Medical remedy in Miami cuts risk of death by taser

For the past seven months, emergency medical technicians in Miami have been participating in a pilot program that aims to prevent TASER-related deaths. The program calls for EMTs to spray the sedative midazolam in the noses of subjects who have been tasered if the first electroshock does not control them. EMTs then inject the subject with iced saline solution to cool their body and sodium bicarbonate to neutralize the toxic acids released by their tense muscles. The treatment, which is the first of its kind in the country, has been used at least 12 times by Miami EMTs to reduce tasered subjects' body temperatures and calm them down. Government officials and Taser International are hoping the treatment will help to restore public confidence in tasers.