Taser
This enormous rush of current into the body produces effects ranging from localized pain to strong involuntary long muscle contractions, causing "neuromuscular incapacitation" (NMI), based on the mode of use (tasing frequency and environmental factors) and connectivity of the darts.
[3] In the United States, TASERs are marketed as less-lethal (as opposed to non-lethal), since the possibility of serious injury or death still exists whenever the weapon is deployed.
A United States patent by Kunio Shimizu titled "Arrest device" filed in 1966 describes an electrical discharge gun with a projectile connected to a wire with a pair of electrode needles for skin attachment.
[12][13] Former TASER International CEO Patrick Smith testified in a 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".
[15][16] In 1993, Rick Smith and his brother Thomas founded the original company, TASER,[17] and began to investigate what they called "safer use of force option[s] for citizens and law enforcement".
The effects of a TASER device may only be localized pain or strong involuntary long muscle contractions, based on the mode of use, connectivity and location of the darts on the body.
The original TASER device probes unspool the wire from the cartridge, causing a yaw effect before the dart stabilizes,[29] which made it difficult to penetrate thick clothing.
[34] A typical TASER device can operate with a peak voltage of 50 kilovolts (1200 Volts to the body), an electric current of 1.9 milliamps, at for example 19 100 microsecond pulses per second.
[36] As of September 30, 2024, Axon has three main models of TASER conducted electrical weapons (CEWs) available for law enforcement use but not necessarily civilian use.
Civilians, however, have access to the TASER Pulse, which runs at a 30 second cycle once fired to allow the victim the opportunity to escape.
"[43][44][45] A 2012 study published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation found that Tasers can cause "ventricular arrhythmias, sudden cardiac arrest and even death".
The guidelines state "Using the CEW to achieve pain compliance may have limited effectiveness and, when used repeatedly, may even exacerbate the situation by inducing rage in the subject."
A study of U.S. police and sheriff departments found that 29.6% of the jurisdictions allowed the use of Drive Stun for gaining compliance in a passive resistance arrest scenario, with no physical contact between the officer and the subject.
Amnesty International has expressed particular concern about Drive Stun, noting that "the potential to use TASERs in drive-stun mode—where they are used as 'pain compliance' tools when individuals are already effectively in custody—and the capacity to inflict multiple and prolonged shocks, renders the weapons inherently open to abuse.
Some of the deaths associated with TASER devices have been blamed on excited delirium, a controversial medical diagnosis that supposedly involves extreme agitation and aggressiveness.
It has typically been diagnosed postmortem in young adult black males who were physically restrained by law enforcement at the time of death.
[57][61] Excited delirium is associated with sudden death (usually via cardiac or respiratory arrest), particularly following the use of physical control measures, including police restraint and TASER devices.
[64][65] Excited delirium has been listed as a cause of death by some medical examiners for several years,[66][67] mainly as a diagnosis of exclusion established on autopsy.
[57] Additionally, academic discussion of excited delirium has been largely confined to forensic science literature, providing limited documentation about patients that survive the condition.
[86] Under the Firearm and Sword Possession Control Law, import, carrying, purchase and use of stun guns or tasers is prohibited in Japan.
[87] Any electroshock weapon, including stun guns and tasers, with amperage under 10 mA can be purchased by anyone over the age of 18 without permit or background checks.
150 "On Weapons" of the Russian Federation it's illegal to import and subsequent sale of any foreign stun devices or tasers into the country.
[97] In 2004, the parents of a 6-year-old boy in Miami sued the Miami-Dade County Police department for firing a Taser device at their child.
The Miami-Dade County Police reported that the girl had started to run into traffic and that the Taser device was deployed to stop her from being hit by cars or causing an automobile accident.
[99] In March 2009, a 15-year-old boy in Michigan died from alcohol-induced excited delirium coupled with application of an electromuscular disruption device.
Critics also suggest that using a Taser conducted electrical weapon on a minor, particularly a young child, is effectively cruel and abusive punishment, or unnecessary.
[102][103][104][105] In May 2023, in Cooma, NSW, Australia, police tasered a 95-yr old dementia patient from less than 2 m (6.6 ft) away after apparently giving up on negotiations with her to drop the knife she was holding.
Her Estate sued the NSW Government, and, in April 2024, the accused & suspended police officer plead not guilty to manslaughter & remains free on bail awaiting trial.
[108] In January 2023, Los Angeles Police Department officers tasered a teacher at least 6 times resulting in the man's death.
Once training operations were eliminated, the review found 611 incidents that lasted at least 15 seconds (the maximum shock duration per encounter recommended under national standards).
