TASER Electronic Control Devices and Cardiac Arrests: Coincidental or Causal?

Abstract

B eing arrested is a highly emotional event and can result in a fatal, adrenergically supercharged physiological state. Only 1.6% of US law-enforcement interactions involve the use or threats of force, and annually there are 700 000 cases in which force is used or threatened. There are 700 arrest-related deaths per year in the United States, yielding a mortality rate of 1 in 1000 for a law-enforcement interaction associated with force. 4