Taser cripples copper

This along with apparently around 250 deaths by tasering in the U.S. so
far...

http://www.janes.com/news/lawenforcement/pr/pr071011_1_n.shtml

A police officer in the US who volunteered to be the subject of a Taser
demonstration has suffered possibly lasting damage, including spine
fractures after receiving a five-second discharge, according to a
respected medical journal.

The 38-year-old victim was rushed by ambulance to hospital where a scan
showed he suffered compression fractures in his spine caused by muscle
spasms triggered by being Tasered in a training class.

Nine weeks after his injury he has continued to report significant pain.

The officer's doctor, James Winslow, MD, of Wake Forest University School
of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina said: 'In this case, the pain
continued for a long time, leading the patient to reduce his work hours
significantly.'

The case has now entered medical literature after being written up in the
eminent American College of Emergency Physicians journal which released
the details.

Supt Charlie Hill, staff officer to the ACPO police use of firearms
working group, said the case underlined the need to move with caution
until more can be discovered about the potential side effects of using
Tasers.

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