Forensic reporting of TASER exposure: An examination of situational and exposure characteristics

• One out of 184 autopsy reports included a TASER log.
• One-quarter of reports was missing police report summaries.
• 30% of reports were missing descriptions of TASER injuries.
• National autopsy standards for documenting TASER exposure should be developed.

The current study examines the content of autopsy reports (N = 184) for deaths that occurred following TASER exposure by police. Guided by previous research and national autopsy standards for other weapon-specific deaths, we evaluate 1) whether reports document situational characteristics of the police-citizen encounter and 2) whether reports document characteristics of the TASER exposure. We find a large portion of reports are often missing a police report summary and information regarding the TASER exposure. Considering the expanding use of TASERs by police, we emphasize the importance of creating national standards that require documentation of police report summaries, TASER injuries, and TASER logs.