Comments on: What do tasers do to the body?

By: char hoy

char hoy — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:28:35 +0000

how manny times can a cop taser a victium

By: PAUL MILLS

PAUL MILLS — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:55:08 +0000

Ms. Schulsky: The online article is about how Tasers work. It included a statement based on a questionable, Taser-financed study about an important aspect of that topic: Do Tasers work in a way that can kill people? The record suggests they do kill people. This is fact territory, not moral territory. The question is not whether police should use conventional firearms or Taser electrified dart guns. The question is whether police should be using potentially deadly electrified dart guns that have not been fairly tested. Surely we can agree that such use is reckless and irresponsible, and it should stop. There are other alternatives to firearms besides Tasers, and have been for centuries.

By: Alexandra Schulsky

Alexandra Schulsky — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 18:59:44 +0000

I hardly meant to dismiss the possibility of fatal harm. In fact, I think the last portion of my comment acknowledges that potential and touches upon its consequences under the word ‘misuse.’ Obviously, misuse–if we can agree that fatalities arise from misuse at all–is an glaring problem, and I critique the author for not paying it more heed. However, doesn’t that beg a question: given that misuse and recklessness exist, is it better to equip, say, a police force with tasers, or with guns? And here lies the moral territory I praised the author for avoiding…

By: PAUL MILLS

PAUL MILLS — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 14:29:50 +0000

Alexandra Schulsky: Yes, the Ho study is there to try to dispel concerns about the potentiality of deadly harm. I don’t know why you think that potentiality is a falsehood, given the number of Taser-related deaths that have been reported.

MWB: You seem to have located the subject study. The study appears at first glance to have recorded Taser effects during a 15-second discharge, but on closer examination, apparently not. The critical information that should have been obtained appears to be avoided in this study: How well were the subjects able to breathe – what was the “tidal volume” of each breath – while the Taser device was being applied to them? This would show whether, as appears in videos of Taser use, the ability to breathe is interrupted while the diaphragm muscles are electrically paralyzed. Instead, the report labels as a measurement “during” exposure (”Phase 2″), a measurement taken 15 seconds after the beginning of a 15-second application – in other words, breathing immediately after, not during, the Taser application. This study appears to be of dubious value – except to Taser.

By: Alexandra Schulsky

Alexandra Schulsky — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:49:20 +0000

This piece does a terrific job of explaining how Tasers effect the nervous system, a physical reaction that is widely misunderstood. While any discussion of a weapon–advertised as a tool for self-defense or otherwise–invariably strays into moral territory, I think the piece admirably handles a sensitive topic by sticking to the science. The ‘Mr. Ho’ study is raised only to dispel a falsehood about the potentiality of “deadly harm.” While I feel more attention could have been paid to alternate studies–the drawbacks of Taser–should they exist, taking up the issue of misuse, however vital and important an element, would’ve done a disservice to the intent and focus of the article.

By: mwb

mwb — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 19:40:57 +0000

Re: the question of Dr. Ho and his “affiliation with Taser”, fyi:

via InfoWars:
http://www.infowars.com/articles/ps/tasers_a_shock_to_the_system.htm

Tasers: A shock to the system

Newsday | April 3, 2005

[...]

Both sides of the story

[...]

“People are looking for something to blame,” said Dr. Jeffrey Ho, a Minnesota emergency-medicine specialist and paid consultant to Taser, at the Toledo police forum. “At the moment it’s Taser.”

[...]

By: mwb

mwb — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:49:12 +0000

After searching for it online and, from what I can tell, the abstract for the report mentioned within the above post can be found at:
http://www.aemj.org/cgi/content/abstract/14/3/197

Would have been good if the person did a better job with providing more proper or thorough citation as well as linkages for the report and, also indicating the exact amount or percentage of Taser’s funding of the research though, I agree.

By: PAUL MILLS

PAUL MILLS — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:17:17 +0000

You don’t give the title of the study, or the date of its publication. You don’t state how “partial” Taser’s funding of the study was. You don’t discuss author Dr. Ho’s personal affiliation with Taser.