Taser - How It Works - Is It Safe?

Tasers are in the news now more than ever. Despite the sensationalistic slant, Tasers are now the preferred non-lethal instrument for law enforcement and concerned citizens to subdue unruly and aggressive individuals.

A Taser is a type of stun gun. Despite some news media confusion, a stun gun is not usually a Taser. A Taser must contain two attached electrodes that require clothing or skin contact..

Although a prototype electrical device similar to the Taser was invented in 1969, it wasn't until the 1990s that the company Air Taser was born. Early customers were citizens concerned about personal safety. When Taser changed its name in 1998 to Taser International they began to market their devices to law enforcement. The timing was right. Law enforcement had been seeking an effective alternative to lethal force to subdue disturbed perpetrators.

How They Work

The Taser (sometimes called "Air Taser") is a specialized stun gun. Once the gun is fired, compressed nitrogen sends out two darts each attached to 15 feet of fine wire. These probes attach to the subject's clothing while 50,000 volts travel down the wires. The subject is incapacitated and goes down immediately. Because the amperage is low, no permanent damage is done and the effects are temporary. A threatening or out-of-control individual is subdued without lethal force. Taser International, the maker of the trademarked "Taser" claims near 100% effectiveness.

Tasers, like all stun guns, use a high voltage, low amperage electrical signal that when administered causes the complete loss of neuro-muscular control. Taser's EMD (Electro Muscular Disruption) weapons use a more powerful 18 to 26 watt electrical signal to completely override the central nervous system and directly control the skeletal muscles.

The Taser uses a timing mechanism to deliver the jolt. The Air Taser releases an electric current in a pre-set time sequence (an initial seven seconds followed by several 1.8 second breaks for a total time of about 30 seconds in each cycle). This cycle ensures that the nervous system of the target does not recover instantly to allow him to remove the probes.

Taser Effects

This EMD effect causes an uncontrollable contraction of the muscle tissue, allowing the gun to physically debilitate a target regardless of pain tolerance or mental focus. Rather than simply interfering with communication between the brain and muscles, the Advanced Taser EMD systems directly tell the muscles what to do: contract until the target is in a docile position on the ground.

A person hit with an Advanced Taser will feel dazed for several minutes. The pulsating electrical output causes involuntary muscle contractions and a resulting sense of vertigo. It can momentarily stun or render an attacker unconscious. Yet, the Taser's low electrical amperage and short duration of pulsating current ensures a non-lethal charge. Moreover, it does not cause permanent damage or long-term after-effects to muscles, nerves or other body functions. A January 1987 Annals of Emergency Medicine study reported TASER technology leaves no long term injuries compared with 50% long term injuries for gun shot injuries.

Are Tasers Safe?

There is a plethora of information concerning Taser safety both scientific and anecdotal. In summary, most studies conclude that the Taser's effects are temporary with no ill after-effects. Those deaths that have occured after the administration of the Taser have been due to pre-existing medical conditions, high drug intake or, in some case, over-administration.

Police are generally enthusiastic about the results of Taser. Florida Orange County Sheriffs Department reported a 80% reduction of injuries to sheriffs in 2002, the first year of Taser use. The Phoenix police department reported a 67% reduction in suspect injuries in 2004 and attributed the results to Taser use. In South Bend, Indiana, officer injuries were down by 67% in the last half of 2003 compared to no Taser use in the first half.

Taser claims that 10,000 police agencies in over 40 countries now use and depend upon the device. They have been used over 500,000 times, saving lives by subduing dangerous individuals so they can be apprehended. The typical police response is that Tasers save lives. It prevents "last resort" lethal firearms from being used too early and too often.

It's a fact--Tasers work, clear and simple. Independent medical studies studies show they are safe when used correctly. The Air Taser is non-destructive to nerves, muscles and other body elements. Unlike regular stun guns that require actual contact with an assailant, Tasers can be fired up to 15 feet away. As with all self-defense products, the user must exercise sound judgment in their use and application.