STUN GUNS TO HIT CRIME
SUNDAY TASMANIAN

21 JANUARY 2001

PAGE 1

By SIMON BEVILACQUA.

TASMANIA Police are trialling an advanced stun weapon.
The hi-tech gun fires two harpoon darts which pump a 50,000-volt pulse of
electrical charge and force the victim to collapse into a foetal position.
The darts are connected by high-voltage wire to the pistol and allow for
repeated shock pulses.
A Tasmania Police spokesman confirmed the Special Operations Group was
trialling the new "advanced taser" weapon.
"It hasn't been used in any situation yet but it is a less than lethal option," the
spokesman said.
The advanced taser is a development on similar stun weapons used by some
overseas police forces and features new electro-muscular disruption
technology.
It delivers three times the wattage of previous models, known as air tasers.
"It's a fair thump when you get zapped," said George Hateley, spokesman for
distributor FBIS International.
Mr Hateley said the new gun was an advance of previous stun weapons which
interfered with the target's nervous system.
"It completely overrides the central nervous system and directly forces the
muscles to go into uncontrolled contraction," he said.
Mr Hateley said extremely persistent and aggressive people had been able to
"fight through" the pain and disability of capsicum sprays and early stun
technology.
No amount of outrage could resist the EMD charge.
The new weapon, which costs $1000, is said to leave no injury and is less
likely to kill than batons or other impact munitions.

"Instead of shooting and killing people, which has unfortunately sometimes
been necessary when an officer is in a life-threatening situation, this gives an
in-between option," said Mr Hateley.
He said the weapon recorded the date and time of use and had a number of
features designed to stop its abuse by police.
FBIS International, set up by former Victorian police commissioner Kel Glare,
has distribution rights for the US-made guns.
The weapons have been used in the US for about a year and have become a
popular alternative for Australian police who fear lawsuits where officers kill
members of the public.
The weapons also are being tested in Western Australia and South Australia.
New York police are training 19,000 officers in the use of the advanced taser.
(C) 2001 Davies Brothers Limited.