physiological attributes of arrest-related sudden deaths proximate to the application of taser ...

305 Pages·2013·1.73 MB·English

by  Howard E. Williams

PHYSIOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES OF ARREST-RELATED SUDDEN DEATHS
PROXIMATE TO THE APPLICATION OF TASER ELECTRONIC
CONTROL DEVICES: AN EVIDENCE BASED STUDY OF
THE THEORY OF HIGH-RISK GROUPS
by
Howard E. Williams, MS, BAAS
A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Council of
Texas State University in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
with a Major in Criminal Justice
December 2013

Committee Members:
Joycelyn Pollock, Chair
J. Pete Blair
Brian Withrow
Michael D. White
COPYRIGHT
by
Howard E. Williams
2013
FAIR USE AND AUTHOR’S PERMISSION STATEMENT
Fair Use
This work is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553,
section 107). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations
from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgment. Use of this material for
financial gain without the author’s express written permission is not allowed.

Duplication Permission
As the copyright holder of this work, I, Howard E. Williams, authorize duplication of this
work, in whole or in part, for educational or scholarly purposes only.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish, first, to thank the faculty and staff of the School of Criminal Justice at
Texas State University for their encouragement and for their assistance through my years
as a student. I recognize their dedication to the students, to the University, and to the San
Marcos community. Regardless of whether they serve the doctoral program, everyone at
the School of Criminal Justice works to ensure our success as students. They are
consummate professionals, and I am proud to be associated with them.
To my Dissertation Committee I offer a special thank you: Joycelyn Pollock, the
Committee Chair, J. Pete Blair and Brian Withrow, each from Texas State University,
and Michael D. White from Arizona State University. I sincerely appreciate their
diligence, their thoroughness, their candor, and their patience.
I wish also to acknowledge the contributions of Michael D. White who shared
with me autopsy reports he had gathered during his studies. His kind contribution
reduced the expenses of the research and shortened the time necessary to complete the
project. Additionally, Kelly Williams and Nick Icossipentarhos volunteered many hours
of their valuable time to code reports.
Most importantly, I thank my wife, Kelly, for thirty years of love and support.
She sacrifices much to accommodate my career in law enforcement and my life as a
student. I could not succeed in either endeavor without her, and I am forever indebted to
her.
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This research was partially funded by a doctoral research stipend graciously
granted by the Graduate College at Texas State University.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iv
LIST OF TABLES ...............................................................................................................x
LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xiii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................... xiv
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... xviii
CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1
The Lethality Debate..........................................................................................5
Naissance of High-Risk Group Theory ............................................................13
Defining Arrest-Related Sudden Death ...........................................................19
Policy Implications ..........................................................................................21
Legal Implications ...........................................................................................24
Research Question ...........................................................................................29

II. LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................................31
Sudden In-Custody Death Syndrome...............................................................32
Sudden Cardiac Death......................................................................................33
Demographic Factors .......................................................................................36
Age .............................................................................................................36
Sex..............................................................................................................37
Race/Ethnicity ............................................................................................38
Alcohol and Drugs ...........................................................................................40
Alcohol .......................................................................................................41
Cocaine ......................................................................................................42
Methamphetamine and Amphetamine Derivatives ....................................44
Cannabis .....................................................................................................46
PCP ............................................................................................................46
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Opiates .......................................................................................................47
LSD ............................................................................................................48
Mental Illness ...................................................................................................49
Excited Delirium Syndrome ............................................................................52
Pregnancy .........................................................................................................57
Cardiac Effects of TASER ECDs ....................................................................58
Animal Model Experiments .......................................................................61
Computer and Mathematical Studies .........................................................72
Human Model Experiments .......................................................................82
Pacemakers and Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators .......................101
Respiratory Effects of TASER ECDs ............................................................107
Metabolic Effects of TASER ECDs ..............................................................112
Animal Model Studies .............................................................................113
Human Model Studies..............................................................................116
Summary ........................................................................................................127
III. RESEARCH METHODS ....................................................................................130
Constructing a Sampling Frame .....................................................................132
Public Information Laws and Autopsy Reports .............................................137
Selecting a Non-Proportional Stratified Random Sample .............................138
Definition of Terms........................................................................................139
Coding Autopsy and Toxicology Reports......................................................143
Concordance ..................................................................................................144
Statistical Analysis .........................................................................................147
Research Hypotheses .....................................................................................150
IV. RESULTS ............................................................................................................155
Description of Arrest-Related Death Statistics ..............................................155
Summary by Year ....................................................................................155
Summary by Month .................................................................................157
Summary by State ....................................................................................160
Summary by Agency................................................................................162
Logistic Regression Analysis .........................................................................165
Demographics ................................................................................................167
Age Analysis ............................................................................................167
Sex Analysis.............................................................................................171
Race/Ethnicity Analysis ...........................................................................173
Cardiovascular Disease Analysis ...................................................................176
Pacemakers and ICDs Analysis .....................................................................177
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Drugs Analysis ...............................................................................................177
Amphetamine Analysis ............................................................................180
Cocaine Analysis .....................................................................................181
LSD Analysis ...........................................................................................182
Marijuana Analysis ..................................................................................182
Opiates Analysis ......................................................................................183
PCP Analysis ...........................................................................................184
History of Drug Abuse Analysis ..............................................................185
Excited Delirium Analysis .............................................................................187
Alcohol Analysis ............................................................................................188
Chronic Alcohol Abuse Analysis.............................................................189
Mental Illness Analysis ..................................................................................191
Psychotropic Medications Analysis ...............................................................193
Qualitative Comparative Analysis .................................................................194
Summary ........................................................................................................202
V. DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................208
Age .................................................................................................................210
Sex..................................................................................................................211
Race................................................................................................................212
Cardiovascular Disease ..................................................................................212
Pacemakers and ICDs ....................................................................................213
Drugs ..............................................................................................................214
Excited Delirium ............................................................................................215
Alcohol ...........................................................................................................217
Mental Illness .................................................................................................218
Agreement between Analytical Methods .......................................................219
Policy Implications of the Results .................................................................220
Legal Implications of the Results ..................................................................221
Limitations .....................................................................................................222
Suggestions for Further Research ..................................................................223
VI. CONCLUSIONS..................................................................................................225
APPENDIX A: SEARCH TERMS ..................................................................................228
APPENDIX B: CODING INSTRUMENT ......................................................................230
APPENDIX C: CODING INSTRUMENT INSTRUCTIONS ........................................233
APPENDIX D: STATA REGRESSION MODEL TABLES ..........................................240

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GLOSSARY ....................................................................................................................244
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................252
CASES CITED ................................................................................................................277

ix
LIST OF TABLES

Table Page
1. Age Related Findings ...................................................................................................37
2. Sex Related Findings ...................................................................................................39
3. Race/Ethnicity Related Findings..................................................................................40
4. Features of Excited Delirium Syndrome......................................................................56
5. Animal Model Cardiac Effect Experiments .................................................................73
6. Computer and Mathematical Models ...........................................................................83
7. Human Model Cardiac Effect Studies .......................................................................100
8. Pacemaker and Cardioverter-Defibrillator Studies ....................................................108
9. Respiratory Effect Studies .........................................................................................112
10. Swine Model Metabolic Effect Studies .....................................................................117
11. Human Model Metabolic Effect Experiments ...........................................................128
12. Concordance of Observations ....................................................................................146
13. Ratio of ECD Arrest-Related Sudden Deaths by Year ..............................................157
14. Ratio of Arrest-Related Sudden Deaths per Month ...................................................159
15. Comparison of States – Arrest-Related Sudden Deaths ............................................161
16. Comparison of Agencies – Arrest-Related Sudden Deaths .......................................164
17. Ratio of Arrest-Related Sudden Deaths to Officers Employed .................................166
18. Logistic Regression Analysis of Attribute Data ........................................................168
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