Police fatally taser gasoline-soaked suspect

As we've reported before, tasers might not be as safe as their makers like to claim. Juan Flores Lopez, a Texas man who had doused himself in gasoline, became the latest unfortunate taser-related casuality when police used the stun device (which sometimes emit sparks) during his arrest. "We don't know what ignited the fire," perplexed officers admitted. The case is currently being investigated by the Texas Rangers.

[Via Digg]

[noob @ Jun 21st 2007 10:27AM]

wow! "we don't know what started the fire".........what a farkin bunch of idiots.

[greg @ Jun 21st 2007 10:59AM]

"we don't know what started the fire"
Read:"We're gonna try and cover our asses for as long as we can."

[CowboyGA @ Jun 21st 2007 10:33AM]

Oh my God... the stupidity of their officers...

Who the hell thought that would be a GOOD idea? What happened to mace?

[Matthew @ Jun 21st 2007 10:45AM]

Of course, dousing oneself in gasoline is not all that safe either.

@CowboyGA - The officers had already tried pepper spray, apparently to no effect. Which is not to suggest that this was a particularly good idea either.

[Nick @ Jun 21st 2007 10:47AM]

"Police initially used pepper spray when they tried to take Lopez into custody. Then they used the Taser."

try reading the 3 paragraph article first.

[Tim @ Jun 21st 2007 10:33AM]

Texas, you say?

[Steve D. @ Jun 21st 2007 10:37AM]

Yee-Haw!

[Ken @ Jun 21st 2007 10:33AM]

Later that same day, police were seen lighting their cigarettes with their Tasers as they stood smoking outside the Shell station where Mr. Lopez had expired. Officers are still searching for the cause of ignition. Current theories include a "Jackalope with a lighter" and "Act of God."

[jg @ Jun 21st 2007 11:35AM]

I readily admit, you got a chuckle out of me Ken

[david @ Jun 21st 2007 12:36PM]

LOL. Nothing like a little brimstone to charcoal the "bad guy"

[Ken @ Jun 21st 2007 12:55PM]

David, I meant Act of God in the legal sense of "implied defense under the rule of impossibility, i.e., the promise is discharged because of unforeseen, naturally occurring events that were unavoidable and which would result in insurmountable delay, expense or other material breach"

I'm sure Mr. Lopez bursting into flame was an unforeseen, naturally occurring event that was unavoidable and unrelated to the use of Tasers.

[Mile @ Jun 21st 2007 10:34AM]

Spontaneous Human Combustion.

EOT.

[CowboyGA @ Jun 21st 2007 10:35AM]

On a slightly bright note, at least the gas station is drawing in more customers.

They're lured in by the fresh barbeque smell.

[AshR @ Jun 21st 2007 9:18PM]

HAHAH Brighter note... I get it.. cause he was on fire :p

[Aaron @ Jun 21st 2007 10:41AM]

Also of note is the fact that the Texas Rangers are investigating this one. Apparently they just can't keep Sammy Sosa away from his crime dramas.

[Spider1981 @ Jun 21st 2007 10:42AM]

Being investigated by the Texas Rangers, or THE Texas Ranger? 'Cos I could totally see Chuck Norris kicking a few people through coffee tables for this one.

[Joel @ Jun 21st 2007 11:02AM]

Yes I was definitely thinking that Walker would know what to do. A roundhouse to the chest will solve the problem in the future.

[daedalus @ Jun 21st 2007 11:15AM]

No no... The Texas Rangers... baseball teams are fantastic help at crime scenes... they can communicate sensitive information through a complex series of proprietary hand signals...

[The Aggie CEO™ @ Jun 21st 2007 4:42PM]

Yea lets Get Cordell Walker on this Thing FAST!!!

[Adam @ Jun 21st 2007 10:42AM]

The police could go back to shoot to kill stratgey that worked so well. Let them use their tasers, how the f^@% are the cops going to know the perp. is soaked in gas.

[BoZs13 @ Jun 21st 2007 10:44AM]

Gas tends to smell quite a damn bit.....
.....and I tend to be able to tell when someone is wet.

[Nick @ Jun 21st 2007 10:56AM]

who cares the jackass had been threatening for months that he'd set himself on fire.. so finally someone made him live up to his pathetic empty threats that were for attention. "dont divorce me.. love me.. or ill set my self of fire" yeah thats gonna help bring the love back into the relationship.

They tried pepper spray.. it didnt work... if they busted out billy clubs... some guy with a camera across the street would video tape it and then the police department would be sued for millions of dollars because some a$$hole was resisting arrest. I say good riddence to one less idiot in the world.

[Mack Swift @ Jun 21st 2007 10:46AM]

Tasers fall under the same 'safe' category as airbags. Sure, they're a good idea on paper and simulations, but in reality; not so.

Police are trained to use guns as a last resort to disable, subdue, or forbid kill someone. Tasers send the wrong message. Their so-called safety-ness is an illusion. You're pumping electricity through someone in an effort to safely subdue a suspect. But that electric jolt can stop a heart, defib it, cause blood vessel to burst, raise BP, cause a blockage that wasn't known before to move and block something it shouldn't, etc, etc.

Get rid of these things. Put guns back in the P.D.'s hands and keep training them to use them as a last resort.

[Gregory Kimball @ Jun 21st 2007 11:02AM]

I don't trust the logic of someone who claims that airbags aren't effective.

[Mack Swift @ Jun 21st 2007 11:08AM]

I never said they weren't, but many people assume that they are 100% safe. They aren't. They've been known to cause concussions, face and eye lacerations, broken necks, broken noses.

Seat belts and safety harnesses are a hell of a lot safer.

[Nick @ Jun 21st 2007 11:23AM]

essentially you are saying "The guy who soked himself in gasoline is a great example as to why taser guns should be banned!!! and officers should start using firearms more often"

[Darwin @ Jun 21st 2007 11:25AM]

Right, so in typical US fashion, we should squash something that could be effective, rather than educate on proper usage and efficacy.

Yes, abstinence is the solution to all our worries.

[Nick @ Jun 21st 2007 11:25AM]

nothings 100% safe...other than not trying to apprehend the person. Pepper spray isnt safe.. someone could be highly allergic to pepper oil.

[Vega @ Jun 21st 2007 11:30AM]

That's why you should only use Airbags in connection with saftey belts. This has been common knowledge for over 20 years now.

[Mythor @ Jun 21st 2007 11:43AM]

Tasers and airbags are both much better than the alternatives - real guns and smashing into the steering wheel/dashboard.
NEITHER is an ideal solution, obviously. An airbag would, ideally, never have to be deployed. The reality is that accidents happen and 99.999999999% of the time a person hitting an airbag will suffer lesser injuries than if they did not have the airbag.

Ideally, people wouldn't do things that would require police intervention. Would Juan be dead if he hadn't soaked himself in gasoline in the first place? Probably not. Would Juan be dead had he not refused to go quietly even after having been pepper sprayed? Probably not. Would Juan be dead if police had used batons/nightsticks to subdue him? Probably not, but the risk that an officer may have also been engulfed in flames had he lit himself off was greatly increased.
Would Juan be dead if officers had chosen to shoot him? Almost certainly.
Tasers are very rarely deadly and very much safer than real guns. Until there's a 100% safe way to stop people from being idiots then they'll have to do. :)

[johnzilla @ Jun 21st 2007 11:46AM]

If airbags are so safe, please explain why automakers are spending millions of dollars to design special sensors to detect occupant size and weight and automatically adjust airbag deployment accordingly.

The sensors are needed because (unregulated) airbags are NOT safe, or at least not 100% safe like people have been led to believe.

[REDbULL Runner @ Jun 21st 2007 12:39PM]

The thing with the airbags is, they are not intended to be used as a primary safety device. they are intended to be used WITH seat belts/safety harnesses, etc. when everything is used properly, and the way it was designed, they work good.

[Andir3.0 @ Jun 21st 2007 3:50PM]

@johnzilla: They do the research so they don't have to pay out millions in lawsuits to morons that think they can slam into trees and live because of an air bag.

[JCA @ Jun 21st 2007 4:51PM]

Lets let airbags and tasers slide shall we. I mean, they do (in most cases) prevent a bad case of the deadsies better than a seatbelt....or a fucking bullet.

Tard.

[tributal @ Jul 11th 2007 6:44AM]

You sir have not done your homework. Electricity is lazy - it will take the shortest route (that has the least resistance) between two points - unless you are hit with one dart on your chest and the other on your back (with the heart in the middle) the TASER is unable to deliver it's charge deep enough to affect the heart. Furthermore it's impossible to hit a person in such a way to begin with.

As for pacemakers, read this medical study from the Cleveland Clinic: http://www.tiny.cc/vW5eo (it's a PDF btw).

Also, if you are worried about it causing "blood vessel to burst, raise BP, cause a blockage that wasn't known before to move and block something it shouldn't," WTF do you think the stress and impact from being hit with a baton, or a bullet will do? Same thing with being wrestled to the ground or getting a blast of OC or pepper spray. Any physical altercation can cause those things - even the stress from being "talked down" could set off a bad heart.

TASER don't call their products non-lethal - they call them LESS lethal. If the distinction eludes you it's time to go back to primary school.

[g76monte @ Jun 21st 2007 10:56AM]

maybe, just maybe, juan deserved it.
one less 'genius' for the rest of us to deal with.
natural selection... maybe he liked the taste of gasoline.

[tiuk @ Jun 21st 2007 10:52AM]

When using a taser officers should always make the assumption that the perp may be killed.

[daedalus @ Jun 21st 2007 11:07AM]

Or explode...

[Ras Thavas @ Jun 21st 2007 3:06PM]

No you should not. A Taser is classified as a "Less Lethal" device, which means that it is unlikely that the use of the taser will cause death or serious bodily injury.

[tiuk @ Jun 21st 2007 4:51PM]

Unlikely, but still possible. If it CAN happen, you should assume it is going to and be prepared to deal with those consequences.

[strider_mt2k @ Jun 21st 2007 10:59AM]

Think of it as evolution in action.

[Blah @ Jun 23rd 2007 12:47AM]

"Darwin seen fleeing scene of fatal tasering!"

[sshah87 @ Jun 21st 2007 11:13AM]

If the cops were close enough to pepper spray him, wouldn't that make them close enough to smell the gasoline?

oh, and @strider: it's natural selection, not evolution.

[John @ Jun 21st 2007 11:27AM]

You don't have to be very smart to be a police officer. You can actually be slightly mentally retarded and get that job.

[rosebudhubbert @ Oct 17th 2007 2:50PM]

about policeman being retarted,it takes an idiot to make that remark.my son is a cop and i know he is not retarted.

[rosebudhubbert @ Oct 17th 2007 3:01PM]

and try making it through the swat team being retarted.

[Ben @ Jun 21st 2007 11:33AM]

was that in W.A.C.O. Texas? What A Cook Off !!

[Mike @ Jun 21st 2007 11:45AM]

Well, when you douse yourself in gasoline, you are taking the chance that you'll ignite.

[Ken @ Jun 21st 2007 11:49AM]

But more importantly, was it the new E85 gasoline? We here in the new greener, friendlier US prefer all our self-immolations to be environmentally friendly.

[R @ Jun 21st 2007 11:46AM]

Wow. This story seems a little off topic for a site that reports on gadgets and tech toys.