Electroshock weapon

"TASER" and "Taser" redirect here. For the company, see TASER International.

An electroshock weapon is an incapacitant weapon used for subduing a person by administering electric shock that may disrupt superficial muscle functions. One type is a conductive energy device (CED), an electroshock gun popularly known by the brand name taser, which fires projectiles that administer an electric shock.

Stun guns, stun batons, and electroshock belts administer an electric shock by direct contact.

A Taser making an electrical arc between its two electrodes

Principles of operation

A computer-generated image (CGI) of a man holding an electric shock baton

Electroshock weapon technology uses a temporary high-voltage low-current electrical discharge to override the body's muscle-triggering mechanisms. The recipient feels great pain, and can be momentarily paralyzed while an electric current is being applied. It is reported that applying electroshock devices to more sensitive parts of the body is more painful. The relatively low electric current must be pushed by high voltage to overcome the electrical resistance of the human body. The resulting 'shock' is caused by muscles twitching uncontrollably, appearing as muscle spasms. However, because the amount of current is relatively low, there is considered to be a 'margin' of safety by a number of medical experts. Experts generally agree that this margin is highly dependent on the overall health of the person subjected to the shock. Usually, the higher the voltage, the more effective it is. It may take several seconds to subdue a subject with 100 kV, but only about a second with 1 MV (1,000 kV).

In current electroshock weapon models, the current is sometimes relatively low (2.1 mA to 3.6 mA) which is based in part on the electrical supply, (but for example M-26 Taser models produce a peak current of 18 amperes in pulses that last for around 10 microseconds and use eight AA batteries). Electrical current above 10 mA at 60Hz AC is considered to be potentially lethal to humans, though not all electroshock weapons pulse the current at 60 Hz.

The internal circuits of most electroshock weapons are fairly simple, either based on an oscillator, resonant circuit and step-up transformer or diode-capacitor voltage multipliers to achieve the continuous, direct or alternating high-voltage discharge. It may be powered by one or more 9 V battery depending on manufacturer, and model. The output voltages without external "load" (which would be the target's body) are claimed to be in the range of 50 kV up to 1000 kV, with the most common being in the 200 to 300 kV range. However since air has a dielectric breakdown (Emax) of 3000 kV/m, it is clear that the spacing of the electrodes will not permit the upper range of claimed voltages (900 kV representing a minimum electrode spacing of about 30 cm). The output current upon contact with the target will depend on various factors such as target's resistance, skin type, moisture, bodily salinity, clothing, the electroshock weapon's internal circuitry and battery conditions.

According to the many sources, a shock of half a second duration will cause intense pain and muscle contractions startling most people greatly. Two to three seconds will often cause the subject to become dazed and drop to the ground, and over three seconds will usually completely disorient and drop an attacker for at least several seconds and possibly for up to fifteen minutes. TASER International warns law enforcement agencies that “prolonged or continuous exposure(s) to the TASER device’s electrical charge” may lead to medical risks such as cumulative exhaustion and breathing impairment. Because there is no automatic stop on a taser gun, many officers have used it repeatedly or for a prolonged period of time, thus potentially contributing to suspects’ injuries or death.

Commercially available varieties

Electric shock prods

This type is similar to basic design to an electric cattle prod. It has a metal end split into two parts electrically insulated from each other, or two thin projecting metal electrodes about an inch apart, at an end of a shaft containing the batteries and mechanism. At the other end of the shaft are a handle and a switch. Both electrodes must touch the subject. In some types the sides of the baton can be electrified to stop the subject from grasping the baton above the electrodes. They are often carried in a sheath slung on a belt. Some such devices are available disguised as other objects, such as umbrellas or cell-phones or pens. Sometimes they have an option to make a noisy visible electric arc between the electrodes, to warn potential victims.

Some models are built into long flashlights also designed to administer an electric shock with its lit end's metal surround (which is split into halves insulated from each other).

In the beginning police used electric cattle prods for this purpose.

Taser

The M-26 TASER, the United States military version of a commercial TASER.

The trademarked name Taser is an acronym for "Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle". Arizona inventor Jack Cover designed it in 1969 and named it for the science fiction teenage inventor and adventurer character Tom Swift.

Modern taser-type weapons fire small dart-like electrodes with attached metal wires that connect to the gun, propelled by small gas charges similar to some air rifle propellants. The maximum range is 10 meters (30 feet). Earlier models of Taser needed the dart-like electrodes to embed in the skin and superficial muscle tissues layers; newer versions of the projectiles use a shaped pulse/arc of electricity which disrupt nerve and muscle function without needing the metal prongs on the projectile to penetrate the skin. Early models had difficulty in penetrating thick clothing, but the 'pulse' models are designed to bring down a subject wearing up to a Level III body armor vest.

Tasers are currently in use by a number of police forces worldwide to try to reduce firearms-related deaths. The Phoenix Police Department reported that officer shootings had dropped as a result from the use of TASER technology as an alternative to deadly force. Taser use in this department increased from 71 in the year 2002 to 164 in the year 2003. Additionally, the number of officer-involved shootings decreased by seven during this time period. In Houston, however, police shootings did not decline after the deployment of thousands of tasers.

Although tasers were originally proposed as alternatives to lethal force, they have entered routine use as a method to gain compliance at times when the use of firearms would not be considered. For example, in the case of Fouad Kaady, a severely burned and bloodied man sitting in the middle of the road, was ordered to lie down on his stomach to be handcuffed, and within a few seconds was TASERed twice for failing to comply. An inquiry found that officers acted appropriately in this case. In another well-publicized case at the University of Florida, Andrew Meyer was tasered while allegedly resisting arrest in an incident during a John Kerry speech during UF's Constitution Day Forum.

While they are not technically considered lethal, some authorities and non-governmental organizations question both the degree of safety presented by the weapon and the ethical implications of using a weapon that some, such as Amnesty International, allege is inhumane. Consequently, Amnesty and other civil liberties organizations have argued that a moratorium should be placed on taser use until research can determine a way for them to be safely used. Amnesty International has documented over 245 deaths that occurred after the use of tasers. Police sources question whether the taser was the actual cause of death in those cases as many of the deaths occurred in people with serious medical conditions and/or severe drug intoxication, often to the point of excited delirium. Critics of taser use, however, argue that "excited delirium" is not a valid medical term and is not listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Tasers are often used as an alternative to attacking the suspect with a baton or shooting him with firearms, both of which have a much higher chance of serious injury and death than the taser, even using the highest estimates of possible taser-related deaths. The term "less-lethal" is being used more frequently when referring to weapons such as tasers because many experts feel that no device meant to subdue a person can be completely safe. The less-lethal category also includes devices such as pepper spray, tear gas, and batons. There has been one case report in the medical literature of a person suffering spinal fractures after being shocked by a taser. The US National Institute of Justice has begun a two-year study into taser-related deaths in custody.

Tasers were introduced as a less-lethal weapon so that they could be used by police to subdue fleeing, belligerent or potentially dangerous criminal suspects, often when a lethal weapon would have otherwise been used. However, tasers have not proved to unequivocally reduce gun usage. For example, the Houston Police Department has “shot, wounded and killed as many people as before the widespread use of the stun guns” and has used tasers in situations that would not warrant lethal or violent force, such as verbal aggression.

On Tuesday, 5 July 2005 Michael Todd, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, England, let himself be shot in the back with a taser, to demonstrate his confidence that tasers can be used safely. This was videoed, and the video was released to the BBC on 17 May 2007. He was wearing a shirt and no jacket. When tased he fell forward on his chest on the ground, and (he said afterwards) the shock made him helpless; but soon after he recovered completely.

Although tests on police and military volunteers have shown tasers to function appropriately on a healthy, calm individual in a relaxed and controlled environmnent, the real-life target of a taser is, if not mentally or physically unsound, in a state of high stress and in the midst of a confrontation. According to the UK’s Defence Scientific Advisory Council’s subcommittee on the Medical Implications of Less-lethal Weapons (DoMILL), “The possibility that other factors such as illicit drug intoxication, alcohol abuse, pre-existing heart disease and cardioactive therapeutic drugs may modify the threshold for generation of cardiac arrhythmias cannot be excluded.” Additionally, taser experiments “do not take into account real life use of tasers by law enforcement agencies, such as repeated or prolonged shocks and the use of restraints”.

Drive Stun

Some TASER devices, particularly those used by police departments, also have a "Drive Stun" capability, where the taser is held against the target without firing barbs and is intended to cause pain without incapacitating the target. TASER defines "Drive Stun" as "the process of using the EMD weapon as a pain compliance technique. This is done by activating the EMD and placing it against an individual’s body. This can be done without an air cartridge in place or after an air cartridge has been deployed.".

A Las Vegas police document says "The Drive Stun causes significant localized pain in the area touched by the TASER but does not have a significant effect on the central nervous system. The Drive Stun does not incapacitate a subject but may assist in taking a subject into custody." Video footage of the "Drive Stun" has been captured in the UCLA Taser incident and the University of Florida Taser incident.

It is also known as "dry taseing", "contact tasing", or "drive taseing".

Wireless long-range electric shock weapon

This weapon fires a projectile which administers an electric shock without needing a connecting wire. See TASER International.

Stun belts

A stun belt is a belt that is fastened around the subject's waist or leg or arm which carries a battery and control pack and contains features to stop the subject from unfastening or removing it. A remote control signal is sent to tell the battery pack to give the subject an electric shock. Some models are activated by the subject's movement.

The United States uses these devices to control prisoners. One type is the REACT belt. Some stun belts can restrain the subject's hands and have a strap going under the subject's crotch to stop him from rotating the belt around the subject's waist trying to deactivate it. Stun belts are not generally available to the public.

Home-made electroshock weapons

As the mechanisms of tasers are not very advanced, some people with basic knowledge of electronics have been able to build homemade tasers or electric shock prods. There has been at least one case of students using improvised electric shock prods in a school. In March 2005, several high school students in Maine faced charges when another student reported that they had been playing with improvised electric shock prods and testing them on themselves and fellow students. The devices were made from disposable cameras with a 330-volt electric potential difference, which, while not strong enough to cause severe injury, could (some claim) be fatal to someone with a condition such as heart arrhythmia.

Prototype designs

Due to increased interest in developing less-lethal weapons, mainly from the US military, a number of new types of electroshock weapon are being researched. They are designed to provide a "ranged" non-lethal weapon.

Weapons that administer electric shock through a stream of fluid

Prototype electroshock guns exist which replace the solid wire with a stream of conductive liquid (e.g., an electrolyte) which offers the range of a Taser (or better) and the possibility of multiple shots. See Electrified water cannon. Difficulties associated with this experimental design include:

• “Non-continuous” discharge onto subject: liquid stream needs over 30 feet and over 5 second discharge.
• “Pooling” of conductive liquid at base of subject, making apprehension of subject difficult by observing officers.
• Need to carry a large tank of the liquid used, and a propellant canister, like a “water gun”, to administer consecutive bursts of liquid over distances.

Another design, announced by Rheinmetall W&M as a prototype in 2003, uses an aerosol as the conductive medium. The manufacturers called it a "Plasma Taser"; however, this is only a marketing name, and the weapon does not use plasma. Problems associated with this design include:

• Poor electrical conductivity.
• Range of concept design is nominal (a gas cannot be propelled greater than 10 feet effectively).
• The “gassing effect”: all subjects in enclosed spaces are subjected to same effects (if any, as electrical conductivity can be poor).

Electrolaser

Other known or rumored variants include the electrolaser, which uses blooming of a laser beam to create a conductive channel of ionized air (plasma) to carry the electric shock.

Patents

• U.S. patent 8,843 - Electric whaling apparatus - 1852 patent by Albert Sonnenburg and Philipp Rechten
• U.S. patent 2,805,067 - Electric weapon - 1957 patent by Thomas D. Ryan
• U.S. patent 5,103,366 - Electrical stun guns and electrically conductive liquids - 1989 patent by Gregory Battochi

Controversies

Main article: Electroshock weapon controversy

Because of the use of electricity and the claim of the weapon being non-lethal, controversy has sprouted over particular incidents involving the weapon and the use of the weapon in general. Generally, controversy has been centered around the justification of the use of the weapon in certain instances, and in some cases, health issues that are claimed to be due to the use of the weapon.

In independent reviews, the devices are usually verified as non-lethal, but the manufactures instructions and disclaimers often warn of possible fatalities.

Doubts over their effectiveness as self-defense weapons

Although these devices are usually advertised as very effective "personal defense" weapons, many security operators and martial arts experts have expressed doubt about their effectiveness against determined and physically strong aggressors in a real melee combat situation and their value as a defense weapon in general.

They claim that electroshock weapons need much more continuous and uninterrupted contact time with one's intended target than usually advertised, well above 5 seconds, to stop a determined assailant effectively, and that much time can be impossible to achieve against a physically superior or better trained opponent in close unarmed combat. They claim that in such an event, the likely outcome would probably be merely irritating the assailant and having the electroshock weapon broken, taken away, or used against oneself for retaliation, after giving its intended user a false sense of security and power.

External links

• University of Florida student Andrew Meyer is Tasered and arrested after causing a disturbance at a town hall forum, which featured Senator John Kerry, at the UF Auditorium on Sept. 17, 2007.
• TASER International homepage
• Electrical stun weapons: alternative to lethal force or a compliance tool?, University of Bradford, UK.
• How Stuff Works - Stun Guns
• Stun Gun/Baton Information
• Louisville, Ky., police Taser incident database
• The Physical Effects of Electroshock Weapons
• Graphic video showing the tasering and death of Robert Dziekanski