Taser: Any Press is Good Press

It’s interesting how much attention Tasers are getting when the occurrence of serious injury caused by them is far less than firearms, or any other common weapon used in violent attacks. In talking with a federal agent who has been Tasered, he mentioned that he carries a steel baton that can do far worse damage than a Taser in most instances. He did acknowledge that people have died following Taser stuns, but quickly pointed out that there are almost always other factors involved.

Nevertheless, it’s good that Tasers are being scrutinized, because there is nothing to hide. Recently in New Jersey, the Attorney General’s Committee on Less-Lethal force held a panel discussion that explored real-life experiences of Taser effects. The mayor of one nearby town revealed he has been Tasered, and the following are his own words of what he experienced:

“It didn’t hurt…When I say ‘hurt,’ I am thinking of hitting your thumb with a
hammer. That hurts. This felt about like sticking your finger in a light socket.”

Granted, people’s perception of pain varies greatly, and some may consider an electric shock painful, but in the grand scheme of things, a small electric shock is considerably less painful and permanent than most gunshot wounds and obviously death. Not that these are the only other alternatives, but a Taser is meant to be used in situations where these alternatives would likely follow if it weren’t for the use of a Taser. Tom Smith, co-founder of Taser International stated that roughly 12,750 out of about 18,000 police departments through the U.S. use a stun-gun product, as do law-enforcement agencies in at least 45 other countries. There is a saying that truth is in numbers, and while there are certainly exceptions, I highly doubt that such a high percentage of police forces would use them if they were more harmful than helpful.

The same panel suggested that the key is in training. Abuse of the weapon likely comes from unfamiliarity and ignorance. The federal agent I previously mentioned noted that since Tasers target the motor nervous system and restrict muscle control, aiming for areas with large muscle mass will increase effectiveness. No research yet proves this theory, and Tasers are meant to work on contact with any part of the body (or clothing that lays within 2 inches of the skin), but it’s certainly plausible that as research continues on the effects of Tasers that more information will become available concerning how and where on the body to use them.

One opponent of the weapon was quoted as saying, “These have great potential for being lethal and for being abused.” Guess what? She’s right. But so do guns. Proponents of Tasers have no problem with Tasers being subject to the same laws and regulations as firearms, and in fact would be happy to see Tasers become protected under the Second Amendment of the Constitution. The reason we have the right to bear arms is because we have the right to protect ourselves. Tasers were invented for that purpose – to give us a non-lethal way of protecting ourselves. Why would we limit the means by which we can do so?

So let the scrutiny continue; it will only improve our knowledge and awareness of Tasers and most likely lead to developing an ever-better non-lethal weapon for use in self-defense.