Inclusion Daily Express -- Advocate Questions Choice Of Taser In Man's Death

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Advocate Questions Choice Of Taser In Man's Death
November 30, 2005

DES PLAINES, ILLINOIS--The following five paragraphs are excerpts from a story in Wednesday's Chicago Tribune:

A disability rights advocate said Tuesday that better training may have prevented an incident last week in which an autistic man died after Des Plaines police officers used a stun gun in their attempts to subdue him.

The circumstances surrounding the death of Hansel Cunningham, 30, remain under investigation by Illinois State Police, and officials said the probe could take a year to complete.

Cunningham, a resident of a group home in Des Plaines, died Nov. 20 after he was shocked twice with a Taser by police officers who had responded to a 911 call from a caregiver at the home. Officers also used pepper spray and tackled him before paramedics injected a sedative.

Don Moss, a disability rights advocate who works with Evanston-based Rimland Services for Autistic Citizens, which operates the group home, questioned the use of force and the judgment of Des Plaines police officers and paramedics.

Cunningham "never had a history of violence but was sensitive to people touching him," said Moss, who also is executive director of United Cerebral Palsy of Illinois.

Entire article:
"Advocate criticizes use of stun gun" (Chicago Tribune)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/05/red/1130e.htm

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