Taser safety issues


The Taser is a less-lethal, not non-lethal, weapon, since the possibility of serious injury or death exists whenever the weapon is deployed. It is a brand of conducted electroshock weapon sold by Axon, formerly TASER International. Axon has identified increased risk in repeated, extended, or continuous exposure to the weapon; the Police Executive Research Forum says that total exposure should not exceed 15 seconds.
A 2012 study published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation found that Tasers can cause "ventricular arrhythmias, sudden cardiac arrest and even death". At least 49 people died in 2018 in the US after being shocked by police with a Taser.
Medical conditions or use of illegal drugs can significantly heighten such risk for subjects in an at-risk category. In some cases however, death occurred after Taser use coupled with the use of force alone, such as positional asphyxiation, with no evidence of underlying medical condition and no use of drugs.

"Less lethal" weapon

Taser International previously described its devices as "non lethal", but changed to use the term "less lethal", which is a term for "intermediate weapons" in the lexicon of law enforcement.
While they are not technically considered lethal, some authorities and non-governmental organizations question both the degree of safety presented by the weapon and the ethical implications of using a weapon that some, such as sections of Amnesty International, allege is inhumane. As a consequence, Amnesty International Canada and other civil liberties organizations have argued that a moratorium should be placed on Taser use until research can determine a way for them to be safely used. In 2012 Amnesty International documented over 500 deaths that occurred after the use of Tasers.
A 2012 study published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation found that Tasers can cause "ventricular arrhythmias, sudden cardiac arrest and even death". In 2014, NAACP State Conference President Scot X. Esdaile and the Connecticut NAACP argued that Tasers cause lethal results. Reuters reported that more than 1,000 people shocked with a Taser by police died through the end of 2018 with 153 of those deaths being attributed to or related to the use of Tasers. Approximately 49 people died in 2018 in the US after being shocked by police with a Taser. Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Paul Howard Jr. said in 2020 that “under Georgia law, a taser is considered as a deadly weapon.”

Other medical issues

In 2008 San Francisco cardiologist and electrophysiologist Zian Tseng told the Braidwood Inquiry that a healthy individual could die from a Taser discharge, depending on electrode placement on the chest and pulse timing. He said that the risk of serious injury or death is increased by the number of activations, adrenaline or drugs in the bloodstream, and a susceptible medical history. Tseng said that when he began researching Tasers and spoke of his concerns three years previously Taser International contacted him, asking him to reconsider his media statements and offering funding, which Tseng refused saying he wanted to remain independent.
Taser darts penetrate the skin, and therefore may pose a hazard for transmitting diseases via blood. U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements and the bloodborne pathogen protocols should be followed when removing a Taser probe.
The removal process may also be addressed in an exposure control plan in order to increase Taser probe removal safety.
One issue often raised with the use of the Taser are the effects of metabolic acidosis. This is a temporary condition where the body produces lactic acid within the muscles in the same way as it does during strenuous physical exercise.

Risk of fire

Tasers, like other electric devices, have been found to ignite flammable materials. For this reason Tasers come with express instructions not to use them where flammable liquids or fumes may be present, such as filling stations and methamphetamine labs.
An evaluative study carried out in 2001 by the British Home Office investigated the potential for Tasers to ignite CS spray. Seven trials were conducted, in which CS gas containing methyl isobutyl ketone was sprayed over mannequins wearing street clothing. The Tasers were then fired at the mannequins. In two of the seven trials, "the flames produced were severe and engulfed the top half of the mannequin, including the head". This poses a particular problem for law enforcement, as some police departments approve the use of CS before the use of a Taser.
However, in the United States, a water or oil based pepper spray is more common than CS. This allows for the possibility of a Taser being used after an individual has been subjected to pepper spray without the concern for a fire.

Manufacturer's risk acknowledgments; breathing

has stated in a training bulletin that repeated blasts of a taser can "impair breathing and respiration". Also, on Taser's website it is stated that, for a subject in a state described as "excited delirium", repeated or prolonged stuns with the Taser can contribute to "significant and potentially fatal health risks".. In such a state, physical restraint by the police coupled with the exertion by the subject are considered likely to result in death or more injuries. Critics alleged that electroshock devices can damage delicate electrical equipment such as pacemakers, but tests conducted by the Cleveland Clinic found that Tasers did not interfere with pacemakers and implantable defibrillators.

Probe removal safety

  1. Taser probes qualify as a "sharp" according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration definition of "sharps". This is important because the proper removal and treatment of a sharp is an OSHA issue in the US.
  2. If an individual receives a needlestick injury during the Taser dart removal, or if an individual is exposed to bloodborne diseases during the removal, the incident is called an "exposure incident". The individual subject to the exposure incident may or may not have contracted bloodborne diseases while removing the Taser dart or while having the Taser dart removed. Extensive testing is the next step in the process. This can be an expensive and stressful event. Possible bloodborne diseases that may be contracted include HIV, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and other bloodborne pathogens". Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is also a bloodborne pathogen.
  3. Current methods of removal: OSHA does not give clear guidance as to how to remove the probes, the guidelines only stating that the removal must be done safely. Current methods of Taser Darts include removing the probes by hand, removing the probe with pliers or similar tools, or using the D.A.R.T. Pro and X-TRACTOR TIP Removal System made by Global Pathogen Solutions. When handling contaminated sharps OSHA guidelines should always be followed.Special precautions should be taken when a Taser dart is being removed from sensitive areas.
  4. Disposal issues: Proper disposal of the contaminated darts includes placing the probes into a puncture-resistant, leak-proof container.
  5. OSHA requirements and the Bloodborne Pathogen Protocols should be followed when removing a Taser probe.
The removal process may also be addressed in an Exposure Control Plan in order to increase Taser probe removal safety.

Cardiac arrests, lawsuits, and effectiveness

On September 30, 2009, the manufacturer Taser International issued a warning and new targeting guidelines to law enforcement agencies to aim shots below the chest center of mass as "avoiding chest shots with ECDs avoids the controversy about whether ECDs do or do not affect the human heart" Calgary Police Service indicated in a news interview that the rationale for the warning was "new medical research that is coming out is showing that the closer probe to heart distances have a likelihood, or a possibility, that they may affect the rhythm of the heart".
Taser "recommended officers avoid tasing suspects in the chest area, citing the potential for cardiac arrests, lawsuits and effectiveness of the device". Central Texas Constable Richard McCain, whose deputy used a Taser weapon against an unarmed 72-year-old woman, describes Taser's directive as "not really practical".

Deaths and injuries related to Taser use

While their intended purpose is to avoid the use of lethal force, 180 deaths were reported to have been associated with Tasers in the US by 2006. By 2019 that figure had increased to over 1,000 It is unclear in each case whether the Taser was the cause of death, but several legislators in the U.S. have filed bills clamping down on them and requesting more studies on their effects. A study led by William Bozeman of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center of nearly 1,000 persons subjected to Taser use concluded that 99.7% of the subjects had suffered no injuries, or minor ones such as scrapes and bruises, while three persons suffered injuries severe enough to need hospital admission, and two died. Bozeman's study found that "...paired anterior probe impacts potentially capable of producing a transcardiac discharge vector." occurred in 21.9% of all deployments. Multiple studies have since concluded that CEW use directly impacts cardiac and brain function, and can lead to cardiac arrest as well as dangerously elevated heart rate.
The head of the U.S. southern regional office of Amnesty International, Jared Feuer, said that 277 people in the United States have died after being shocked by a Taser between June 2001 and October 2007, which has already been documented. He also said that about 80% of those on whom a Taser was used by U.S. police were unarmed. "Tasers interfere with a basic equation, which is that force must always be proportional to the threat", Feuer said. "They are being used in a situation where a firearm or even a baton would never be justified." A spokesperson for Taser International said that if a person dies from a "tasering" it is instantaneous and not days later. Taser International announced that it is "transmitting over 60 legal demand letters requiring correction of... false and misleading headlines."
The Guardian newspaper was running a database, The Counted, in 2015, tracking US killings by police and other law enforcement agencies that year., 47 deaths of the 965 killed were classified as taser events.