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Main Page Tennessee Officers Defend Taser Use
(Click here to view the original thread on the MassCops Message Board)

Posted by: kwflatbed

RANDALL HIGGINS
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)

CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- The Bradley County Sheriff's Department will continue to use Tasers as an investigation continues into a Feb. 24 incident where a man lapsed into a coma after being stunned, officials said.

Chief Deputy Bill Griffith said Thursday at a news conference the FBI, the TBI and the department are looking into the case involving Christopher McCargo.

"Our officers did as they were trained. They did everything according to policies and procedures. I will assure you if we reach a point where we determine otherwise, but we have not changed anything at this time," Chief Griffith said.

Taser International co-founder and President Tom Smith was at the news conference and explained details of how the electronic stun gun is used.

Mr. Smith said he was here in part to correct misinformation about Tasers. Noting that Mr. McCargo's coma occurred more than three hours after he was stunned, Mr. Smith said the investigations should look at all aspects of the case.

"If you are going to have something happen from electricity, it is going to happen immediately," Mr. Smith said. "I really believe something else was involved here."

Mr. McCargo, 42, was arrested on a public intoxication charge. He told police he had been drinking and smoking marijuana and crack cocaine, according to the arrest report. Officials said he became combative when he was brought to the jail and was stunned once with a Taser.

Lawrence Armstrong, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, gave Mr. Smith a resolution calling for a ban on Tasers until independent studies are done.

Chief Griffith said a handheld video camera recorded Mr. McCargo seated in a restraining chair, not wearing handcuffs. He said the video was made available to FBI and TBI investigators.

He said officers found after the medical emergency that the jail's in-house video system had automatically recorded over the incident.

"We are at this time working with our technical folks to put a system in place that would not only retrieve but maintain footage for a much longer period of time," Chief Griffith said.

E-mail Randall Higgins at rhiggins@timesfreepress.com

Posted by: USMCMP5811

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwflatbed

"If you are going to have something happen from electricity, it is going to happen immediately," Mr. Smith said. "I really believe something else was involved here."

Mr. McCargo, 42, was arrested on a public intoxication charge. He told police he had been drinking and smoking marijuana and crack cocaine, according to the arrest report. Officials said he became combative when he was brought to the jail and was stunned once with a Taser.

Lawrence Armstrong, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, gave Mr. Smith a resolution calling for a ban on Tasers until independent studies are done.

Once again, it wasn't the taser........

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