Forensic reporting of TASER exposure: An examination of situational and exposure characteristics

Highlights

• One out of 184 autopsy reports included a TASER log.

• One-quarter of reports was missing police report summaries.

• 30% of reports were missing descriptions of TASER injuries.

• National autopsy standards for documenting TASER exposure should be developed.

Abstract

The current study examines the content of autopsy reports (N = 184) for deaths that occurred following TASER exposure by police. Guided by previous research and national autopsy standards for other weapon-specific deaths, we evaluate 1) whether reports document situational characteristics of the police-citizen encounter and 2) whether reports document characteristics of the TASER exposure. We find a large portion of reports are often missing a police report summary and information regarding the TASER exposure. Considering the expanding use of TASERs by police, we emphasize the importance of creating national standards that require documentation of police report summaries, TASER injuries, and TASER logs.

Introduction

The use of conducted electrical devices (CEDs) by police has proliferated over the last two decades. The TASER, the most common model, has been distributed to 17,000 law enforcement agencies, private security companies, and military operations worldwide.¹ In a recent survey of 662 U.S. police agencies, 80% reported they were using CEDs.² To date, the device has been deployed in the field almost 3 million times, with an estimated 250,000 TASER deployments taking place in the field annually.³ Despite this widespread use, TASERs still represent a relatively new addition to the toolbox of modern policing. To date, 500 recorded arrest-related deaths (ARDs) have occurred proximate to use of the TASER by police.3, 4, 5 The role of the device in these fatal events remains empirically unclear. Debate surrounds whether TASER-proximate ARDs result from a combination of exposure and compounded emotional and physical strain and injury, or if the role of TASER in these events is incidental. As such, forensic treatment of TASER-proximate ARD is currently only loosely defined.

Autopsy reports are used as an official data source for understanding what transpired during these events, and for empirical research in policing, forensics, and legal medicine.5, 6, 7, 8, 9 However, although the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) provides official autopsy standards for common categories of death and injury,¹⁰ there are no standards for CED exposure. This oversight is likely due to the relative novelty of CEDs, compared to more established methods of police force. Such lack of clarity inhibits the ability of forensics practitioners to accurately and consistently account for the role of TASER in their investigations. Further, the lack of standards highlights a need for further empirical inquiry into the role of TASER in arrest-related death. To address these concerns, we analyze the content of autopsy reports (N = 184), each detailing the death of a suspect in police or correctional custody proximate to one or more TASER exposures. We draw on existing literature and national autopsy standards to direct our inquiry.

Research suggests the TASER¹ may reduce police use of deadly force by offering an alternative to firearms,¹¹ and allows police to subdue suspects and deescalate conflict.12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 Still, some groups have advocated for stricter policies governing police use of the TASER based on reports of misuse by police and deaths of individuals who had recently been tased.4, 18, 19 Others suggest the TASER poses minimal health risk for the majority of people who come into contact with the police.20, 21, 22 The manufacturer of the device has also issued a policy statement warning against deployment near the chest area, noting “exposure in the chest area near the heart has a low probability of inducing extra heart beats … In rare circumstances, [this] could lead to cardiac arrest.”²³

Further complicating matters, it is difficult to account for the combined effects of violent police-citizen encounters, which typically include sustained physical exertion and the use of multiple forms of physical force by police against a resisting party before, during, and after TASER deployment.³ White and colleagues⁹ characterized the TASER-proximate ARD events in their study as “complex, dynamic encounters between suspects who were actively and aggressively resisting police, and officers who were drawing deeply into their arsenal of force options in an attempt to control them” (pg. 102). The multifaceted, evolving nature of these encounters has made it difficult to assess the TASER's role, if any, in arrest-related death. In short, the potential role of the TASER in subsequent ARD remains a major gap in current forensic knowledge. Properly contextualizing and documenting police use of TASER in the field is therefore critical to fostering accurate characterizations of TASER-proximate ARDs.

The National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) offers nationally recognized accreditation to promote standardized, scientifically grounded practices for conducting autopsies.¹⁰ Accreditation signals that an office performs at a “high-level of competence” and enables the office to receive some forms of federal funding. The guidelines provide standards for conducting investigations into specific types of deaths (e.g. drowning, heart attack), with specific instructions for various forms of weapons (e.g. gunshot injuries, stabbings). For example, when evaluating gunshot cases, NAME standards require a physical description of each injury, the location of entry and exit, and the direction of the trajectory. They must also remove and document foreign objects and correlate external injuries to internal injuries. Other injury categories include burns, blunt and sharp force wounds, unique pattern injuries, and bite marks. Here, standards require a description of the injury's appearance, distribution, location, and size, as well as a sample of any foreign materials. These standards have important implications for the evaluation of injuries from a TASER device. When used properly, police issued TASER prongs produce punctures in the skin.²³ However, there are no national standards that expressly regulate the evaluation and documentation of injuries caused by a TASER. Considering use of the TASER by police is increasing across the country, documenting these injuries systematically will help forensic professionals more accurately assess the nature of arrest-related deaths.