The client of a criminal attorney entered the law firm in an extremely agitated state. Coincidentally, the male attorney was not in, leaving four women to face the attacker alone.

Three of the four women kept a TASER C2 in their desks in case of just such an event. The receptionist alerted others to the potentially dangerous situation in the lobby area by pressing the recently installed “panic button.” As planned, one of the women immediately called the police. The other two got their TASERs (from their desk drawers) and moved to join the receptionist. When they arrived, the invader was yelling and demanding to see the attorney. He kept on yelling even when assured that the attorney was not in.

Undaunted, the felon started past the reception desk, headed for the attorney’s office. He shoved a couple of the woman as he entered the hall. When he found the office was empty, he returned to square off with the women who had backed into the reception area. He continued screaming profanities and began making threats, nor did he stop advancing when directed to do so.

When he was about 8 feet away the designated paralegal fired her TASER C2. The probes reached their target and did the job. The felon fell to the floor where the women held him at bay until the police arrived.

Prom night is an American tradition, especially for graduating seniors. Following this year’s prom a group of seniors went to a secluded spot for some post-dance activities. The three couples involved were well-supplied with alcohol.

One of the girls only had a single drink and then became uncomfortable with the sexual activities which were beginning. In spite of repeated requests to be taken home, the party continued. The girl, who retreated to the car, tried to use her cell phone to call for help, but it didn’t work in that area.

A short while later, her drunken date returned to the car, intent upon undressing her. She tried to fight him off and was holding her own until he became angry. Fueled by alcohol, sexual tension, and anger, her suitor redoubled his efforts and ripped off most of her clothing.

The teen reported that when it got to the last moment, she remembered the Lipstick Pepper Spray that her father had recently given to her. She reached for her evening bag, which had fallen to the floor, and found the Lipstick Pepper Spray. With one hand, she managed to work the cap off. She turned her head away, then sprayed her attacker in the eyes.

As he screamed and fell back, she ran from the car and went to find the others. When she saw they were going to be no help, she returned to the car, pulled her attacker out, and drove away. In a short distance she reached an area where her cell phone worked.

First, she called the police, then she called her parents.

On June 16, 2008, Czechoslovakian law enforcement officials used a stun gun on a wanted man who was hiding in an apartment. Police used their new TASER X26 on the man because they believed that he was armed.

According to police spokesperson Tomas Hulan, the officers who were involved were pleased with the way their TASER X26 performed. “We hope that the weapon will become widely available to other policemen as it clearly is a very efficient but safe means of pacifying attackers,” he said.

The TASER X26 weighs only 0.2 kilograms and its probes have a range of 10.5 meters. It is made of high impact plastic and requires a mere two 3-volt batteries. It can record the time, date, burst duration, and other information for about 1,500 firings. When the two electrodes are fired, they deliver a powerful electrical jolt which disables the target by interfering with the body’s ability to control its muscles.

At this time 50 TASERS are available for use by law enforcement officials across the nation. The decision to allow specially trained officers to use TASERs came in 2005 after an extensive testing program by the Czech Proof House for Firearms and Ammunition (CUZZS).

“Victims can see and hear everything that goes on around them. They are fully conscious but cannot move for a few seconds and simply collapse,” said Hulan. In his opinion, Tasers have an advantage over other electrical weapons, such as stun guns because, “Unlike other weapons, this model has a ten-meter range and thus allows us to disable attackers without risk to officers.”

Last month the Royal Canadian Mounted Police used a TASER to save the life of a man who was in the process of attempting to commit suicide as he walked down the street in Nanaimo. The man had slashed his wrists and was losing a lot of blood. Officers at the scene figured he would be successful or, at least, cause himself a lot of harm.

RCMP officers at the scene tried to reason with the man while he walked across the street toward the parking lot of a motel. While keeping a safe distance, the officer tried to negotiate with him, then called for backup. The man repeatedly stated that he wanted to die as he hacked at his wrists with a knife.

The man made his way up to the second story balcony of a motel where he stood long enough for pools of blood to form. At the point when he put the knife to his throat and turned to walk away, officers fired a TASER at him. Probes hit him in the back and thigh. While he was disabled, officers disarmed the man and handcuffed him.

Officials stated that the man suffered no injuries other than the ones he inflicted on himself and that he was plagued with cocaine addiction and financial difficulties.

The successful use of the TASER to save a life comes during a time of controversy over whether or not the RCMPs should be allowed to use TASERs in their law enforcement duties.

TASERs have the capability of delivering a debilitating shock that totally overrides the central nervous system and control the skeletal muscles. This translates into the ability to stop a would-be assailant in his tracks - despite his tolerance for pain or powers of mental focus. The effects of a TASER completely derail voluntary movement and generally leave the target in a fetal position on the ground.

Effects of the electro-muscular disruption (EMD) can last for several minutes, thus providing a valuable safety window - the time to 1) leave the immediate area and 2) get help.

TASER makes a model that serves a dual function – long-distance protection and a close quarters stun gun that can provide up to ten short bursts of power, even after the probes are deployed. The TASER C2 is also one of the top choices for the hundreds of law enforcement agencies around the country.

The TASER C2’s dual capabilities also translate into top notch protection for private citizens. It gives the average city or suburban dweller a first class method of non-lethal protection. If the probes miss at a distance of up to 15 feet, direct stun gun capabilities are still available. That provides additional level of safety that is not lethal but is effective.

One of the best considerations is that even if an assailant confiscates the TASER and uses it against the homeowner, the effects are non-lethal. Not the case with regular firearms. While the effects are distinctly unpleasant, the homeowner still lives to fight another day.

Assaults on college coeds have been increasing at an alarming rate. Young women are challenged by the need for personal protection which does not interfere with books, laptops or campus regulations.

College Student Affairs departments are now providing self-defense training. Campus regulations do not permit possession of firearms, seriously reducing the response options to danger. As a result, a growing group of coeds are meeting the challenge by carrying either Mace or pepper spray. These non-lethal options are sized to fit a feminine hand without interfering with regular activities. Both fit neatly on a key ring or can be clipped to the strap of a laptop case.

The best weapon in any arsenal is defensive thinking. A few simple steps will greatly increase campus safety for anyone.

• Never cross campus alone, especially after dark. If you don’t have friends to walk with, call for a security escort.

• Park in a well-lit, well-populated area which provides few places for assailants to hide.

• Look inside the vehicle before you get inside – front and back seats.

• Continually look around, especially if walking while loaded down with books and papers.

• Have your key out and ready to use. Ditto with Mace or pepper spray.

• If your mode of transportation is bicycle, motorcycle, or skateboard, arrange to carry school materials in a backpack or shoulder bag AND clip Mace or pepper spray to the front of strap or other area which is easily accessible.

• The most important self-defense weapon anyone has is the one between their ears. Use it.

The mother woke in the middle of the night. What she heard was the sound of someone breaking into the house – a burglar who thought he could enter, ransack, and then leave without detection. What he had not anticipated was the fact that the woman took the safety of her family very seriously – so much so that she had gone to the trouble to arm herself and learn how to use it.

As a result, Mom grabbed her TASER C2, snuck down the stairs, concealed herself, and waited until she got a clear shot that was within range. The voltage stopped the burglar in his tracks. As he lay on the floor, in pain and unable to make his muscles do his bidding, Mom called the police, who arrived in plenty of time to restrain him and cart him off to jail.

During an interview the woman said she simply was not willing to just let things happen to her and her children. She had decided, years earlier, that she would not be in the “victim” position. This strong woman consciously chose to stand firm and protect family to the best of her ability. She never quit. She kept on thinking as she watched and waited for the best time to make her move.

Patience and prior planning paid off in the form of taking care of her home and refusing to just let fate run the show.

It took weeks to convince his grandmother that she should carry some sort of non-lethal protection. What did the trick was hearing about a neighbor who used pepper spray to foil a mugging attempt at the bus stop.

One sunny afternoon Grandma was at a bus stop, chatting companionably with the new mother as she crooned to her two month old baby.

“It all happened so fast! One minute we were just sitting there enjoying the baby. The next minute that man ran up, grabbed the strap of her bag, and tried to take it away from her. She started screaming, the baby started crying, and – I don’t know – I just got mad.

“I was holding my cell phone stun gun in my hand, just like my grandson told me to do, and I just reached over and used it on that man’s arm. He screamed and kind of fell over. It looked like he couldn’t make his legs work right.”

“Right about then the bus came, so that mommy and I gathered up her stuff and the baby and we got on the bus and left the guy right where he was. The bus driver looked at him and then at us. He just started laughing.”

“Good work, ladies. He probably deserved what you gave him.”

“I hope he learned his lesson.”

“When I finally decided to get myself some protection I settled on pepper spray because I was afraid of the high voltage of stun guns.”

That’s what the middle-aged female lawyer said about the non-lethal weapon that saved the day for her.

“I went to the usual gas station near my condo. It’s on a busy street, so I figured it would be pretty safe. Boy, was I wrong!”

“Last month I was filling up when a guy came around the back of my car. He shoved me to the side. I actually bounced off the pump. I dropped the handle and just looked at the guy.”

“Right then he reached out to take the keys from my hand. When he did, I raised my arm like I was going to give the keys to him, but I sprayed him in the face instead. He screamed and called me names, but he also started backing up.”

“I got in the car and drove across the street where I called the police. They showed up pretty quickly and took him into custody. When I told them what happened and how I handled it, the cops seemed pretty impressed. They also said it was a good thing I had used pepper spray instead of a stun gun at the gas station.”

Office politics have long included sexual harassment. One way to distinguish low risk flirtations from harassment is a matter of who has the power. The saying, “absolute power corrupts absolutely” might well have been invented about sexual harassment and abuse issues.

As long as there is relatively little physical danger, handling the situation through the use of common sense and the chain of command is usually sufficient.

• Avoid being alone with the offending party. Do not get caught in an office, hall, or elevator. If that means waiting for the next elevator car, do so.

• Stay alert when moving around inside the building. Time trips to the restroom, break room, and copy room to coincide with high traffic times of the day.

• Ask around. If you are being harassed, odds are you are not the only one who has been approached, especially if the offender has worked for the company for a while.

However, once physical contact is made and your physical safety is threatened, that means the situation has changed requiring a change in tactics.

• Consider adding a non-lethal weapon to your key ring. There are many variations which are not bulky but still do the job.

• Alert the appropriate law enforcement agency, as well as company and building security officials.

• Never leave the building unattended. Plan trips to and from your vehicle with co-workers.

• Figure out escape routes, just in case. It is better to have several in mind and not need them than to need one and not know where to run.