Summit County: Taser 'cause of death' in three cases on trial

AKRON -- Visiting Judge Ted Schneiderman will decide whether Tasers contributed to the deaths of three Summit County men, a decision that has ramifications here and around the country.

"I am not wrong," said Dr. Dorothy Dean, a Deputy Summit County Medical Examiner. "(The) Taser contributed to his death."

Dean did the autopsy in the 2005 death of Richard Holcomb, an 18-year-old tasered by Springfield Township Police.

The deputy medical examiner in the other two cases wasn't so sure.

"I don't know of anyone who specifically said the electricity from a Taser will cause death," Dr. George Sturbenz testified.

Dennis Hyde, 30, died in January 2005, after being tasered multiple times by police following a stand-off at an Akron home.

Mark McCullaugh, 28, died in August 2006, after a struggle in Summit County Jail.

The cases of all three men involved either drugs or psychological problems.

"If a police officer uses this device instead of a firearm," says Taser International Inc. attorney John Maley, "and, eventually, because someone dies because of drug or whatever the reason might be, there's risk of civil liability, there's risk of criminal liability."

Lawyers for Taser International Inc. and the City of Akron want 'Taser' eliminated from the medical examiners' cause of death for all three of the cases.

That would clear the way for their continued use here and around the country. Taser has fought 66 similar cases so far and has won every one.