Minn. Man Dies After Police Tasering

(CBS/AP)  A man died after state troopers stunned him with a Taser when they said he became "uncooperative" after being involved in a wreck.

The man, identified by his father as Mark C. Backlund, was involved in a rush-hour crash Tuesday evening on Interstate 694 in New Brighton. No other vehicles were involved.

"Troopers attempted to bring the situation and individual under control, and in the process, deployed a taser," said Lt. Mark Peterson with the Minnesota State Patrol.

Backlund was breathing but unconscious when paramedics arrived, according to Allina Medical Transportation spokesman Tim Burke. He was pronounced dead at Unity Hospital in Fridley.

The official cause of Backlund's death has not been determined, the state Department of Public Safety said. The Anoka County Medical Examiner was performing an autopsy.

Five state troopers were placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure, the Department of Public Safety said. A spokesman would not describe what kind of "uncooperative" behavior was involved.

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is leading the investigation.

"This is a traumatic event for a lot of people," superintendent Tim O'Malley said. "Someone has died and in fairness to that person, the troopers, family members and others who may have been affected, we need to make sure that we're accurate and thorough."

Backlund had been driving to the airport to pick up his parents, who were returning from a trip to Florida.

State Patrol Lt. Mark Peterson didn't return telephone calls Wednesday or Thursday from The Associated Press seeking more information.

CBS station WCCO correspondent Sue Turner said his parents were picking up their luggage when they got a call from one of Mark's friends informing them that their son was dead.

Gordon Backlund said he was told his son's heart stopped, but he added his son had no heart conditions. Autopsy results are not expected until Thursday afternoon at the earliest.

"He was a caring individual," his father Gordon Backlund told Turner. "Mark loved life, he was happy. He was kind of a kidder."

The life they describe is not one of a man out of control. Mark lived with his parents after moving back home from California. He was working part-time while attending school. His family said he was always there to help a friend in need.

He leaves behind a 2-year-old child, Nathaniel.

"His son was so important to him," his sister, Melanie Backlund Moe, told WCCO "I'm just really devastated that his son won't get to know him now."

A U.S. Justice Department study released in October said arrest-related deaths involving Tasers or other conducted-energy devices are rising, although overall numbers are low. From 2003-2005, there were 36 such deaths total, with a jump from 3 cases in 2003 to 24 in 2005.

"It's sometimes upsetting to look at, but really the alternative is a big wrestling match with a police officer and could escalate all the way up to a use of deadly force," said Minneapolis Deputy Chief Scott Gerlicher in October 2007. He spoke about Tasers then because the Minneapolis Police Department is equipping some of its tasers with cameras.

His department had done an internal study on Taser use and found it reduced injuries to the officers completely. Injuries to the people tasered was 5.8 percent, compared to 43 percent when officers used traditional force. In 2006, MPD officers used Tasers 232 times, up 75 percent from the year before.

[rohink-2009]

I see CBS nixed the ''healthy'' man dies by police taser slant.

[enoughya]

The Nazi Gestapo had this kind of power to control the population, their every whim was a command for the public to obey immediatly with a cheery disposition, "yes sir," or risk being shot on the spot. Not much difference than what we are witnessing with these thug american cops. Whatever happened to the american concept of police being their to "protect and serve?" In many ways law enforcement has turned into a bigger threat to the public than actual criminals. Cops better watch out, as most free-breathing Americans are not keen to living in a police state. I would suggest they go to North Korea to pratice their thuggery.

[Krazcarl]

A man dies at the hands of a brutal police officer and you folks are making jokes about mice...Pitaful this wht it it happens the general public is powerless and accepts it, the story of a dead young man going to pick up his parents reminds you plurality in animal your in desperate need of a a shrink

[toolmangler-2009]

hate meeces to pieces
Posted by Klingon69 at 01:43 PM : Jan 18, 2008



How many ''meeces'' doesn it take to equal one ''moose''?

[erasmus6]

would the plural of mice be ''''''''meece''''''''?
Posted by ToolMangler at 12:48 PM : Jan 18, 2008
"I hate meeces to pieces" posted by klingon69

Cute!

[klingon69]

would the plural of mice be ''''meece''''?
Posted by ToolMangler at 12:48 PM : Jan 18, 2008
I hate meeces to pieces

[toolmangler-2009]

plural of mouse = mice
plural of house = houses
Where is the logic?
Posted by Klingon69 at 11:30 AM : Jan 18, 2008



would the plural of mice be ''meece''?

[fedupinny]

Perhaps the officers were doing what they thought was right, but the guy had just been in an car accident, and may have had hidden injuries. Unless he was doing something that threatened significant harm to someone, they should have simply left him alone and kept an eye on him; if he collapsed or fainted, he would no longer have been in rational control of himself and they could have taken him without incident. We have no way of knowing how most police officers use or don''t use tasers, but most often the ones that make the news seem to involve the attitude that the taser can solve everything, and do it quickly, so why worry about it? Not a good thing, imo - isn''t patience required of anyone any more?

[erasmus6]

"Oh, and in every police department that I''''''''ve ever heard of - all cops are tazed, as part of their training." posted by SusanHelit

That is probably why they use them, pay back for having it done to them.


They shouldn''t be using them unless their LIFE IS THREATENED. Just because someone is ranting and raving or arguing with them does not give them the right to taser them.

I actually do think that part of the reason that they use them is PAY BACK. They are frustrated with all the dumb****s out there that they can''t do anything about so they are taking their frustrations out on whoever.

[bobnjersey]

[Oh, and in every police department that I''''''''ve ever heard of - all cops are tazed, as part of their training. So they are not doing anything to the people who resist that they haven''''''''t had done to themselves. ]
[Posted by SusanHelit at 08:00 PM : Jan 17, 2008]

apparently ... it''s not all that safe even in the training:

Litigation press release from Taser Intl.
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=129937&p=NewsArticle&id=1097399

an excerpt:

"This lawsuit dismissal represents the sixty second (62nd) wrongful death or injury lawsuits that have been dismissed or judgment entered in favor of TASER International. This number includes a small number of police officer training injury lawsuits that were settled and dismissed in cases where the settlement economics to TASER International were significantly less than the cost of litigation. TASER International has not lost any product liability lawsuit".