I-Team: Coroner appears to rule out all causes of death for Everette Howard, except Taser shock

CINCINNATI - The I-Team has uncovered important new details surrounding the death of Everette Howard, the student who died after a Taser was used on him on UC's campus this past August.

9 News gained exclusive access to the preliminary autopsy results and the Hamilton County coroner’s office granted an exclusive interview to discuss those results.

The coroner is not ready to give the cause of Howard’s death, but he appears to have ruled out everything but the Taser shock. However, he says the investigation is continuing and has brought in a specialist for help.

Experts have debated whether the Taser can kill in previous I-Team reports. 9 News has been following the investigation into Howard’s death and many other incidents across the nation to try to address this question. In one report, 9 News reporter Julie O’Neill traveled to Chicago this past October to talk with Taser International CEO Rick Smith. Smith's position is that the devices have too short of a pulse to fatally affect humans and says there is no conclusive research that Tasers can affect the human heart, but Dr. Douglas Zipes, an electrophysiologist that specializes in heart rhythm, disagrees with Taser’s chief.

For more on our exclusive interview with the Hamilton County coroner and the information surrounding Everette Howard’s autopsy, go to  http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/i-team-exclusive-interview-with-hamilton-county-coroner-about-everette-howards-death .

And while the test results of the Taser used in Howard's incident have not yet been released, the results of tests of other Tasers in the UC police department were obtained by the I-Team. Several of those Tasers failed the test. For the full results and what they mean, visit http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/i-team-still-no-tests-released-on-taser-in-everette-howard-incident-other-tasers-tested .