Report on Stun Gun Safety Upheld in Canadian Court

On Tuesday a Canadian judge discarded TASER International’s bid to invalidate findings regarding a government inquiry that stated stun gun devices had the potential to be lethal which urged law enforcement to limited their use.

The British Columbia Supreme Court dismissed arguments from the self defense manufacturing company relating to safety concerns expressed by the inquiry stating that they were unreasonable in addition to being treated unfairly in the inquiry.

The stun gun weapons have been created to hinder a person with a stunning jolt that reaches up to 50,000 volts of electricity. However, while the person targeted may not appreciate the experience of such a jolt they are promoted as a nonlethal device compared to traditional firearms.

Critics of the device however are saying that the shock involved could have the potential to produce heart failure in a human, while medical issues regarding the use of these tools have not been studied efficiently.

The British Columbia local government initially launched an inquiry after the death of a Polish immigrant who was targeted with the stunning device at Vancouver airport. When the inquiry was known TASER International argued that the inquiry had not taken into consideration safety studies provided by an Arizona headquartered company, which stated that the self defense devices created by TASER International had never caused any deaths.

A lawyer for the self defense company said that a decision would be made on whether or not to appeal the ruling of the court after it had been studied.

The judge presiding over the inquiry explained that TASER International was permitted to take part in the inquiry’s hearing, and that the inquiry commissioner had never accused the company of any misconduct.

With regards to the manufacturing company losing sales, the commissioner of the inquiry recommended that law enforcement continue to utilize their stun guns, while the ongoing independent medical studies were done.

He also recommended that police limit their use of the devices and only operate them in serious instances, for example when a target poses a clear threat to the general public, or in serious crimes. Not only that, but officers should avoid aiming the device near an individual’s heart.

Since the inquiry TASER International has adopted some of the recommendations the commissioner stated, and has made this clear in a product note to customers.