Questions about Tasers

Some in law enforcement say Tasers are an important tool in defusing difficult situations. Human-rights organizations, however, say the safety of Tasers has been overstated by manufacturers.

For years, manufacturers have said that Tasering is not risk-free but Tasers carry a lower risk of injury than traditional force options. Taser International of Scottsdale, Ariz., notes that the company has won or achieved a dismissal in 96 lawsuits that attempted to link Taser shocks to adverse cardiac outcomes. Taser lost one case, which is under appeal.

Given all that, Taser International's recent recommendation that users avoid firing the devices at suspects' chests is curious. The recommendation "has less to do with safety and more to do with effective risk management for law enforcement agencies," according to the company's revised training manual.

A Taser is a less lethal weapon than a firearm, for instance. But it does not exclude the possibility that Tasers, too, could be lethal under certain circumstances. According to an Arizona Republic report, there have been more than 400 deaths following police Taser strikes in the United States and 26 in Canada since 2001. "Medical examiners have ruled that a Taser was a cause, contributing factor or could not be ruled out in more than 30 of those deaths," the Phoenix-based newspaper reported.

The revision of Taser International's user manual comes as Utahns await the results of the autopsy of Brian Cardall. The 32-year-old died in June after being Tasered twice by a Hurricane city police officer. Cardall, who struggled with mental illness, had an episode outside Hurricane on state Route 59. As the family's car was pulled over to give Cardall his medicine, he exited the vehicle and began running down the highway. When approached by police officers, Cardall was Tasered twice. He collapsed and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Meanwhile, law enforcers are advised to avoid firing Tasers at the head, neck and chest. Taser International's manual further recommends avoiding chest shots "when possible" and "unless legally justified."

While lawsuits are a fact of life, the revision of this manual stirs more questions about the safety of Tasers, whether they are as safe as manufacturers claim or as dangerous as groups such as Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union and the Bureau of Justice Statistics suggest.

At a minimum, law enforcement agencies need to update their training in light of revisions to the Taser International operating manual. Perhaps more important, police need training in how to deal with people in mental crises, so the use of force can be kept to a minimum.