St. Louis jury rules in favor of Taser in suit

ST. LOUIS -- A jury in St. Louis has sided with Taser International in a civil lawsuit claiming the company failed to properly warn of its devices' dangers.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the circuit court jury deliberated seven hours before delivering a verdict Thursday in the week-and-a-half-long trial.

The suit was filed on behalf of Colin Fahy of St. Louis, who was 17 when he went into cardiac arrest after police officers stunned him with a Taser at his home during a 2007 domestic disturbance call. He suffered brain damage.

Lawyers for Fahy cited studies on pigs in 2005 and 2006 showing a Taser shot to the chest might interfere with a heart's rhythm.

But lawyers for Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Taser said none of the studies showed resulting cardiac arrest.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com