As reported by the Boston Herald, the family of a teenager that died after allegedly being tasered too close to his heart by police officers, have been awarded $10 million by a jury.
It is possibly the largest jury award against the makers of the weapon, Taser International.
Attorneys for the family proved that Taser International had not warned officers that discharging one of their Tasers into the chest of a suspect - near to the heart - creates a sizeable threat of cardiac arrest in the victim.
The family's lead council attorney, John Burton, stated that test studies on animals performed by Taser International had verified the risk - thereby the company was irresponsible in how they represented the safety of their products.
Burton said, "Hopefully, this verdict will sound the alarm to police officers around the world that firing these weapons into the chests of people should be avoided. No other family should have to endure the tragedy that the families (of D.T.) have experienced."
Taser International argued that the youth had a preexisting medical condition that exposed him to the risk of sudden heart attack. They also entered into evidence a U.S. Justice Department Study - that claimed current research doesn't support the idea of increased cardiac arrest risk, even if a Taser dart strikes a victim in the front of the chest.
The lawyers for Taser International are planning on appealing the jury's decision.
The youth, D.T., 17, died in the incident with J.D. Jr., a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer, in 2008.
D.T., who worked at a grocery store in north Charlotte where the incident occurred, was found with three bags of marijuana in his possession.
The autopsy report stated that the Taser shot caused D.T.'s heart to pump too fast and uncontrollable. Possibly due to the stress of the episode, his heart just stopped to pump his blood properly and caused him to die of cardiac arrest.
There were no preexisting medical conditions found during the autopsy.
Per the prosecution, the officer, not charged in the incident, was justified for using the Taser when he confronted D.T.. The officer was relieved from duty for five days without pay and ordered to take further training on the use of Tasers.
According to police, J.D. Jr. shocked the youth for approximately 37 seconds, holding the Taser trigger down until D.T. slid to the floor.
The city of Charlotte also possibly paid out their largest claim involving police to the family in 2009. Though the city denied any wrongdoing, they awarded the family $625,000.
D.K., Taser International's president, released this statement: "This was a sad and tragic incident, and our hearts go out to (D.T.'s) family. We can certainly understand how the jury felt deep compassion for (D.T.'s) family, and how this compassion may have overwhelmed the scientific evidence presented in this case. However, given the important nature of this case and the exclusion of key evidence that occurred, Taser International intends to appeal this verdict."
Charlotte-based attorney Ken Harris, who represents D.T.'s parents said, "This has been a long and difficult journey for the family. We have consistently stated that no judgment would be sufficient to compensate the family relative to (D.T.'s) loss."
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