Trial Against Taser Manufacturer Begins

Trial began this week in a suit filed against a taser manufacturer by a man who went into cardiac arrest after police shot him in the chest with a stun gun in 2007.

The product liability lawsuit claims that Taser International, the manufacturer of the stun gun, was aware of the dangers of aiming the taser at a suspect’s chest, but failed to warn police of those dangers.

St. Louis police used a Taser International stun gun to subdue the then 17-year-old victim during a 2007 domestic disturbance call.

The man’s heart stopped for 30 minutes after being stunned, and he was placed on life support for several weeks after the incident. He now suffers permanent brain damage.

Taser International now routinely warns law enforcement officers that aiming a stun gun at a suspect’s chest may interfere with normal heart rhythm.