Events Calendar
In This Section
Actor Bernsen enjoying ride of derby movie project
Giving Doll ministry hits 5,000 milestone
Region's stocking full of ideas for those on the prowl for holiday gifts
Retired firefighter who broke color barrier among those being honored
High-tech company expands downtown
Ohio sues credit-rating companies
Dominance by Ohio State dulls rivalry
Most Read Stories
Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
NFL star Chris Spielman's wife loses cancer battle
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
Man allegedly paid teens to spit in his face
Angel Food Ministries helps stretch grocery dollars
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
For your Saturday entertainment …
Akron Zips:
Hitchens leads Zips in second-half comeback
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Holmgren expresses interest in Browns position
Kent State Sports:
Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 13-47
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Indiana Pacers – Here’s to LBJ and Free Throws
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Bowling season starts today
All Da King's Men:
Headed For Disaster
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Federal Judge Declares DOMA Unconstitutional
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 01:02 p.m. EDT, May 02, 2008
A judge ruled today that the Summit County Medical Examiner must change her autopsy findings to remove all references to the Taser stun gun as a contributing cause of death in the cases of three men who died during encounters with law enforcement officers.
The decision by visiting Judge Ted Schneiderman, released late this morning after a four-day trial in Common Pleas Court last week, stated that there is ''simply no medical, scientific or electrical evidence to support the conclusion that the Taser . . . had anything to do with the death of Dennis S. Hyde, Richard Holcomb, or Mark D. McCullaugh.''
In his findings of fact and conclusions of law, Schneiderman further explained that Taser International, which joined the City of Akron in filing the lawsuit against the medical examiner, ''proved their claims for changing the reports of autopsy and death certificates on the three individuals by more than a preponderance of evidence.''
Lawyers for Taser, relying on a ''multiple number of experts . . . in the area of sudden and unexpected death while law enforcement attempted to obtain custody provided overwhelming credible medical and scientific evidence to support their positions,'' Schneiderman's ruling stated.
The medical examiner, Dr. Lisa J. Kohler, who was named as the defendant in the suit, said this afternoon that she was declining to comment because she had not read the judge's 15-page decision.
Kohler said she would have something to say after reviewing it.
Schneiderman's decision could have an effect on the criminal cases against five Summit County sheriff's deputies charged in the August 2006 death of 28-year-old jail inmate Mark D. McCullaugh Jr., because the ruling orders Kohler to change the manner of death from homicide to ''undetermined.''
Schneiderman, quoting passages from Kohler's autopsy report on McCullaugh, stated that his death ''shall be ruled undetermined and any reference to death by 'asphyxia due to the combined effects of chemical, mechanical and electrical restraint,' as well as any reference to 'homicide' due to 'multiple restraint mechanisms with beating and anal penetration' shall be deleted from both the death certificate and the Report of Autopsy.''
Inspector Keith Thornton, head of the sheriff's investigative division, said Sheriff Drew Alexander would have a comment on Schneiderman's decision after reviewing it.
Schneiderman, a retired Common Pleas judge, presided over the trial as a visiting judge.
Read the full text of the decision here.
A judge ruled today that the Summit County Medical Examiner must change her autopsy findings to remove all references to the Taser stun gun as a contributing cause of death in the cases of three men who died during encounters with law enforcement officers.
The decision by visiting Judge Ted Schneiderman, released late this morning after a four-day trial in Common Pleas Court last week, stated that there is ''simply no medical, scientific or electrical evidence to support the conclusion that the Taser . . . had anything to do with the death of Dennis S. Hyde, Richard Holcomb, or Mark D. McCullaugh.''
In his findings of fact and conclusions of law, Schneiderman further explained that Taser International, which joined the City of Akron in filing the lawsuit against the medical examiner, ''proved their claims for changing the reports of autopsy and death certificates on the three individuals by more than a preponderance of evidence.''
Lawyers for Taser, relying on a ''multiple number of experts . . . in the area of sudden and unexpected death while law enforcement attempted to obtain custody provided overwhelming credible medical and scientific evidence to support their positions,'' Schneiderman's ruling stated.
The medical examiner, Dr. Lisa J. Kohler, who was named as the defendant in the suit, said this afternoon that she was declining to comment because she had not read the judge's 15-page decision.
Kohler said she would have something to say after reviewing it.
Schneiderman's decision could have an effect on the criminal cases against five Summit County sheriff's deputies charged in the August 2006 death of 28-year-old jail inmate Mark D. McCullaugh Jr., because the ruling orders Kohler to change the manner of death from homicide to ''undetermined.''
Schneiderman, quoting passages from Kohler's autopsy report on McCullaugh, stated that his death ''shall be ruled undetermined and any reference to death by 'asphyxia due to the combined effects of chemical, mechanical and electrical restraint,' as well as any reference to 'homicide' due to 'multiple restraint mechanisms with beating and anal penetration' shall be deleted from both the death certificate and the Report of Autopsy.''
Inspector Keith Thornton, head of the sheriff's investigative division, said Sheriff Drew Alexander would have a comment on Schneiderman's decision after reviewing it.
Schneiderman, a retired Common Pleas judge, presided over the trial as a visiting judge.
Read the full text of the decision here.
