Fla. Woman Dies After Taser Gun Shock

Associated Press | April 26 2006

GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. - A woman in a wheelchair who swung knives and a hammer at relatives and police died after being shocked by a stun gun, officials said.

Police tried to talk Emily Marie Delafield, 56, into dropping the weapons before they used the Taser to subdue her Monday, Police Chief Robert Musco said. Delafield lost consciousness after the electric jolt and later died at Orange Park Medical Center.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating and an autopsy will be conducted to determine a cause of death.

The two officers involved have been put on paid administrative leave during the investigation, which is standard procedure.

Tasers deliver a 50,000-volt jolt through two barbed darts that can penetrate clothing. About 7,000 of the nation's 18,000 police agencies had them last year, and they were used by police more than 70,000 times.

Amnesty International counted 61 U.S. deaths following Taser use last year. Taser International officials disputed that count, saying it linked some deaths to Taser use when there had been no such official conclusion.

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