Taser sales to public worry officers

A civilian model of the stun gun, unveiled last fall, is very similar to the version used by law agencies.

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER, Times Staff Writer
Published March 5, 2005

TAMPA - Tasers, the powerful and controversial stun guns used by thousands of police agencies, are stirring debate yet again.

Manufacturer Taser International is touting a new compact, lightweight version - this one for sale to the public.

The new model's debut comes as Taser International faces questions about the safety of the weapons, even in the hands of trained police officers. And some of the very officers who support the use of Tasers by law enforcement are not so sure Joe Schmoe should carry one, too.
>snip<

Taser International promotes its X26C model - which costs $999 and fits easily into a purse - as ideal self-protection for regular people. At a recent firearms convention in Las Vegas, Taser International president Thomas Smith told the Chicago Tribune, "It's a huge potential market. I just can't get my arms around how big this can get."
>more:
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/03/05/Worldandnation/Taser_sales_to_public.shtml

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At $1,000.00, it's definitely not 'lightweight' enough for my purse. But,

The article goes on to say it can be carried without a permit in 43 states, and one gun shop owner said sales are so good, they're sold out right now.

What is the NRA is gonna say about this one? I think they're working out the details in an all-night think tank right now!

wasn't there a ruckus raised when pepper spray became available to the public?

- One advantage to getting older is that there's so much more information stored away. The disadvantage is not being able to pull it out and use it when needed. frustrating -

My husband says it's because I rely on the computer too much to remember things for me.

So - explain him making 'coffee' without adding the grounds yesterday morning. Wonder where he 'bookmarked' that little tidbit.

Seems Tasers are used to elicit compliance, not for defense. Joe Schmoe shouldn't have one b/c he doesn't have a duty to get badguys off the street like cops do, therefore doesn't need a compliance-eliciting device. They're not good for home defense, either, b/c they only disable for a very short while, then when the administered jolt wears off, the home defender would be faced again with the same threat.

Taser market would cut into the handgun market, so I imagine NRA would be against their use by civilians.

Tasers would be bad in the hands of robbers b/c they could disable the victims and/or get compliance by using the relatively quiet device. One reason for not shooting a robbery victim, I suppose, would be the attention the gunshot would draw. Tasers in the hands of "street perps" is too scary of a concept for me.

if one of these things was used in commiting a robbery.

which I think would make it a felony-- someone will know the legal term for that brand of robbery. I think that any weapon that puts you in fear of imminent death or great bodily harm during a robbery ups the charge. The threat with Tasers is that by incapacitating the victim for a while, it leaves them open to being killed or harmed easily, hence you can make a case for assault if someone brandishes one in a threatening manner.

just as robbery with a baseball bat is armed robbery, and just as a banana in a pocket that's meant to be taken for a gun is still armed robbery.

guns work more lethally than tazers... rather they were using
tasers than bullets... considering the alternative.

Guns already in the hands of "street perps" is scary indeed.

Tell that to the person on the ground with the barbed darts stuck into their chest like fish hooks as you push the button to give them another jolt. Zap, What was that number Zap again?? Zap Oh Yeah Zap Nine Zap one Zap one Zap What's that? Zap No Hurry ZZZZZAAAAAPPPPP.

You can repeatedly shock someone with a Taser. The problem is making sure you get the datrs into the person on the your one and only shot. You miss and you are left with a stun gun.

He was looking for his ex-girlfriend, and wanted to shoot her new boyfriend with the taser, and then presumably, torture and kill his rival, and maybe his ex, too.

These new weapons make first degree murder a breeze. I'm sure every serial killer and rapist will consider them indespensable in the future.

'Nice chatting with ya.' just doesn't quite fit. :scared:

You did bring to mind something else very frightening. We can tell our kids not to get into a stranger's car, but what if these things become a 'device of choice' by the wackos that abduct children?

Lovely world we live in.

Policy review is needed after man's death, ACLU says
By PEGGY O'HARE
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

The American Civil Liberties Union is calling for police departments across Texas to stop using Tasers until policies and training are reviewed in the wake of a Houston man's death on Friday.

The ACLU's call for a moratorium was spurred, in part, by the death of mental health patient Joel Casey, who died on his 52nd birthday after being shocked by a Taser gun while fighting with Harris County Precinct 1 deputy constables. Casey's exact cause of death has not been determined, but deputies later learned he had a history of heart problems and hepatitis B — issues not disclosed in paperwork sent by a private psychiatric center to the constable's office.

...

ACLU chapters in Colorado and northern California have sought similar moratoriums. Just last week, a sheriff in Toledo, Ohio, suspended his office's use of Tasers after an inmate who died was shocked with the stun gun many times at a county jail.

....

Friday's death and HPD's statistics have ignited a long-simmering debate about whether Tasers are safe and whether police use them too liberally.

http://realcostofprisons.org/blog/archives/2005/02/tx_aclu_calls_f.html

I wish I had one when walking thru that dark parking garage where I work..might come in handy for women who ususally carry mace .Just a thought.

don't carry mace. Get a CCW permit and a handgun, and learn how to use it.

The fact that cops use guns as their last line of self-defense should tell you something about their effectiveness.

Our Limp assed governor vetoed the last bill.

This is so RAPISTS AND OTHER CRIMINALS CAN PREY ON THE MASSES, without fear the victim will try to defend themselves.

A lot of criminals are not deterred by a 50 year sentence for rape and don't care about an additional 5 years for CCW.

If you are an innocent victim you are powerless against the Criminal.

The police are only here to eat donuts and get fat.

Hey if people will buy it, may as well sell it. All about the market and corporate rights you know.

that made me snort my coffee, but the idea is probably already patented and just waiting in the wings.

sold them through the 1990s. Less powerful than the police versions, but they still include the taser which could be used against the first assailant and stun gun that would remain active against any others. They sold for about $300 as I recall.

Maybe they are referring to new, more powerful models, but this is not new. :shrug:

Like Ultra Cheer detergent - ? :shrug:

or because the tasers are a hot button right now with their use becoming more widespread by the police - ? :shrug:

Whatever, this says over 100,000 have been purchased privately since 1994. Dang, that's a lot of possible tasing going on:

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Updated: February 16th, 2005 05:27:28 PM

TASER Sells New Models to Citizen Market

RUSSELL J. DINNAGE
Officer.Com News

TASER International, the maker of several stun gun models used by officers across the country, has stepped up its campaign to market the devices to private individuals.

Since 1994 over 100,000 private citizens have purchased TASER technology as an alternative to traditional firearms, according to TASER International. Now, three new devices, the TASER M18, M18L, and X26C are being sold for $399.95, $599.95, and $999 respectively. Previously the TASER devices available for private ownership were priced at the same level as those devices marketed towards the law enforcement community, often selling for well over $1,000.
>snip<

Albert Arena, a program manager in the research center directorate at the International Association of Chief's of Police (IACP), expressed his concern that a new crop of more affordable TASERs will present officers nationwide with more situations in which they will be forced to resort to deadly force.

"A TASER used against an officer would render him physically useless for five to ten seconds, in which time a suspect would be free to do whatever he wanted to the officer," Arena said. "These aren't toys, they're weapons."
http://www.officer.com/article/article.jsp?id=21534&siteSection=1

Tasers of various makes have been available since at least the 1980's. The original tasers were powered by a small gunpowder charge. They were classified as firearms because of this. (the legal definition of a firearm is any device that propels projectiles by use of an explosive). Then they shifted to using CO2 as a propellant.

Tasers are generally a joke. And yes, I've been hit with them.

The problem with the old ones - you have to be able in range to physically touch your assailant.

Fuck that, who wants to get that close? - I'll reach out and touch you bad guys with my Glock .40, thanky-you-very-much.

It would give you enough time to make your escape.

Someone dies from being tasered by the police almost every week - and someone wants to sell them to Beavis and Butthead? Bad fucking idea!

The people who die from being tasered generally have other serious health problems which are triggered by the taser. If you use a taser on a healthy person, they will not die, even if you keep hitting them over and over and over again with them.

that the paramedics or doctors should NOT shock you to try to start up your heart again because that won't work.

a taser has a tiny fraction of the amps that a defibrilator has.

tia :toast:

peace

Imagine someone's kid being tasered for the night in a frat house hazing. Lots of fun for the whole family.

Or even better, taser your wife when she doesn't mash the potatoes properly...taser the ref when he doesn't foul the opposition team for a 'travel'...mark my words, this is a torture weapon waiting to happen.

it'd have happened by now. All a taser is is a stun-gun that shoots a short distance. Stun guns have been over the counter items since at least the mid 1980's. You can find a stun gun for under $50 mail-order.

BTW, they are indeed used "recreationally" among certain groups. I understand that they have an interesting adaptation for consentual sexual interactions of a certain nature.

I've always been a very thin and not very strong woman. I'm now 61, and I know I wouldn't stand a chance against any assailant. After a close friend of mine was raped at gun point in the parking lot where we both parked, I carried at snub nose S&W 38 in my pocket or purse. Did that for about 3 months, then I started thinking...can you really shoot somebody? I finally decided that I would most likely try to talk them out of the situation rather than shoot, and probably have the gun taken asway from me, and then used to kill ME! Really dumb idea, so I put it away.

I would consider carrying one of these tasers. It's a much safer weapon than a gun, and at least give someone like me a fighting chance. If it was the only weapon on the scene, at least if your attacker took it away, you most ilikely would survive.

as opposed to bullets?

For example, a rapist wanted to abduct someone, they can simply taser the victim and bundle them into the trunk of the rapist's car. Easy to transport the body - no resistance, no blood, and probably no screams.

Once captured, the rapist can repeatedly abuse his victim whilst resorting to the taser to keep them under control for as long as they want.

Tasers will turn out to be a truly horrifying weapon BECAUSE they have less complications than bullets.

as I recall. $379 something like that.. Quite reasonable (mostly) non-lethal personal protection, more protection and safer? than rubber bullets? I don't know, hard for me to get upset about this one.