Montana deputy breaks both arms by being tased

Deputy’s arms, shoulders injured in Taser training

This injury was caused by the tasing and muscle contractions. Not from a fall. And not transections of the bones, but lengthwise. Down the bone.

A Roosevelt County sheriff’s deputy is recovering at home two weeks after he broke both his arms during a training session in which he was zapped by a stun gun.

“I took the Taser, and when it was over I couldn’t move my arms,” Chief Deputy Jason Frederick said.

Frederick underwent surgery at St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings after breaking the humerus bones, in his upper arms, dislocating his shoulders and fracturing his shoulder sockets.

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Dr. Thomas Bennett, a forensic pathologist in Billings, said it’s not unusual for electrocution victims to suffer broken bones, particularly if the victim was in very good shape with lots of muscle mass.

This deputy was not even in top shape. He says it has been over a year since he really worked out with weights. This is a very unusual injury, but

It is extremely hard to break your humerus. It takes huge amounts of force. Not to mention the scapula where the socket is.

This was in a controlled situation. A training exercise. Imagine an amped up person on amphetamines already fighting with very good muscle mass getting tased in an uncontrolled environment. I understand the need for non lethal methods of controlling out of control suspects, but wow....


[edit on 20-5-2010 by webpirate]

though it's sad for the officer involved and I hope he recovers well, I hope he becomes someone who advocates against the uses of these potential deadly weapons.

reply to post by Grey Magic

It sounds like he is. He spent a week in the hospital after the surgery. He is expected back to light duty in 5-6 more weeks. It will take a little longer to get back to full duty though. 3-4 months.

And we are told how safe these devices are.
Elite Motor sports athlete Travis Pastrana took a taser shot in a demonstration and got a concusion from the fall.

Tasers are used much to frequently IMHO.
Tasers should be a LAST resort before using deadly force, not the first option.

Why arent there extreme measures taken when an officers uses one of these similar to what happens when a gun is fired?

I guarantee you there is more to this story. Tasing someone does not break their bones...give me a break.

Even if it did....they save hundreds if not thousands of criminals and police from injuries every year. They also save lives. I carry one with me. I wouldn't hesitate to use it if I needed to.

The article went on to state that the situation is still under investigation. They have already determined that the 'training' was not conducted properly and I have a feeling there is more to this.

reply to post by westcoast


There might be. But the way I read it wasn't conducted in accordance with regulations was because there wasn't someone on each side of him to assist to the ground.

He was on his knees and did fall forward onto a mat. There is no way that fall was sufficient enough to cause those injuries. Especially the type of fractures and places that were involved.

There still might well be more to the story.

Originally posted by westcoast
I guarantee you there is more to this story. Tasing someone does not break their bones...give me a break.

Even if it did....they save hundreds if not thousands of criminals and police from injuries every year. They also save lives. I carry one with me. I wouldn't hesitate to use it if I needed to.

The article went on to state that the situation is still under investigation. They have already determined that the 'training' was not conducted properly and I have a feeling there is more to this.

More to the story? Like what?

What could possibly be missing from this story to make your 'conspiracy against tasers' ring true? Not to be rude...but c'mon...

They kill plenty of people every year too, and since they cause injuries, saying they prevent them doesn't make much sense.

I do not believe, for a second, that tasers save lives. Give me an example and site your sources. And don't think for a second that using one 'where someones life MAY have been in jeopardy' will cut it.

I want to hear how a taser directly saved the life of a human being who was absolutely going to DIE without one.

Thanks!

[edit on 5/20/10 by Tharsis]

So what happens in the next case of police brutality? What happens the next time someone is tazed without probable cause? That person can look forward to being thrown into the back of a squad car and then into a jail cell ON TOP of all those injuries? Would the LEO really call for immediate medical assistance for someone whom he was just pissed off at enough to taze?

Originally posted by dragonsmusic
Would the LEO really call for immediate medical assistance for someone whom he was just pissed off at enough to taze?

HE wasn't even given immediate medical assistance. They tased another "student" before they even realized anything was wrong with him....

So yeah....what does happen with someone like you just described.

reply to post by webpirate


Wow. second wow.

Originally posted by dragonsmusic
reply to post by webpirate

 

Wow. second wow.

Roosevelt County Sheriff Freedom Crawford, who wasn’t present at the training session but watched a video of the incident, said the second deputy was hit with the stun gun after Frederick was Tased because it wasn’t obvious that Frederick had suffered out-of-the-ordinary injuries.

People recover from the shock at different rates, Crawford said, “and they assumed he was just taking longer to recover.”

Yep. There is the quote from the original article. The guy himself knew something was wrong immediately after being tased, but no one else did.

reply to post by westcoast


I had the exact same injury from having a grand mal seizure. My right humerus was broken and dislocated from the force of muscle contractions. It can and does happen.

Good god. This thing should be banned.

Tasers will cause the unfortunate recipient to go into a convulsion that causes them to flap and swing their arms uncontrollably.

If you've ever seen someone in a full scale grand maul epileptic seizure how their arms are all over the place. That's why they tell you to not constrict the person's airway as the seizure will produce enough force to break the neck.

The sudden shock will also do it. I've been tasered. It's no fun. I've even by using brain power alone reversed the current flow on it. (meditation, relaxation and finding your point of Zen (inner peace and inner solace) is mandatory) and caused 2nd degree burns to the "shooter". If you have brain electricity issues or deficiencies do not allow yourself to get tasered. Ever see someone with a nervous twitch? The immediate effect are exactly like that.

Also, to the inexperienced if you shoot a powerful gun and do not know how to correctly ground yourself to prevent injury due to recoil will break your wrist on the recoil of a handgun. The same occurs to this.

If you are being tasered, grab someone near you as this will pass at least 65% of the current completely through you and into the other person.
Go near like dirt or grass as concrete will keep the current in you. Anything metal near you will make you a lightning rod of sorts.


[edit on 24-5-2010 by TheImmaculateD1]