Taser

Taser (stylized in all caps) is a line of handheld conducted energy devices (CED) sold by Axon Enterprise (formerly Taser International). The device fires multiple small barbed darts intended to puncture the skin and remain attached to the target until removed by the user of the device. The darts are connected to the main unit by thin wires that achieve a high dielectric strength and durability given the extremely high-voltage electric current they conduct (typically 50,000 volts, or 2,000 volts under load), which can be delivered in short-duration pulses from a core of copper wire in the main unit. This enormous rush of voltage 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. When successfully used, the target is said to have been "tasered" or "tased". The first Taser conducted energy weapon was introduced in 1993 as a less-lethal option for police to use to subdue belligerent or fleeing suspects, who might otherwise need to be subdued with more lethal means such as firearms. , over 15,000 law enforcement and military agencies around the world used Tasers as part of their use of force continuum.…

Taser (stylized in all caps) is a line of handheld conducted energy devices (CED) sold by Axon Enterprise (formerly Taser International). The device fires multiple small barbed darts intended to puncture the skin and remain attached to the target until removed by the user of the device. The darts are connected to the main unit by thin wires that achieve a high dielectric strength and durability given the extremely high-voltage electric current they conduct (typically 50,000 volts, or 2,000 volts under load), which can be delivered in short-duration pulses from a core of copper wire in the main unit. This enormous rush of voltage 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. When successfully used, the target is said to have been "tasered" or "tased". The first Taser conducted energy weapon was introduced in 1993 as a less-lethal option for police to use to subdue belligerent or fleeing suspects, who might otherwise need to be subdued with more lethal means such as firearms. , over 15,000 law enforcement and military agencies around the world used Tasers as part of their use of force continuum. 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. At least 49 people died in 2018¹ after being shocked by police with a Taser. Personal-use Tasers are marketed in the US but prohibited in Canada, where there is a categorical ban on all conducted energy weapons such as stun guns and Tasers, except for use by law enforcement. A 2009 report by the Police Executive Research Forum in the United States found that police officer injuries dropped by 76% in large law enforcement agencies that deployed Taser devices in the first decade of the 21st century compared with those that did not use them at all. Axon and its CEO Rick Smith have claimed that unspecified "police surveys" show that the device has "saved 75,000 lives through 2011¹". == Drive Stun capability == Some Taser device models, particularly those used by police departments, also have a "Drive Stun" capability, where the Taser device is held against the target without firing the projectiles, and is intended to cause pain without incapacitating the target. "Drive Stun" is "the process of using the EMD (Electro Muscular Disruption) weapon as a pain compliance technique. This is done by activating the Taser [device] 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." Guidelines released in 2011 by the U.S. Department of Justice recommend that use of Drive Stun as a pain compliance technique be avoided. The guidelines were issued by a joint committee of the Police Executive Research Forum and the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. 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. For a scenario that also includes non-violent physical contact, this number is 65.2%. A Las Vegas police document says "The Drive Stun causes significant localized pain in the area touched by the Taser [CEW], 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." The UCLA Taser incident and the University of Florida Taser incident involved university police officers using their Taser device's "Drive Stun" capability (referred to as a "contact tase" in the University of Florida Offense Report). 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." == Excited delirium syndrome== Some of the deaths associated with Taser devices have been blamed on excited delirium, a controversial pseudoscientific 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. The diagnosis was supported only by the American College of Emergency Physicians from 2009 to 2023 and the National Association of Medical Examiners until 2023. Excited delirium is thought to involve delirium, psychomotor agitation, anxiety, hallucinations, speech disturbances, disorientation, violent and bizarre behavior, insensitivity to pain, elevated body temperature, and increased strength. 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. Excited delirium is most commonly diagnosed in male subjects with a history of serious mental illness or acute or chronic drug abuse, particularly stimulant drugs such as cocaine. Alcohol withdrawal or head trauma may also contribute to the condition. The diagnosis of excited delirium has been controversial. Excited delirium has been listed as a cause of death by some medical examiners for several years, mainly as a diagnosis of exclusion established on autopsy. Additionally, academic discussion of excited delirium has been largely confined to forensic science literature, providing limited documentation about patients that survive the condition. These circumstances have led some civil liberties groups to question the cause of death diagnosis, claiming that excited delirium has been used to "excuse and exonerate" law enforcement authorities following the death of detained subjects, a possible "conspiracy or cover-up for brutality" when restraining agitated individuals. Also contributing to the controversy is the role of Taser device use in excited delirium deaths. Excited delirium is not found in the current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The term excited delirium was accepted by the National Association of Medical Examiners and the American College of Emergency Physicians, who argued in a 2009 white paper that excited delirium may be described by several codes within the ICD-9. In 2017, investigative reporters from Reuters reported that three of the 19 members¹ of the 2009 task force were paid consultants for Axon, the manufacturer of Tasers. ===China=== Under the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Control of Firearms and Public Security Punishment Law, Tasers are prohibited for civilian ownership in China without an application for a state licence. A weapons permit is required to purchase and own a Taser. ===Japan=== Under the Firearm and Sword Possession Control Law, import, carrying, purchase of conducted energy weapons is prohibited in Japan. Stun guns are legal to own, although carrying without "justifiable grounds" is illegal and can be prosecuted under the Minor Offenses Act. ===Russia=== Stun guns and Tasers made in Russia can be purchased for self-defense without special permission, however, under the Federal Law No. 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. The ban has been in place since the first version of the law was approved in 1996.

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