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TASER? Don’t Even Know ‘Er!
If you’re even a casual viewer of Cops, you’ll know how spectacular a TASER takedown can be. Looking straight out of a Star Wars flick, this bug-zapper-for-people sends a whole whack of electricity into the body, disrupting muscular and nervous function and rendering the target helpless. The charge is meant to be non-lethal, and the various incarnations of the weapon have been widely adopted by police forces who enthusiastically hail their effectiveness.
The Toronto Police Department has been talking TASER for a long time. The Toronto ETF unit has been using them for a while and if you saw one strapped to the hip of a divisional officer, he or she was participating in a pilot program. Now, the Toronto Police Services Board announced that 439 new TASERs will be implemented into the force.
TASER is actually a brand name; an acronym for “Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle” (the original inventor, Jack Cover, was a Tom Swift sci-fi fan). The new electroshock weapons are costing the cops a little more than $2300 per “gun” to implement, but it’s a welcome addition. The devices should give an officer less reason to draw a pistol, and they’ve proven to be effective against aggressive animals as well.
The use of electroshock weapons has not arrived without controversy. First of all, getting tased is unbelievably painful, and a subject can’t fight through it while the charge is being applied. The weapon’s infliction of extreme pain has caused some opponents to label TASERs inhumane. Secondly, electricity can stop a heart. There have been some cases where a TASER is believed to be a contributing factor to a death, though most suspect casualties proved to be a result of drugs, physical trauma during arrest, or a pre-existing medical condition.
Then there is the question of judgment. If an officer has a “less-lethal” electroshock weapon at their disposal, are they more likely to use it when pepper spray, baton, or even a concussion granade will do? Last month, B.C. Lions wide-receiver T.J. Acree was immobilized by a TASER while drunk and uncooperative following a street fight (Acree says he wasn’t involved). Questions have been raised on whether it was an appropriate use of force under the circumstances, though Acree hasn’t pressed charges.
How the weapon is used is also important, and Toronto Police will be extensively trained in their proper use (and even zapped themselves). A very short zap might be enough of a deterrent because it’s so painful. A second or two won’t bring someone to the ground, but they may have muscle contractions and get disoriented. Sustained current will completely render most people immobile. As with a firearm, officers must make a report when a TASER is activated.
TASER International claims that police shootings have dropped significantly as a result of their technology. Since 1998, TASER has sold 184,000 units to police forces worldwide. There’s no doubt the devices work, but what the company once classified as “safe and non-lethal” has now changed to “safer and less-lethal” alternatives to deadly force.
TASER International has even posted a clip on their site of Toronto’s ETF taking-down a suspected gunman. It’s not yet clear which models our force will be using, but it’s likely the most common device which involves a removable cartridge in the snout of the weapon that shoots barbs into the target’s skin, sending 50,000 volts down fine wires tethered to the darts. Some models release confetti-like ID tags when fired to help with the post-investigation, and newer TASERs can record the exact date and time they were activated.
Images courtesy of TASER International and CityTV.