Book Review: Williams, HE. (2008). Taser Electronic Control Devices and Sudden In-Custody Death: Separating Evidence from Conjecture. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher, Ltd., pp. xiv, 212, $59.95. ISBN 978-0-398-07775-4 (hard)

• Date: 01 December 2009
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016809349184
• Published date: 01 December 2009
• Subject Matter: Articles

family and the community. Therefore, this book is valuable for juvenile justice policy makers and

those studying and/or working in the fields of criminology and sociology.

Juyoung Song

Michigan State University

Williams, HE. (2008). Taser Electronic Control Devices and Sudden

In-Custody Death: Separating Evidence from Conjecture.

Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher, Ltd., pp. xiv, 212, $59.95.

ISBN 978-0-398-07775-4 (hard).

DOI: 10.1177/0734016809349184

In this book, Howard Williams analyzes 213 cases involving taser-use that have resulted in death.

Williams, a former police executive with the Austin Police Department (APD), is currently the Chief

of the San Marcos Police Department in Texas. According to Williams, in 2001, he was the first

Commander in the APD to buy tasers for his patrol officers. Satisfied with the success of tasers

in Austin, Chief Williams later purchased these devices for his line officers in San Marcos as well.

Soon, however, perturbed by media reports about the safety of the taser, he decided to carry out his

own study to examine the merits of the allegations.

The book is divided into four chapters, with chapter 3 being the heart of the book. The first chap-

ter discusses the various causes of sudden in-custody deaths. Williams identifies such incidents as

being non-violent in nature, unexpected, and occurring within a few minutes of a change in the sub-

ject’s clinical state. Reviewing the literature available, Williams writes that there are several predis-

posing factors that can cause the sudden death of an individual. These include obesity, an enlarged

heart, coronary artery disease, a previous heart attack, and being under the influence of alcohol or

illicit drugs. According to the author, other factors include an inflammation of the muscles of the

heart, a fibrotic heart, an insufficient or overdose of neuroleptic medication, and a failure to take pre-

scribed medication. Williams, in his study of the 213 cases involving the use of tasers, argues that

there were one or more predisposing factors of sudden death in at least 87.8%of the cases. In the first

chapter, he systematically examines the various medical conditions that are associated with sudden

in-custody deaths. According to Williams, one of the most common conditions of in-custody death

cases is excited delirium, which kills about 800 people every year across the United States. He found

that the correlation between sudden death and heart disease and drugs was much higher than between

sudden death and taser-use.

The second chapter traces the history of the taser as a non-lethal weapon. Williams points out that

the taser was invented by Jack Cover who named the weapon after the Thomas A. Swift Electric

Rifle, from the Tom Swift books of the 1930s. Describing the electronic characteristics of the

weapon, the author writes that reports about the taser discharging 50,000 volts of electricity are a

myth. According to Williams, both the M26 and the X26 have 50,000 peak open circuit voltage

at the main capacitator that enables a spark to cross a gap between clothing and a person’s body.

However, neither of the weapons delivers 50,000 volts into a person’s body. The author provides

a very comprehensive review of the existing literature on tasers covering technical studies, medical

studies, and adverse studies on the weapon. He cautions law enforcement officers and administrators

not to use the weapon in place of deadly force where deadly force is appropriate, as the taser is a non-

lethal weapon.

490 International Criminal Justice Review