Tasered Homeless Man Catches on Fire

[Blue Diadem]

(AP) Police in Ohio say officers using a new Taser stun gun briefly set a homeless man on fire while trying to subdue him.

A police report in Lancaster (LANG'-kuh-stur), about 30 miles southeast of Columbus, says one officer had seen the man inhaling a chemical from an aerosol can Monday night. That officer and another then struggled with the suspect, and the Taser was used. A flame appeared on the man's chest, and officers patted it down.

Police Chief David Bailey says 31-year-old Daniel Wood was not seriously hurt.

The department's policy warns against using Tasers when flammable chemicals may be present. Bailey says officers acted appropriately.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/19/national/main5251739.shtml

They saw him inhaling but yet didn't realize the danger and it's still being said they acted appropriately? Appropriate to set someone on fire?

[Buzz Clik]

1. The dude was inhaling a flammable substance? Ack!

Other than ethanol, is there a flammable substance that will not harm you if inhaled?

[JonQ]

2. Well technically, ethanol is harmful

just less so than other poisons.

Hydrogen, as long as you are still getting enough oxygen shouldn't harm you.

[csziggy]

3. The propellant in a lot of aerosols is flammable

There was a CSI episode last season about this - a man was sprayed with pepper spray, then tasered and went POOF. The investigation showed that older pepper spray used a flammable propellant while the newer one used a non-flammable propellant.

One of the crazes is for huffing cooking spray - go figure. That could easily be what the guy was using and the oil itself is flammable

[Buzz Clik]

4. Thanks. I'm not up on the latest ways to cheap highs.

[csziggy]

6. The cooking spray huffing has been around for years

I only know about it because I saw it mentioned in an article somewhere. I think it replaced air plane glue. :eyes:

[Blue Diadem]

5. That's my understanding about most propellants.

If I were the cops, I'd automatically think it could be flammable.

[csziggy]

7. And has been for a very long time!

Hasn't everybody seen the scenes in horror/thriller movies where someone uses a can of hairspray or deoderant and a Bic lighter to make a flamethrower to hold off the bad guy/monster?

I knew a sweet little old lady who burned all the hair off her head and got second degree burns because she had a cigarette in her mouth when her friend sprayed her hair with hair spray. It is not pretty when something like that happens!