Nine Northeast Florida deaths tied to national TASER investigation

Nine local deaths are tied to a national investigation into people dying after being TASERed by police.

The investigation was done by Reuters.

The most recent local death included in Reuters’ deep dive is Paul Testa, a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office inmate who has been the subject of several Action News Jax Investigations.

“My dad was in the bed, choked out so bad that his eyes were popping out of his head,” his son Christian Testa told Action News Jax in an exclusive interview in Sept. 2016.

Paul Testa is one of 1,005 Americans documented by Reuters who died after police shocked them with a TASER.

Reuters’ investigation included three deaths in Duval County, two in St. Johns County, two in Clay County, one in Putnam County and one in Nassau County.

In Paul Testa’s case, he was strapped into a restraint chair after corrections officers TASERed him.

“I mean, you’re getting electrocuted, then you’re getting tied down,” said Christian Testa in Sept. 2016. “This is something that was cruel and unusual.”

Paul Testa was schizophrenic.

Reuters’ investigation shows a quarter of the people who died after TASERing were suffering from a mental health breakdown or neurological disorder.

Reuters concluded, “It’s impossible to know precisely what role the TASER played in many of the deaths…”

Its review of fatal encounters documented in court indicates the TASER was the only form of force used by police in a quarter of those cases.

Action News Jax Crime and Safety Expert Ken Jefferson, who served with JSO for 24 years, said the use of TASERs is worth the risk.

“Yes, the TASER is still worth law enforcement using because it has saved lives more so than it has harmed lives or killed people,” said Jefferson.

A review published in Psychiatric Services last year said data reported in 13 studies show one in 100 police calls involve someone with a mental disorder.

Cox Media Group