Pathologist: Taser A Factor In Man's Death At Jail
Stun Gun In Use At Jail For Past Four Years
Aug 19, 2004 | www.thecarolinachannel.com Authorities say a high-voltage jolt from a Taser contributed to the death of a man at the Anderson County Detention Center on Monday.Dr. Brett Woodard said Teasley's heart and spleen were enlarged and his liver weighed twice as much as a normal one. The pathologist said Teasley also had hardening of the arteries and a constricted airway.
Teasley was arrested for disorderly conduct Monday afternoon.
"When [officers] uncuffed him, he became violent and attacked officers. To subdue him, they used the Taser," detention center director Bob Daly said.
Teasley stopped breathing a short time later. He was transported to Anderson Area Medical Center, where deputy coroner Charlie Bozeman said a preliminary autopsy showed Teasley died of cardiac arrest.
The Taser sends 50,000 volts through a person's body.
Woodard said the Taser's shock alone did not cause Teasley's death.
"We don't carry firearms in a correction facility because we're always outnumbered and the inmates would take the firearms from officers," Daly said.
Officers at the detention center have carried the Taser for four years, and said they have not had any problems previously.