Pubdate: Tue, 22 Nov 2005
Source: Helena Independent Record (MT)
Copyright: 2005 Helena Independent Record
Contact:  http://helenair.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1187
Author: Thad Kelling

INQUEST CLEARS POLICE IN TASER FATALITY

A jury cleared the Butte police of any wrongdoing in a fatal 
altercation involving their new Tasers after a coroner's inquest 
Monday in the Butte-Silver Bow courthouse. Eight jurors listened to 
11 witnesses and deliberated for half an hour before reaching that verdict.

The altercation occurred at 131 Trinity Loop on July 5 around 6 a.m. 
The late Otis Gene Thrasher, 42, was allegedly high on 
methamphetamine and threatened his family with a 12-inch butcher knife.

Police eventually arrested Thrasher after dousing him with pepper 
spray and shocking him with a Taser stun gun. Thrasher was only the 
second person police had Tased after buying Tasers in May.

Thrasher's heart stopped and he quit breathing for a period shortly 
after the altercation. He was pronounced brain dead within days. And 
he was disconnected from life support on July 15.

During the inquest, jurors heard from police, medical staff and state 
investigators. The purpose of the inquest was to determine if police 
committed any crime leading to Thrasher's death.  Montana State 
Medical Examiner Gary Dale did the autopsy on Thrasher. He concluded 
that the Taser shock and meth may have contributed to Thrasher's 
death, but the primary cause was his weak heart.

Dale's autopsy revealed that Thrasher's coronary arteries were 
severely clogged by plaque. One artery was clogged more than 90 
percent. This condition was "the most significant precipitating 
factor" causing Thrasher's heart to stop and his eventual death.

People with clogged arteries can die suddenly, and meth use increases 
that risk, Dale said.

Dale noted Thrasher had three types of drugs in his body when he died 
- - meth, marijuana and a Valium-like drug.

Another injury Dale noted was a piece of metal that was lodged in 
Thrasher's forehead. It came from one of the two Taser darts that 
delivered the electric jolt.

In other testimony, Reed Scott of the Montana Division of Criminal 
Investigations defended the force police used to subdue Thrasher. He 
investigated the incident at the request of Butte police.

"Every officer there would have been legally authorized to use lethal 
force very early on," Scott said.

Tasers and pepper spray are considered less-than-lethal weapons.

The altercation that led to Thrasher's death began with a 911 call. 
His mother, Carol Crittendon, called and said Thrasher had a knife 
and was threatening to hurt himself and everyone else in her 
apartment. Thrasher's wife, Staci, and his daughter were also present.

Jurors heard Crittendon's 911 call, which had been recorded. "He is 
tearing the apartment up ... He is crazy as a loon ... I'm scared to 
death ... He's on meth bad ... Oh, my God ... ," she said in part.

Several police officers who responded to her residence testified. In 
essence, they said Thrasher appeared to be high on meth and extremely agitated.

He was waiving a knife around while threatening to hurt himself and 
them. He refused to drop the knife and eventually threw it and 
furniture at them.

Capt. George Skuletich subdued Thrasher by shocking him with a Taser 
after one failed attempt. Tasers work by propelling two darts up to 
25 feet into a subject. Copper wires connecting the gun to the darts 
deliver 50,000 volts of electricity. That shock momentarily 
incapacitates the subject by contracting the muscles.

One of the darts that struck Thrasher lodged into his forehead 
because he ducked, police said. Skuletich said a Taser shock to the 
head is no more threatening than to any other part of the body.

After the jolt, police cuffed Thrasher's hands. But he continued to 
resist arrest, so they also tied his legs together.

"It appeared to me when he started kicking and thrashing and yelling 
at us that he had recovered from the Taser," Skuletich said.

Butte police continue to use Tasers. Since this incident, they have 
used them numerous times without any serious injury.
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