Precinct 6 Constable Suspends Taser Use

Nearly five years ago, Shirley Nagel’s mentally ill son was shocked repeatedly by a police stun gun in the living room of her southwest Houston home.

“I saw him die, I do think about it everyday,” she said.

Joel Don Casey, 52, was killed. Nagel later sued the Harris County Precinct One Constable’s office for excessive force and won. It’s still difficult for her to recall the tragic incident.

“They had him hog-tied and when he said ‘ouch, you’re hurting me’ they tasered him immediately -- tasered him in the chest numerous times,” she said.

A new report from the stun gun’s maker, Taser International, shows there’s a “low risk” of causing an “adverse cardiac event” when a Taser is fired into a person’s chest.

The warning prompted Harris County Precinct 6 Constable Victor Trevino to suspend all Taser use until more research is done.

“It’s the right thing to do. No manager in their right state of mind should continue to use this Taser when there are doubts,” he said.

On Thursday, the Houston Police Department made their position clear. There will be no changes to their 52-point Taser policy.

“We’re completely confident in our training and policy that at this time we see no reason to modify either,” said Assistant Chief Charles McClelland.

Constable Trevino supports Taser use and claims they help save lives, but he won’t lift the suspension until further research is done.

“Why should I wait for it to happen in my precinct and then take action,” he said.

It’s a decision victims like Shirley Nagel hope will catch on. “I admire him for that and I hope other precincts do the same,” she said.

The Taser manufacturer said no cases of cardiac arrest have been proved to have been caused by the device. More than 330 Americans have died after being struck with Tasers between 2001 and last year, according to an Amnesty International report.