Taser is a weapon that shoots out long wires, stunning a target with electric current. Tasers are not intended for killing targets. Thus, they are considered nonlethal or less-lethal weapons. Law enforcement officers can use Tasers to subdue (overcome) dangerous opponents or fleeing suspects. Tasers are a kind of electroshock weapon. This class of weapon also includes stun guns, electric prods, and stun belts. The name Taser is a trademark of Taser International.
Tasers can hit targets up to 35 feet (11 meters) away. The wires carry electrode darts that stick in the target’s clothing. The darts deliver powerful pulses of electric current. The human body uses electric signals for communication among the brain, nerves, and muscles. The Taser’s current interrupts these signals, dazing the person and possibly causing pain and muscle spasms.
Jack Cover, an American physicist, started developing electroshock weapons in the late 1960’s. At the time, riots in many United States cities led to a demand for nonlethal ways to subdue crowds. Cover coined the term Taser as an acronym for _T_homas _A. S_wift’s _E_lectric _R_ifle, an imaginary weapon described in a popular series of adventure novels. Cover received his first patent for the device in 1974. In 1976, U.S. police departments began purchasing Taser weapons. Since then, thousands of soldiers, police officers, corrections officers, and private security guards have armed themselves with Tasers. Tasers are also sold to private citizens for self-defense. However, Tasers are illegal to purchase in some areas.
The safety and ethicality of Taser use are controversial. Critics charge that officers have overused the weapons in unnecessary circumstances. Critics also claim that hundreds of people have died from heart attacks, seizures, breathing problems, or other complications after being shocked by Tasers. Taser supporters claim the weapon is more effective and less dangerous than such police weapons as pepper spray, batons, and handguns.
