Tasers: More Lethal Than the Company Wants You to Think

Just how lethal is a taser?

Well, if you were to ask Taser International, the company says the weapon can "protect life," and that "good aim isn't required."On its website, they use a human figure to show how the entire body is an "effective target zone" for complete neurological incapacitation. Yet at the same time, Taser has been discreetly advising police departments to avoid the chest area in order to reduce the possibility of cardiac arrest and the hassles of a lawsuit. Well now, I'd have to call that aiming.

The truth is, tasers can kill, and a chest shot increases the chance of death or serious injury. But in order to create the image of tasers as a life saver -- which they can be if used correctly -- Taser International downplays the dangers of the weapon.

Tasers aren't and haven't been used correctly. Amnesty International, for example, estimates over 400 people have been killed by the weapons. And that doesn't even include cases like Steven Butler, who suffered extensive brain damage after being shocked by a taser.

Now, Taser International is involved in a lawsuit because their product wrecked Butler's life, and unless they're more forthright about their weapon's dangers, they'll continue to be sued.

San Francisco police chief George Gascon says -- accurately -- that tasers should be regarded only as a ‘less-lethal' alternative to a handgun. Unfortunately, they aren't being used as such. Cops continue to use tasers in situations where they'd never use a gun. Take the example of Jaesun Ingles, who died after being tased by Chicago police. He was running from officers after swallowing a bag of drugs -- not exactly a situation to open fire with a deadly weapon. Yet the Chicago police has nevertheless decided to go ahead and put tasers in every squad car in the city.

More than 1.8 million people have been tased since law enforcement started using tasers in the 90s. Now, there's no way cops would have shot 1.8 million people, which means tasers are being used not only in the place of guns -- but in addition to guns. That has to change, and it will only change when tasers are regarded and used for what they are: weapons that kill. Take a moment to sign the petition above and tell Chicago mayor Richard Daley to limit Taser use only to situations in which lethal force is actually appropriate.

Photo Credit: Jason Edward Scott Bain