poor lighting

by Rob Peters | January 30, 2008 at 05:13 pm | 356 views | add comment

Yep, Taser use is still controversial, and a recent study has the traumatized pigs to prove it.

HAMILTON CITY, Calif. (Map, News) - A Glenn County sheriff's deputy shot a man with a Taser gun for allegedly riding his bike at night without proper lighting.

According to a sheriff's spokesman, the bicyclist ignored warnings from the deputy he would use the stun gun, then fled on foot.

One probe struck the bicyclist, Omar Herrada Rivera, 39, but he did not receive a shock.

After being checked out at a hospital, Rivera was held in the county jail on suspicion of resisting arrest, riding a bicycle without proper lighting, riding under the influence of alcohol and using false citizenship government documents.

The sheriff's spokesman said the deputy's decision to use the Taser was proper.

Meanwhile, a Chicago study that saw Tasers used on pigs calls the weapon's safety into question:

Taser stun guns may not be as safe as their manufacturer claims, according to a study carried out by Chicago researchers, CBC News has learned.

The team of doctors and scientists at the trauma centre in Chicago's Cook County hospital stunned 11 pigs with Taser guns in 2006, hitting their chests with 40-second jolts of electricity, pausing for 10 to 15 seconds, then hitting them for 40 more seconds.

When the jolts ended, every animal was left with heart rhythm problems, the researchers said. Two of the animals died from cardiac arrest, one three minutes after receiving a shock.

According to Taser International's website, "independent medical and scientific experts have determined Taser devices to be among the safest use-of-force options available."