

Like them or despise them, one thing has been consistent about stun gun-maker Taser International: They never, ever lose in court. 45 wrongful death or injury lawsuits had swung the company's way, as of early last year. About a month ago, Taser even got a judge to reverse three Ohio autopsies that had partially faulted the electroshock weapons.

But that all changed on Friday, when a federal jury in San Jose found the company responsible for the death of 40-year-old Robert Heston Jr., awarding his family more than $6 million in damages.

"An attorney for the family called the verdict a 'landmark decision,' and indicated that it was the first time Taser International had been held responsible for a death or injury linked to its product," the* Monetrey County Herald *reports.

An autopsy found that Heston died from a combination of methamphetamine intoxication, an enlarged heart due to long-term drug abuse, and Taser shocks. Heston's parents, Betty Lou and Robert Sr., and their daughter sued Taser International. They alleged the company failed to properly warn users that its product could be dangerous, and even lethal, when used repeatedly in conjunction with chest compressions and on people under the influence of drugs... The six-person jury found that Arizona-based stun-gun manufacturer Taser International should have more effectively warned police that Taser shocks were potentially dangerous. Salinas police testified during the trial that they were not warned that the shocks could be dangerous. *Plaintiffs attorney John Burton said the verdict is precedent setting, noting that this was the first time a jury found Tasers are dangerous when used too often... According to Burton, the verdict included $5.2 million in punitive damages, and $1.021 million in compensatory damages. The jury found that the victim was 85 percent at fault, resulting in an apportioned final damages award. *

Taser's pugilistic executives interpreted the verdict as a victory. "Jury Finds Extended Taser Device Application 15 Percent Responsible for Arrest Related Death," a company statement read. But, as *The Lede *notes, the company’s stock dropped almost 12 percent during trading on Monday and Tuesday. Bloomberg News reported last month that more than half of Taser’s top 10 shareholders sold some of their shares this year.

The company got a boost in New York City, however, where police commissioner Ray Kelly declared that 520 new Tasers would be made available to officers on patrol. The announcement came on the heels of a new RAND Corporation report, which found that the stun guns could help the New York Police Department save lives. "A review of 455 police-involved shootings found 25 cases - including three fatalities - where Tasers might have prevented the gunplay," the New York Daily News reports.

But, of course, cops use Tasers as more than just substitutes for firearms. The electroshock weapons are employed in all sorts of situations where a police officer would never think to pull out his gun. ("Don't Tase Me, Bro"

was never about to be "Don't Shoot Me, Bro," right?) That can lead to more lawsuits. A retired lieutenant's teenaged son is suing the NYPD, for example, after he was zapped four times and hit with a nightstick at a Harlem barbecue. He was never charged with assaulting an officer, or resisting arrest.

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