Shocking Pain: Limiting Police Taser Abuse

If pop culture were your only guide, you'd probably think that tasers are hilarious. Scenes of hapless souls squirming after being "tased" often play with a laugh track in Hollywood comedies. Real-world taser bloopers get thousands of hits on on the net. These images, however, are deeply deceptive. Tasers actually cause excruciating pain and police abuse of the weapon is a deadly serious problem. For this reason, I welcome the recent federal civil rights ruling that may help reform police taser policies.

The federal case arose out of a particular encounter in California between a police officer and a motorist during a traffic stop for a seat belt violation. The driver, Carl Bryan, was unarmed and indeed wore only boxer shorts and tennis shoes. Bryan was agitated, upset, and muttering gibberish. He exited his car but did not attempt to flee. Neither did he physically or verbally threaten the  cop. However, because Bryan allegedly failed to obey an order to return to his car, the officer -- who was standing 20 feet away -- discharged his taser. The electric current made Bryan fall flat on his face, fracturing four teeth and causing contusions.

Technically, the federal court decision only permits Bryan's excessive force lawsuit to proceed to trial. However, the court also announced a rule that police may only employ tasers when "the suspect poses and immediate threat to the officer or a member of the public." If adopted outside the Ninth Circuit, this "immediate threat" standard would effectively prohibit the use of tasers on "passive resisters" like protesters. It would also end the vile practice of tasering to subdue obnoxious or unruly individuals who are not actually dangerous (remember Andrew "Don't tase me, bro" Meyer?).

The reasoning justifying the court's decision also deserves attention. The court described just why tasers need close regulation. The typical X26 model uses compressed nitrogen to propel (at a rate of 160 feet per second) two darts tipped with stainless steel barbs connected the gun by insulated wires. Upon impact, the X26 delivers a 1200 volt, low ampere electrical impulse that instantly overrides the victim's central nervous system, paralyzing the muscles and causing excruciating pain to radiate through the body. Paralysis results in a sudden, uncontrolled fall that can also end in serious injury or even death. Indeed, Amnesty International has documented more than 150 cases of taser-related deaths in the United States.

So if tasers are so dangerous, what's going on in all those comical and seemingly harmless taser videos online? First, recall that most of those videos involve volunteers who expect the shock. When paralysis strikes these willing guinea pigs, they are usually assisted by others who either hold prop them up or lower them them gently to the ground. Second, consider that the person administering the shock in these videos generally turns off the taser quickly. On the street and out of view, the current can flow much longer with exponentially more devastating effects.

Don't get me wrong. I laugh at twisted humor as much as the next guy. Slapstick and pain have always gone hand in hand. What I am arguing is that we must not confuse reality TV with reality itself. And in the real real world, police taser abuse is no joke.

Photo: J. Star