Taser Continues to Thrive as 51st Lawsuit Dismissed

Taser International is trumpeting its 51st lawsuit dismissal over the sometimes controversial Taser less-lethal component in law enforcement's tool bag. Many people jump up and down in knee jerk reactions over the Taser. I am a Taser instructor and teach the topic in our Seminole Community College Basic Law Enforcement Academies. I've even been shot in the back by the Taser and lived (quite happily) to tell about it in less then a minute after the probes hit me. See the video below.



Like much that happens in police work, it is hard to see the successes as they do not make headlines. Just as when you take a drunk driver off the road or a gun off a drug dealer, if the case goes south later on on a technicality, you could make the argument that at least the drunk is off the road or the gun is off the street. It is hard to quantify or put your finger on the ephemeral possibility of what was avoided.

So too is the use of the Taser as it is hard to know how may deaths exactly the 50,000 volt ECW -it is dubbed under the generic moniker of ECW (Electronic Control Device) by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)- have helped to avoid. The media loves to ponder the culpability of the Taser in deaths that have occurred after the use of the device (hence my Taser death interviews with CNN Headline News and MSNBC).





I believe that the Taser saves more lives than it takes (if any). Police officer and deputy sheriff injuries and injuries to suspects have gone down. Of course, it helps that the training for officers deploying the Taser has gotten better. No longer are officers encouraged to Taser individuals who are on rooftops. You see, those folks end up falling off the roof when the Taser hits them and, of course, they can't put their arms out to break their fall.

As Taser has settled in to the police landscape, officers and their respective agencies have learned that the Taser is not a one size fits all device. It is not appropriate for all circumstances.

Some history may help to put this all in perspective. Some of the same hysteria and police overuse happened when Pepper Spray hit big (full disclosure: I am also a pepper spray instructor). Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) is not to be confused with Mace as the former is organic and operates beyond just pain compliance and the latter is man-made and is not effective on some drug or alcohol induced individuals who are feelin' no pain.

A few in-custody deaths occurred due to over or mis use of pepper spray on the part of officers. Once some training and departmental policy modifications took place, the problems seemed to abate. Hog tying, what is now sometimes referred to as three point restraint, has been restricted due to its tie with positional asphyxia. Simply put, placing an obese man suffering acute cocaine intoxication on his stomach is not a wise move.

Fast forward to the 21st Century and the advent of the Internet. The new era of communications has made the Anti-Taser movement much more virulent than the anti-pepper spray movement that preceded it. Pepper spray's enemies were not able to garner the support and vitriol of the Internet bearing anti-Taserites.

The move affot in some places to restrict the use of the Taser as an extremist knee-jerk reaction is not healthy for law enforcement or the public we serve. A more measured response backed by well-thought out policies and training, with controlled deployment in the field by officers, is the key to restoring the public faith. Victorious in the civil litigation arena does not serve to fully convince the public. We need to do a better job at using the Taser and explaining its deployment.