Taser

For the company, see TASER International. For controversies related to the use of Tasers, see Taser controversy.

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

A Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses Electro-Muscular Disruption (EMD) technology to cause Neuromuscular Incapacitation or NMI and strong muscle contractions through the involuntary stimulation of both the sensory nerves and the motor nerves. The Taser is not dependent on pain compliance making it highly effective on subjects with high pain tolerance. For this reason it is preferred by law enforcement over traditional stun guns and other electronic control weapons. Currently there are two main police models, the M26 and X26. Both come with various accessories, including a laser sight and mounted digital video camera that can record in low-light situations. Taser International is also marketing a civilian model called the C2 model.

Tasers were introduced as less-lethal weapons to be used by police to subdue fleeing, belligerent, or potentially dangerous subjects, often when what they consider to be a more lethal weapon would have otherwise been used. The use of Tasers has become controversial following instances of Taser use which have resulted in injury and death.

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Name

The Taser is named after a fictional weapon: Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle. Taser is a registered tradename. It has prompted a backformed verb "to tase" which means "to use a Taser on".

History

Jack Cover, a NASA researcher, began developing the Taser in 1969. By 1974, Cover had completed the device, which he named for his childhood hero Tom Swift. This version used gunpowder as a propellant, which led the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to classify it as a firearm. In 1991, a Taser supplied by Tasertron to the Los Angeles Police Department failed to subdue Rodney King. Its lack of effectiveness was blamed on a faulty battery.

Taser International CEO Rick Smith has testified in Taser-related lawsuit that the catalyst for the development of the device was the "shooting death of two of his high school acquaintances" by a "guy with a legally licensed gun who lost his temper." In 1993, Rick Smith and his brother Tim began to investigate what they called "safer use of force option[s] for citizens and law enforcement." At their Scottsdale, Arizona facilities, the brothers worked with the "... original TASER inventor, Jack Cover" to develop a "non-firearm TASER electronic control device." The 1994 AIR TASER Model 34000 had an "anti-felon identification (AFID) system" to prevent the likelihood that the device would be used by criminals; upon use, it released many small pieces of paper containing the serial number of the Taser device. The US firearms regulator, the ATF, stated that the AIR TASER was not a firearm In 1999, Taser International developed an "ergonomically handgun shaped device called the ADVANCED TASER M-series systems" which used a "patented neuromuscular incapacitation (NMI) technology." In May 2003, Taser International released a new weapon called the TASER X26, which used "Shaped Pulse Technology."

The use of the Taser has come under scrutiny in Canada following national media coverage of the 2007 Robert Dziekański Taser incident in which a Polish immigrant died after being tased by Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Vancouver's airport. As a result several official reviews of Taser safety are underway in Canada and two police forces have put large orders of the device on hold.

See also: Braidwood Inquiry

Function

A Taser fires two small dart-like electrodes, connected to the main unit by conductive wire and propelled by small compressed nitrogen charges similar to some air gun or paintball marker propellants. The air cartridge contains a pair of electrodes and propellant for a single shot and is replaced after each use. There are a number of cartridges designated by range, with the maximum at 35 feet (10.6 meters). Cartridges available to non-law enforcement consumers are limited to 15 feet (4.5 meters). The electrodes are pointed to penetrate clothing and barbed to prevent removal once in place. Earlier Taser models required the electrodes' barbs to penetrate the skin, but newer versions (X26, C2) use a "shaped pulse" that increases effectiveness in the presence of barriers. 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.

Drive Stun

A Taser, with cartridge removed, making an electric arc between its two electrodes

Some Taser models, particularly those used by police departments, also have a "Drive Stun" capability, where the Taser is held against the target without firing the projectiles, and is intended to cause pain without incapacitating the target. Taser defines "Drive Stun" as "the process of using the EMD weapon [Taser] 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." "Drive Stun" was used in the UCLA Taser incident and the University of Florida Taser incident.

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

TASER CAM™

File:Tasercamlowres.jpg

A TASER CAM™ fitted to a TASER X26.

The TASER CAM™ is a specialised device designed for TASER X26 stun guns to record audio and video when ever the device is armed for use, or when the TASER X26's safety is in the OFF position. The design of the TASER CAM allows for the camera to be fitted to the device without interfering with the device itself (and as stated by the manufacturer: does not change any of the functions of the X26) and cannot be detached and allow the TASER X26 to operate at the same time, as the camera is directly integrated into a TASER Digital Power Magazine or DPM (battery). The camera itself records video at 320x240 QVGA resolution at 10 frames per second and is compressed into the MPEG-4 format, and will also record audio but specifications have not been given. The camera is capable of about one hour and thirty minutes of record time, and can also record in no-light conditions with it's in-built infra-red illuminator.

Users

Tasers are currently in use by many police forces to immobilize or restrain a person or animal and to inflict pain without the disadvantages of firearm-caused injuries and deaths. The Phoenix Police Department reported that officer shootings had dropped due to 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. In addition, 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.

According to the analysis of the first 900 police Taser incidents by the Houston Chronicle, no crime was being committed and no person was charged in 350 of those cases. In addition, it has been reported that 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 "traffic stops, disturbance and nuisance complaints, and reports of suspicious people." In Portland, Oregon, meanwhile, police found that 25 to 30 percent of the situations in which a Taser was employed met the criteria for the use of deadly force.

Although Tasers were originally proposed as alternatives to lethal force, they have entered routine use as a way to incapacitate suspects or as a "pain compliance" method at times when the use of firearms would not be justifiable. The American Civil Liberties Union alleges that, since 1999, at least 148 people have died in the United States and Canada after being shocked with Tasers by police officers. Police departments counter that while Tasers were used to subdue these individuals, their in-custody deaths were un-related to their encounter, and could have likely been caused by more traditional police impact weapons (like batons).

A recent development has included marketing Tasers to the general public. A line of pink tasers are specifically being targeted to women. The Taser website states "Who says safety can't be stylish?" in reference to its "latest designer TASER C2 colors" and patterns, which include zebra stripe-style patterns and a range of colors.

Taser devices are not considered firearms by the U.S. government. They can be legally carried (concealed or open) without a permit in 43 states. They are prohibited for citizen use in the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, and Wisconsin, as well as in certain cities and counties. Their use in Connecticut and Illinois is legal with restrictions.

Safety concerns

Main article: Taser controversy § Safety

Taser International claims that Tasers are safe, but critics disagree, citing the number of deaths occurring after Taser use. Amnesty International has documented over 245 deaths that occurred after the use of Tasers. Amnesty International Canada 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.

Studies

A study by the Potomac Institute concluded; "Based on the available evidence, and on accepted criteria for defining product risk vs. efficacy, we believe that when stun technology is appropriately applied, it is relatively safe and clearly effective. The only known field data that are available suggest that the odds are, at worst, one in one thousand that a stun device would contribute to (and this does not imply “cause”) death. This figure is likely not different than the odds of death when stun devices are not used, but when other multiple force measures are. A more defensible figure is one in one hundred thousand."

According to a study presented at the Heart Rhythm Society's 2007 Scientific Sessions, Tasers may present risks to subjects with implanted pacemakers. However, a study conducted by the Cleveland Clinic in 2007 on a single animal determined that, a standard five-second TASER X26 application "does not affect the short-term functional integrity of implantable pacemakers and defibrillators... The long-term effects were not assessed."

A Chicago study suggests that use of the Taser can interfere with heart function. A team of scientists and doctors at the Cook County hospital trauma center stunned 6 pigs with two 40-second Taser discharges across the chest. Every animal was left with heart rhythm problems and two of the subjects died of cardiac arrest. One of the subjects died three minutes after being shot indicating, according to researcher Bob Walker, that "after the Taser shock ends, there can still be effects that can be evoked and you can still see cardiac effects."

The US National Institute of Justice has begun a two-year study into taser-related deaths in custody.

Tests

On 5 July 2005 Michael Todd, then 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 onto 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 environment, 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.” In addition, 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".

Police officers in at least five US states have filed lawsuits against Taser International claiming they suffered serious injuries after being shocked with the device during training classes.

"Excited delirium"

Main article: Excited delirium

Taser and its supporters in the police community regularly attribute the cause of deaths that follow Tasering to "excited delirium", a phenomenon in which agitated or disturbed individuals being apprehended by police respond in an irrational, bizarre and hyperactive manner. Critics argue that as this alleged condition only exists in relationship to being apprehended by police its existence is dubious. Grame Norton, director of the public safety project of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association argues that "Anytime you see a specific condition being referenced in only one context it raises serious question." Other critics assert that the term is used to mask police brutality. While the term "excited delirium" has been accepted by the National Association of Medical Examiners in the United States it has been rejected by the American Medical Association while the Canadian Medical Association Journal dismisses it as a "pop culture phenomenon". The condition is not recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Police psychologist Mike Webster testified at a British Columbia inquiry into Taser deaths that police have been "brainwashed" by Taser International to justify "ridiculously inappropriate" use of the electronic weapon. He called "excited delirium" a "dubious disorder" used by Taser International in its training of police. Webster criticized Taser International applying the notion of “excited delirium” and referring to it in its training of police “as if it's an actual existing disorder.”

Criticism

Main article: Taser controversy

While their intended purpose is to circumvent the use of lethal force such as guns, the actual deployment of Tasers by police in the years since Tasers came into widespread use is claimed to have resulted in more than 180 deaths as of 2006. It is still unclear whether the Taser was directly responsible for the cause of death, but several legislators in the U.S. have filed bills clamping down on them and requesting more studies on their effects. Despite the growing controversy, a study funded by the U.S. Justice Department asserted that majority of people tasered from July 2005 to June 2007 suffered no injury. A study led by William Bozeman, of the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, of nearly 1,000 persons subjected to Taser use, concluded that 99.7% of the subjects had either minor injuries, such as scrapes and bruises, or none at all; while three persons suffered injuries severe enough to need hospital admission, and two other subjects died. Their autopsy reports indicated neither death was related to the use of a Taser.

The head of the U.S. southern regional office of Amnesty International, Jared Feuer, reported that 277 people in the United States have died after being shocked by a Taser between June 2001 and October 2007, which has already been documented. He also noted that about 80% of those, on whom a Taser was used by U.S. police, were unarmed. "Tasers interfere with a basic equation, which is that force must always be proportional to the threat," Feuer said. "They are being used in a situation where a firearm or even a baton would never be justified." A spokesperson for Taser International asserted that if a person dies from a "tasering" it is instantaneous and not days later. Taser International announced that it is "transmitting over 60 legal demand letters requiring correction of... false and misleading headlines."

External links

• TASER International homepage
• Louisville, Ky., police Taser incident database
• Effect of the latest TASER products as shown on HEXUS.tv and CNN