Tuesday
Oct122004
Inmate death prompts removal of stun guns
Tuesday, October 12, 2004 at 12:43PM
The Lafayette Police Department will retrieve Taser stun guns from all
officers except supervisors while the department teaches them about the
policies governing the devices' use. The decision was announced
Wednesday two days after inmate Dwayne Anthony Dunn's death. Dunn died
at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital after he was booked into the Lafayette
Parish jail Monday morning. Lafayette Police used a Taser gun, one of
at least 20 owned by the department, on Dunn, saying he resisted arrest
outside of a grocery store. ''We still don't believe that the Tasing
had anything to do with the guy's death,'' said Cpl. Mark Francis,
public information officer for the Lafayette Police Department. ''But
we're going to take an abundance of precaution.'' However, Francis said
Tasers will still be used to subdue suspects. The National Action
Network, a group headed by New York activist Al Sharpton, called for a
moratorium on the use of Taser guns by Lafayette police. [more 
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