April 28, 2011

Taser Autopsy: Rodney Brown (Cleveland, OH)

I think it is fair to say that most county coroners have a great deal of 'book sense' and very little 'commonsense'.

Commonsense tells me that 40-year old Rodney Brown would have been alive to see the new year if his path hadn't crossed the path of taser-wielding Cleveland police officers on December 31, 2010.

'Book sense' tells the Cuyahoga County coroner's office that 50,000 volts of electricity from a taser gun had nothing to do with Rodney Brown's death. [SOURCE]
Brown died of "cardiopulmonary arrest following physical exertion during law enforcement activity," spokesman Powell Caesar said.

Contributing factors were "hypertensive cardiovascular disease" and "chronic pulmonary disease," Caesar said.
Villagers will recall that unidentified police officers stopped Brown's car near his home for a traffic offense on 12/31/2010. Brown lost his cool and ran from the officers. They caught up to him less than two blocks away ... and they electrocuted him with a taser gun. Brown was rushed to University Hospitals, where he was pronounced dead later that evening.

Brown's family criticized the use of force after a traffic offense. They said he was shocked at least twice. There were no warrants for his arrest.

The city's Use of Deadly Force and Integrity Control teams have not yet completed their investigations.

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