Taser Guns and Weapons Article May 2003
Download original document:
![Brief thumbnail](/media/cache/e2/f9/e2f91768105cc3b0151df922a6f52636.jpg)
Document text
![Brief thumbnail](/media/cache/e2/f9/e2f91768105cc3b0151df922a6f52636.jpg)
Document text
This text is machine-read, and may contain errors. Check the original document to verify accuracy.
-MAY 2003 "It Happened To Me" First Responder BACKUP GUNS Ii1!IimiI!I'I UPGRADED TASER Packing A 26-Watt Punch! HOW THEY SAVE LIVES 10 Case Reports BIll SURVEILLANCE GETS SUPERCHARGED Your Third Eye Sees All! DUTY READY r- ~ LET'S GO TO ~ ~ TASER SCHOOL ~ f" mus~u/ar » Ne w e s t Taser "electro disruption" devi~e-it's the luture 01 law enlor~ement weaponry! By Ralph Mroz he new Advarx::ed TaserM26 has gotten a lot of publicity lately, so everyone reading tt'us probably has some idea of wha t it's al about-and somequestions, too. To set a loondation. let me first provide the basic information. T STUN GUNS. TA SERS, BETTER TA SERS The Advanced Taser M26 is a ballistic, conduc ted energy weapon. Upo n firing. compressed nitrog en projec1S two probes. a distanc e of 15 or zt reet (depend ing on cartridge ). et a spe ed of 180 feel pe r seccoo. The probes are con nected by thin insula ted wire back to the M26 , which resembles a hand gun equipped with a laser sight. (It is, Smith & Wesson semiautos.) The ze-watt M26 is a n upda ted, more powerfu l version of the older Air Taser 34000, a z -watt unit. The difference between the olde r low-wattage technologies and the M26 is more than jus lthe power-il's the effect they have. Five-to t5-watt tase r technol ogies operate on lhe S8OSOl)' nervous systemthai is, they "ja m- me nervous system wilh electrical noise, which is ove rwhelming and painful 10 most people. In the field they we re about 86% effective . Whic h means mat o n abo ut 14% ot me customers we deal with . they we ren't. In tact, it beca me a bit of a game in various tes tosterone circles (SpecWar units and so on) to be able to ove rcome the by design, aimed and operated very muc h like a standa rd sidea rm for ease of use under stress.) Upon pulling the trigger, the prob es are fired a nd a fiveseco nd cycle of elect rical o utput is initial ed (this cycle can be repeated by pulling the tr igger aga in, o r truncated by opera ting the a mbide xtrous safety leve r on the side of the gun-w hich op erates just like the de-cocke r on 11Apolice ollicer lakes aimwith Ihe Advanced raser M26. The unit opetales V1! rymuch like a pislol. l)lnslructor Trainel Jay Kehoe culs the dozens of leads a"ached 10 the ptobes stuck in the plactice dummy. 3)This practice dummy took alai 01 hils-these are only some 01 the saeu instruttor-$ludents look during Ihis class. 12 GUM S&- WUPONS FORLAW (M fOR(fMEHI effect s of these un its. The M26 , however, is an electro-muscular disruption (EMD) device. EMD unils. operating in the 16-26 watt range . not only d isorient and cause pa in, they override the central nervous system and cause uncontrolla ble contractions of muscle tissue (it does hurt, let me assu re you!). Neithe r 01 the aforementioned ballistic units shou ld be confused with slu n guns, whidl a re low-wattage, noo-ballishe units in which contact must be made with the assa ilant. Stun guns conduct the ir low ene rgy o nly between the app roximately two-inches-apart electrodes on l he stu n unit, w hile balli stic Tasers conduct the e nergy between the gene rally 1-3 tee t separated probe s. Stun guns are even less effectiv e than lowwa ttage lasers . (Just to confuse things a little mo re. A ir l asers ca n be used a s stun guns without their ba llistic cartr idges in place, but this is not their primary use.) Bottom line: no one to date has be en able to figh t throug h the effects of an M26, a lthough some mighty to ugh teuas have spen t yea rs try ing Yes- it works! The ob ject waslorthe ctticer pla vingthe perp 10 raise his dummy gun and point it al Ihe raser cperatar. No can dol Nole inet assisting outeers can indeed hold unto the shocked subject wilh nc ill eltecls. Onthestreet, a person being tased can be lIandculfed while being shocke d. to! As of year end, a conse rvative ly estimated 10,000 people have been las ed in genuine law enfo rcement encounte rs and the success rate is over 94% (well over the success rate of any firearm). The few non-effective toeden ts we re due, not to the individual being able to sustain the "hit: but due 10 probe misse s, thick clothing, operator For more informat ion : l aser InterN ti0ll31 7860 E. McCain Dr. Ste. 2, Dept. GWI1..E Scottsdale. Al 85260 806-978-2737 W'fIW.taser.com errors, low batteries, and o ther "Murphy" tactors. To th iS incredible effective(Please tum ro page 78) GUlfS & WEAPONS FOR LAW ENFORCEMEItT 13 TASER INSTRUCTOR SCHOOL Continued from page 13 ness, add in the facts thai the M26 runs on standard AA alkaline or Nickel metal Hydride (NiMH) rechargable batteries, cost less than most standard duty sidearms, it is field proven, completely non-injurious, can't injure bystanders, won', damage buildings or property, works through most body armor, and requires no clean-up or oecon (like aerosol sprays), and the M26 sounds like a neat tool, does n't it? SEE THE FUTURE It is, in fact, the closest thing we have to a phaser set to stun, Actually, except for the wires, it is a phaser set to stun. It is the future of law enforcement weaponry, in my opinion, IMO, it w ill have an even greater lasting effect on law enforcement use of force than OC did, and I suspect it will supplant the firearm for many encounters-not because it's non-lethal, but because it's so effective! A bullet from a firearm mayor may not have any effect on you, and the chances are that the first one won't (even .45s, you 1911 bigots!) But a hit from the M26 is 94% likely to stop you IMMEDIATElY! Them's better chances than from any sidearm! Given a lethal force encounter in which the M26 was viable (I had a clear shot at the perp, and he was within the M26's range) I would bet my life on the effectiveness of the M26 before any handgun caliber round. As of year-end 2002, 1888 agencies and over 30,000 officers have adopted the Advanced Taser M26, Instructor training is provided by Taser International at various times and locations (check their excellently laid out and thoroughly informative web site for details). I recently had the pleasure of attending one sponsored by Connecticut POST and taught by Lt. Jay Kehoe of the Glastonbury, CT PD (it was a pleasure except for the part about taking a hit from the M26). This was one of the most professionally developed classes I've ever attended in the law enforcement area. The material (both the presentation material and the written manual) was thorough and extremely well organized. The presentation ran off CD-ROM-which is available to all instructors as part ot the package-and included many interesting video clips of actual uses, This was one example of the ways in which Taser International, as a high-tech comp any, uses technology itself. Also, new information is posted to their website quickly, new instructor and user materials are available there for download, and the company keeps in reg" 18 GUNS& WEAPONS FORLAWENFORCEMENT What the business end 01 the M26 looks like. This omeer is lir ing into a practice dummy. A metaruc taser-specutctargel is on me stand behind him. ular touch with its instructors via email. The student course on which the Instructor course is based starts with a safety overview. Essentially, Taser International says to treat a Taser just like you would a real gun. Initial segments then provide an overview of Taser technology and the Taser units themselves. Several videos are shown of actual uses, and tactical and policy considerations are discussed. A discussion 01 how EMD devices work- and why they're safe-is provided with tield results presented. Medical findings are displayed and comparisons to other taser and stun technologies made. The results of agency tests are presented and the cost of an "average" officer-involved shooting (with a firearm) is calculated. Of course, the mechanics , manual of arms and use protocol for the M26 is explained, too . There is an extensive discussion ot batteries and the cartridge mechanism. Students get to fire probes into a special (conductive) target to get the feel of the M26 and their technique with the tool is developed. Maintenance and maintenance procedures are reviewed and relevant legal cases presented. (Note here: the t rend with the courts, it seems, is that sooner or later agencies are going to have to explain why the non-lethal, non-injurious Taser was not deployed if it could have been.) Contingencies are covered, and a test is given. Then the fun begins. It. Kehoe put us through simulated tactical scenarios in which we got to use the M26 and become familiar with its manual of arms under a bit of stress. Like any tool, it does require training and repetitions. Finally, we all got to take a hit from the M26, and it's an experience we'll not forget. IT'S OBVIOUS Someday soon we're all going to be carrying a 'raser; It's just too good a tool: it's cheap, extremely effective, does no harm, and the courts will mandate it. The M26 spent some time in development, and it's clear that lots of LE input went into the effort. It was designed to take advantage of the time that an officer already has in firearms training by operating and pointing like a pistol: Yet it's available in bright colors to differentiate it visually from a service pistol. There is a dataport in the unit which records each use, and thus provide proof against excessive or abusive use by officers. Each cartridge is individually encoded with a unique serial number lor control and documentation, When a cartridge is fired, up to 40 small confetti-like ID tags are released with the cartridge's serial number on it. Half of these tags are brightly colored so that they can be found, and half are transparent, so the bad guys can't mess with the evidence. Again-more evidence that it happened the way you said it did. Finally, each M26 comes with an internal laser aiming device in addition to its fixed sights. If you have not tried out an Advanced Taser M26 yet, you really owe it to yourself and your agency to do so. It is the future! _