Let’s start at the beginning. A Taser is a pistol-like weapon that uses high voltage to incapacitate people. You can learn about the Taser X-26 here. Here is what it looks like when you shoot a Taser at a bull:

And when you shoot a Taser at a person:

(Read more about this taser incident here: This time, no Taser involved)

Tasers are supposed to be non-lethal. The problem is, people sometimes die after a Tasering. Amnesty International reports over 200 Taser-related deaths. The question is, does the Taser cause the death, or are these deaths coincidental? A recent study addresses this question:

Study Suggests Taser Use By US Police Is Safe

According to the article:

A US study of the nationwide use of Tasers, the electrical stun guns used by the police, suggests the devices are safe and cause only a low incidence of serious injuries….

The research examined nearly 1,000 cases of Taser use, and found 99.7 per cent of them had either no injuries, or only mild injuries such as “scrapes and bruises”. In 0.3 per cent of the cases (3 people) the injuries were serious enough to require hospital admission. Two had head injuries sustained during falls after the Taser was used and the third was hospitalized two days after arrest with a condition “of unclear relationship to the Taser” said the researchers in a prepared statement.

This article discusses a possible cause of death called excited delirium:

Little evidence to prove that Tasers directly cause death

From the article:

When someone dies after being stunned with a Taser, people are often quick to blame the death on the weapon.

Officially, however, a Taser is almost never ruled the cause of death.

Last week, Sangamon County Coroner Susan Boone said A. Paul Carlock, 57, the former policeman, clown and day-care worker who was in jail awaiting trial on sex tourism and child pornography charges, had an existing heart condition and that his death was natural – even though Carlock started to show symptoms of stress only moments after he was Tasered.

If you are interested in learning more about the history and technology of Tasers, this is a good article:

Stunning Revelations – The untold story of Taser-related deaths

It contains a number of interesting statistics:

1) “In the past eight years, more than 184,000 Tasers have been sold to law enforcement agencies, with another 115,000 to citizens in the 43 states where it is legal to possess a stun gun.”

2) “In 2001, Amnesty International documented three Taser-associated deaths. The number has steadily increased each year, peaking at 61 in 2005. So far almost 50 deaths have occurred in 2006, for an approximate total of 200 deaths in the last five years.”

3) “Last year, with 40 new lawsuits filed against it, Taser dedicated $7 million in its budget to defending the company’s reputation and ‘brand equity.’”

We’ll let Taser have the last word:

Why do certain anti-police groups blame TASER for injuries or death

And Taser keeps expanding its product line. Here is a video on its XREP product – a shotgun-fired Taser weapon:

XREP Demo

For more info see: How Stun Guns Work

[See previous GQ]