District Court OKs Expert Proof in Taser Suit; Ninth Circuit Bars Unreliable Expert Evidence

A federal district court March 29 refused to dismiss claims against Taser International Inc., finding that expert testimony backed the plaintiffs’ version of causation—that a narrow time frame between a Taser-gun shot and a man’s death allowed an inference that the electronic weapon caused the death (Wilson v. City of Lafayette).

Judge Philip A. Brimmer of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado also said there was evidence that the Taser functioned when it hit the decedent, a man chased from a marijuana field, even though Taser International Inc. argued the plaintiffs lacked such evidence. And ...