With the death of a Rhode Island man the other day, 212 North Americans have now died after being Tasered by law enforcement officials, according to the Colorado chapter of the ACLU. Six people have died this month, 42 so far this year, after receiving the “less than lethal” weapon’s 50,000 volt jolt.

Despite 14 such deaths in Canada, no independent safety testing has been done in this country.

The Taser-related death of Robert Bagnell in June 0f 2004 will be the subject of a coroner’s inquest scheduled to begin September 5, 2006 in Burnaby, BC.