Taser Causes Detroit Teen’s Death

June 18, 2009

In April, a teenager was killed because of a deadly combination of a genetic heart condition and the shock emitted by a taser stun gun. Robert Mitchell was 16-years-old. He was riding in a car, when it was pulled over by police. For unknown reasons, the young man fled from the car and sprinted into a vacant house, where he resisted arrest.

Police fired at the young man with a stun gun and injured him in two different places, above and below the nipple on the left side of his chest. The Macomb County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the young man had a genetic disorder, which caused him to have an irregular heartbeat.

After he was shot, officers attempted to put him into handcuffs, but discovered that he was not breathing. An effort to resuscitate the young man was made, but he died almost instantaneously.

This incident led to a public outcry, asking for tasers to be banned. In addition, the family of the young man has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the U.S. District Court.