US teenager dies from police taser

Friday, March 27, 2009 - 11:00

Brett Elder died after police used a taser on him in Bay City, Michigan on March 22. The 15 year old was tasered after police were called to break up a fight in a city apartment. After first taking Elder into custody, police later took him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Elders's aunt, Cindy Hender, witnessed the police taser attack. According to AFP she said Elder "was flopping around and looked like a fish out of water ... His whole body was bent over."

According to Amnesty International, Elder's death is the second death of a minor from taser use in 2009. A total of 351 people have died after being tasered in the US since its introduction in June 2001. Amnesty International's Angela Wright told AFP, "Taser guns are not the safe weapons they are portrayed to be".

From GLW issue 789