Man dies after leap from train car

Man dies after leap from train car

By Venita JenkinsStaff writer

LUMBERTON — A man died Wednesday before dawn after he jumped from an Amtrak train in Robeson County.
Authorities have not identified the jumper.
The incident happened on N.C. 211 near Mount Tabor Road about 12:30 a.m. Passengers said they saw the man remove an emergency window before leaping from the train, an Amtrak spokesman said.
The jumper’s relatives were notified, the Amtrak spokesman said. But Amtrak could not release the man’s name because it does not provide information about its passengers, the spokesman said.
Robeson County deputies initially responded, but the investigation was turned over to CSX and Amtrak.
One of the conductors searched for the man, according to a report filed at the Sheriff's Office. His body was found after about an hour about a mile from where the train stopped. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:45 a.m., the report said.
The man was riding Amtrak train 98 from Miami to New York. The train was delayed more than two hours after the jump. A southbound passenger train in Fayetteville was also delayed, as were two CSX freight trains.

Clearing the record

Clearing the record

Philadelphia Inquirer,

A story yesterday about the seizure of 8.4 pounds of heroin in Northeast Philadelphia called the amount a record. The story should have made it clear that, according to Philadelphia police, it was a record for the department. In 1991, Amtrak police seized 17 pounds of heroin aboard a New York-bound train while it was at 30th Street Station.

What’s with the Amtrak dogs?

Nobody wants to hate on homeland security dogs. They’re heroes, too. They risk their lives to sniff for explosives. And that’s no joke. But to deploy dogs to eject Union Station patrons is another story. There’s just way too much room for error.
This week I have a story on two high school kids who were ejected from a Union Station’s men’s room by a pair of Amtrak cops and a dog. In interviewing the two teenagers, they recounted several other instances of questionable dog practices at the commuter hub. One time, they watched an Amtrak police dog used to evict an old homeless man from the McDonald’s. They say the man was just trying to buy a burger. After he was refused service, the dog was called into action.
Another time, a cop was walking his police dog just outside the station. The dog repeatedly barked, growled, and scared any child that passed. After complaining to the cop about his dog, the cop just replied that the dog doesn’t like kids.
An Amtrak spokesperson says that the dogs are often used on routine patrols.
Do you think Amtrak uses their dogs too much? Have you all had any run-ins with Amtrak dogs?

Study: Tasers Safe for Police Use

Study: Tasers Safe for Police Use
Posted: October 10th, 2007 09:47 AM EDT

By TIM KLASS
Associated Press Writer

SEATTLE --

Tasers and similar stun guns, increasingly popular among law enforcement agencies nationwide, are generally safe for police to use, according to new research.

In what was called the first large independent study of injuries from Tasers, researchers reviewed 962 cases in six locations. Nearly all the cases they found resulted in no injuries or minor ones such as scrapes and bruises.

"This is the first time we've got an accounting of how likely it is that you'll be seriously injured by one of these devices," said lead researcher, Dr. William P. Bozeman, an emergency medical specialist at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

He presented the research Monday at a meeting of the American College of Emergency Physicians in Seattle.

While the research found that stun guns are safe, Bozeman cautioned, "These are serious weapons. They absolutely have the potential to injure or kill people."

In the cases reviewed for the study, two people died, but autopsies found neither death was related to use of a Taser. Three people were hospitalized after being zapped, two with injuries from falls. It was unclear whether a third hospitalization was related to the use of a stun gun, according to the researchers.

Stun guns deliver temporarily disabling bursts of electricity for several seconds. Police say they help avoid hand-to-hand struggles that can injure officers and citizens. They have become common in recent years, with the weapons in use by thousands of law enforcement agencies.

Taser use by police drew national attention recently after video circulated widely of police shocking a university student in Florida who persistently questioned Sen. John Kerry during a forum and refused to yield the microphone.

Taser critics say the devices are prone to misuse by police who fire them too readily at people who may be mentally ill, high on drugs or vulnerable because of medical conditions.

"Those statistics were surprising to me, considering the number of injuries, including to police officers, that have been reported," said Lauren Regan, executive director of the Civil Liberties Defense Center in Eugene, Ore., which opposes the weapons.

By July, Amnesty International USA had tallied 250 cases in six years in which people died after being stunned with Tasers, but the group didn't track the individual causes of death.

According to the manufacturer, Taser International Inc., the devices have been listed as a contributing factor in about 12 deaths.

Dr. Robert R. Bass, executive director of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems and a leader in the college's Tactical Emergency Medicine Section, said he was familiar with an earlier analysis that covered 597 cases.

He said he found "somewhat reassuring" the findings that the devices are safer than individual reports of death and injury would suggest.

The cases in the study were compiled by six law enforcement agencies ranging in size. Each had a defined policy on Taser use and injury reporting, and a doctor who works with officers and anyone who is subdued with the devices.

The doctor was responsible for submitting each case to the research team.

The cities were not identified.

The study was paid for by the National Institute of Justice, the Justice Department's research and development branch. But the institute had no part in the study's design or analysis, Bozeman said.

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On the Net:

American College of Emergency Physicians: http://www.acep.org

Taser Inc.: http://www.taser.com