A 14-year-old boy went into cardiac arrest after police shot him with a Taser stun gun, raising new questions about a weapon that is already the subject of scrutiny by federal regulators and the Arizona attorney general.
The boy was regaining consciousness Wednesday but was not yet talking, said Cook County Public Guardian Robert Harris.
Police spokesman David Bayless said the 6-foot-2, 220-pound boy, a ward of the state since 1999, attacked three employees at the group home where he lives Monday, and an officer used the Taser because the boy lunged at him.
Authorities would not say why the boy was at the group home, where he has lived for two years.
Taser International Inc. spokesman Steve Tuttle said the company’s stun guns, which deliver 50,000 volts of electricity, “are among the safest alternatives available to law enforcement to subdue violent individuals.”
Deaths reported
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced an inquiry into the Scottsdale, Ariz., manufacturer’s safety claims.
The Arizona Republic has reported 84 deaths after a shock from a Taser since 1999, including 11 in which medical examiners said Tasers were a cause, a contributing factor or could not be ruled out.
Chicago police have used Tasers about 150 times in eight months with no other reports of injury, Bayless said.
