Many law enforcement agencies around the world are using tasers. (Tasers are also called stun guns) They are certainly used by the police in Orlando, where I live. Instead of shooting or injuring a victim with bullets, the Taser delivers a 50,000-volt electrical shock to a lawbreaker that overrides one’s central nervous system. This causes uncontrollable contractions of muscle tissue and instant collapse. This is known as non-lethal force.
Some time ago I was invited by the Orlando Chapter of Amnesty International to conduct research and give a speech to the group on the pros and cons of taser use. During the same time period, I was serving on Florida State Senator Gary Siplin’s Commission on the Use of Lethal Force by Law Enforcement and had the opportunity to witness live demonstrations of Taser use by members of the Orlando Police Department.
You may be interested in learning about some of the data on Taser that I got from my research for that speech.
First, where does the name Taser derive from? The inventor of the Taser took its name from a 1911 boy’s adventure story by author Victor Appleton. Appleton wrote a science fiction story about a young crime fighter who frustrated criminals by incapacitating them with an electric rifle that he had invented. The name of that young crime fighter in the story was Thomas A. Swift. The name of the story was titled: Thomas A. Swift and his electric rifle. The modern inventor of the first true electric stun gun named his invention by the initials in history: TASER!
The company that makes and markets Taser is an Arizona corporation called Taser International. The company sells several models of Taser, in 1994 they released the first called “Air Taser”, in 1998 they introduced the “M26” model and in 2003 they released the “X26”. These high powered Tasers are the new fad in law enforcement. The police claim that the use of tasers reduces injuries to the police and the public. Police also maintain that the Taser is a tool to be used in conjunction with other types of non-lethal force.
However, doctors, reporters and human rights groups argue that the use of the Taser raises serious security concerns. Several citizens have died after being subjected to Taseres. Spokesmen for Taser International do not agree that the Taser is a dangerous weapon. When Tase is applied to a human being, their body is subjected to a 50,000 volt shock that is designed to override the target’s central nervous system, causing muscle tissue contractions that cause an instant collapse. The company maintains that the jolt will physically weaken a target of their pain tolerance or mental focus. The Taser is said to “directly tell the muscles what to do: contract until the target is in the fetal position on the ground.” The company further maintains that there are no residual effects on the body after undergoing a Tase.
My research revealed that since 2001, at least 70 people are reported to have died in the United States and Canada after receiving a shock with the M26 or X26 models. Twelve of the deaths occurred in Florida. Four of those deaths occurred in Orange County, where I live. Coroners who have commented on the deaths generally attribute such deaths to other factors, such as simultaneous drug intoxication when a Tase is applied. Other medical experts question whether tasers can exacerbate the risk of heart failure. Some scientists argue that electricity near the heart can be dangerous because it can cause ventricular fibrillation. Still, other scientists suggest or speculate that excess potassium, produced when muscles contract violently, may be a key ingredient in deaths associated with the device. In essence, no one knows for sure whether the Taser alone can cause death.
Despite the deaths, more than 6,000 law enforcement and correctional agencies in 49 states are deploying or testing Taser equipment. My research also revealed that several states that previously banned all stun guns have recently changed their law to allow local and state police to use Tasers. Tasers are now used by campus police on many college campuses. Tasers were used by the United States Army during the Iraq War and are still being used by the military at Guantanamo Bay. Tasers have been purchased or tested by the police or military in Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Mexico, Spain, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Forty-three states impose little or no restrictions on the possession of such stun weapons by the public in self-defense. However, price can be an impediment to purchasing a Taser for personal use. The price of the Air Taser is $ 399.95; the M26 model costs $ 699.00 and the X26 is advertised at $ 999.00.
Local law enforcement agencies in Florida were among the first agencies to adopt new generations of Tasers on a large scale. The Orlando Sentinel newspaper reported in March 2005 that police had used tasers against 24 students in the previous 18 months. An Amnesty International report states that tasers are used against unarmed suspects in 80% of all non-lethal weapons cases; Tasers were used in 36% of cases for verbal noncompliance by suspects, but they were only used in 3% of cases of fatal assault.
According to information released to the media in 2007 by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office when I was conducting my investigation, 700 officers in the 1,318-man force were armed with Tasers and the department had just ordered 125 more Tasers. . The following year it was reported that Orange County officers made 45,033 arrests and used Tasers 464 times, including against 14 suspects who were so aggressive that the law would have allowed the use of deadly force.
The Orlando Police Department has a strict policy on the use of Tasers and prohibits the use of Tasers unless a suspect is actively resisting a police officer. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office requires each officer to receive eight hours of annual Taser training, an increase from the four hours initially used by the office. This will allow 6,000 hours per year of training for Orange County Sheriff’s deputies.
Critics of Taser use, such as Amnesty International, have called on all federal, state and local authorities to suspend the use of Tasers and other stun guns pending an urgent rigorous, independent and impartial investigation into their use and effects.
There has been no such suspension and it appears that tasers are here to stay.
