New Study: Tasers Much Stronger than Manufacturers Let On

Posted by Digby, Hullabaloo at 9:34 AM on December 9, 2008.

What do you know? The Canadian Broadcasting Company did independent testing on tasers and it turns out they often release quite a bit more electricity than the manufacturer says they are capable of. Shocking (no pun intended.)

The doctors and engineers consulted by the CBC to interpret the results determined the higher electrical current was enough to raise the risk of an irregular heartbeat to as much as 50 percent for those with existing heart troubles.

The risk level depends on various factors, including whether the heart lies between the Taser's barbs and how long the shock lasts. The risk would decline if, for example, the Taser's barbs fell off or didn't fully penetrate the skin.

Savard also concluded that multiple shocks from normally working Tasers posed up to a 5 percent risk of ventricular fibrillation, the abnormal heart rhythm associated with a heart attack.

Savard said he is worries that police are given Tasers that are potentially deadly but are told they are totally safe. He suspects such pronouncements have led to a dangerous "drift" in usage of the weapons.

"If you're told there's zero risk . . . you can start using it just to save time because you're tired of talking with the subject," he said.

Tagged as: risk, police, tasers, drift, shock, barbs, "zero risk"

Digby is the proprietor of Hullabaloo.