To show just how murky the waters surrounding Taser safety are, I have compiled a list of several recent scientific reports about the controversial less lethal weapon.

Most of the links below will bring you to free summaries of the research papers, but some require a subscription to read the full stories.

The video to the right shows a demonstration of the new civilian Taser at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The cameraman asks some excellent questions.



Intracranial penetration of a TASER dart

A 16-year-old boy was shot in the face with a Taser while resisting arrest. One of the darts went through his skull and poked into his brain just a little bit. Link

Taser-induced rapid ventricular myocardial capture demonstrated by pacemaker intracardiac electrograms.

The first case of a man with a pacemaker getting tasered. A data logger on the pacemaker recorded the effects of the shock on his heart. Link

Taser use in restraint-related deaths

A review of Taser-related deaths. Autopsies were performed less than half of the time. Most of the dead were on drugs or had heart disease. Tasers were identified as contributing to one quarter of the deaths. Link

Can the direct cardiac effects of the electric pulses generated by the TASER X26 cause immediate or delayed sudden cardiac arrest in normal adults?

In this paper, the authors used the fundamental law of electrostimulation to theorize that an X26 Taser can’t cause a dangerous ectopic heartbeat in most healthy adults. Link

Taser dart-to-heart distance that causes ventricular fibrillation in pigs

Engineers at the University of Wisconsin tasered anesthetized pigs and found that the risk of ventricular fibrillation is very low. The darts must land extremely close to the heart to cause the dangerous condition. Link

If you have any thoughts on the safety of Tasers, or links to news, videos, and papers about their safety, please weigh in by submitting your comments below.

Photo Credit: Rehman et al. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, Volume 25, Issue 6, July 2007, Pages 733.e3-733.e4

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