ARE S
TASERLY
REAL

?
L
A
H
T
E
L
N
NO
W

CURRENT RESEARCH ON BOTH ANIMALS
AND HUMANS SHOWS THAT TASERS ARE
AMONG THE SAFEST COP WEAPONS.
JEFFREY D. HO, MD, FACEP

ith more than 45 percent of law enforcement
agencies nationwide now using conducted
electrical weapon (CEW) devices, agencies and
the general public are becoming more familiar
with the capabilities of and controversy surrounding these non-lethal weapons. The sometimes negative
perceptions of CEWs most frequently stem from ignorance,
media misinformation, and misinterpretation of data. The
latest research conducted on animals and humans indicates
that CEWs are among the safest of weapon options available
to police officers.
To date, Scottsdale, Ariz.-based TASER International is the
only manufacturer to bring a practical and reliable CEW to
mass market. The company makes two law enforcement
models, the M26 and the X26. While these devices offer subtle
differences in size, shape, features, and generated electrical
current profile, they both operate using similar principles.
TASER devices utilize very low amperage electrical currents
to disrupt normal nerve signals to
skeletal muscles. In doing so, they
achieve subject compliance through
pain and muscular incapacitation.
Although this principle of weapon
technology has been around for at
least 30 years, it has recently been
improved to the point where it has
gained widespread acceptance by
American law enforcement agencies.
The rapid adoption of TASERs by
law enforcement has led to thousands of uses of the weapon. It’s also
resulted in numerous lawsuits alleging that TASERs can kill.
man
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32

POLICE

JULY 20 07

SAME OLD SONG

TASER is not the first non-lethal law enforcement weapon
to be attacked by Amnesty International, the ACLU, and
other civil liberties advocates. Two decades ago, chemical irritants such as pepper spray were targeted by these groups.
At that time, chemical irritants had just entered the law
enforcement market and were considered a useful tool for
subject control, but critics feared these weapons would
worsen respiratory health problems such as asthma or even
cause death. These charges were largely disproved through
lab study and observational surveillance.
As a result, chemical irritants that were once blamed for incustody deaths are now considered practical and necessary alternatives in use-of-force situations. It appears that TASERs are
currently in the throes of a similar acceptance process.
A search of the literature reveals numerous studies, position papers, and review articles about both chemical irritants
and CEWs. In fact, the TASER devices specifically have been
and continue to be studied by the
manufacturer, the military, academic institutions, international
groups, and law enforcement agencies, making them, arguably, the
most thoroughly researched piece
of equipment found on a duty belt.

15 TIMES THE OUTPUT
Dr. Wayne McDaniel published a
study in 2005 that demonstrates the
excellent safety margins of TASER
devices based on subject weight. In
“Cardiac Safety of Neuromuscular Incapacitating Defensive Devices,” McDaniel, R.A. Stratbucker, M. Nerheim,
and J.E. Brewer document that in
order to reliably induce cardiac arrest
in a 66-pound animal, they had to increase the output to at least 15 times

ARE S
A
T SERLY
REAL

?
L
A
H
T
E
NON-L

that of a standard TASER device. CEWs manufactured by
TASER International cannot produce this level of output.
This safety margin increases proportionally with weight,
meaning a 258-pound animal required an output at least 42
times greater than a TASER device. That means that a TASER
device’s safety threshold is higher than even acetaminophen
(Tylenol), a common over-the-counter medication with an
approximately 10-to-one safety margin for lethality. (This
means that if a person takes 10 times
During the
human
the recommended dose of acetaminotests, a volu
nteer is
phen, he or she is likely to die.)
chec
ked for card
iac
muscle dam
age
following a
fivesecond TAS
ER
exposure.

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The McDaniel study, like much of the TASER research to
date, concentrated on animal models. This has drawn some
criticism from TASER detractors. Such questioning is an acceptable part of the scientific process, but it is important to
remember that much of what is known and practiced in
modern medicine is based on animal lab modeling.
Testing on animal models has clearly yielded important
findings about the safety of TASERs. But in order to address
this criticism, TASER International has sponsored research to
gather data on human subjects.
A human subject study conducted by myself, J.R. Miner,
and D.R. Lakireddy, “Cardiovascular and Physiologic Effects
of Conducted Electrical Weapon Discharge in Resting
Adults,” was published in the peer-reviewed journal Academy of Emergency Medicine in mid-2006. In this study, we
tested 67 consenting volunteers at a training event that required participants to be subjected to a five-second, deployed probe application of a TASER X26. (The TASER International online field use database indicates that 67 percent
of deployments are for five seconds or less.)
Health histories and baseline sets of blood work and electrocardiograms were obtained from each volunteer before
they received their TASER applications. Then, after the volunteers submitted to a TASER exposure, they were tested for
electrocardiogram changes, blood acid levels, kidney impair-

ARE S
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T SERLY
REAL

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NON-L

ment, cardiac muscle damage, and skeletal muscle damage.
What was found over the 24-hour measurement period
was significant in dispelling fears that TASER devices are
dangerous. There were no changes in the subjects’ electrocardiogram readings and markers for blood acid, kidney impairment, or cardiac muscle damage. The only elevated levels were for skeletal muscle break-down, which was
anticipated.

BREAKING DOWN THE DATA
Let’s take a closer look at these findings. The first test was
an electrocardiogram, a tracing of the heart’s inherent electrical pattern that is used to diagnose underlying heart damage or potentially dangerous rhythm patterns. One myth that
surrounds TASER devices is that they can somehow cause an
abnormal electrical pattern of the heart, leading to damage
or death from electrocution. The fact that the electrocardiogram readings were unchanged before and after exposure
serves to debunk this myth.
The next test was a measure for blood acid. One of the
concerns about TASERs has been whether their use can lead
to metabolic acidosis, a buildup of excess blood acid, which
is known to sometimes cause death. The best example of this
is the state of “excited delirium,” a condition defined by the
sudden onset of hyperactivity and confusion, often seen in
conjunction with illicit substance abuse and/or mental illness. This study found that a five-second TASER exposure is
not associated with any increase in blood acid levels.
Critics have also claimed that TASER exposure can cause
kidney impairment by damaging muscle cells and clogging
the kidneys with proteins released from these cells. Kidney
impairment is a serious concern because it can lead to permanent disability or death, but this study appears to show
that CEWs create no such problem.
Perhaps the most important measurement of this study
was the cardiac muscle damage marker. It has been publicly
theorized that exposure to a TASER can induce heart damage, leading to in-custody deaths or disabilities. It cannot be
overemphasized that this study showed no evidence of heart
damage or heart attack resulting from TASER exposure.
Finally, the study did demonstrate a modest and expected
elevation of skeletal muscle break-down markers. These
markers are normally elevated after exertional events such as
running, lifting weights, or participating in an athletic activity. Because the CEW device causes skeletal muscle incapacitation by overstimulation, the effect is the same as a muscular workout.

THE TESTED POPULATION
A common criticism of TASER research is that the subjects
they have been tested on—primarily law enforcement officers—are much healthier than the general public. It is also
often incorrectly assumed that the officers being tested are
young recruits. These misconceptions lead some critics to
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JULY 20 07

exposure
Following
charge
to a TASER
were
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jump to the conclusion that the older, less healthy general
population cannot withstand the effects of a TASER the same
way the test subjects did.
Our study tested subjects up to 55 years old, many with
significant underlying health problems such as diabetes,
high blood pressure, heart failure, and previous heart attacks. Additionally, with an average body mass index (BMI)
of 28.4 (National guidelines are that a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is
“overweight” and one of 30 or higher is “obese.”), most volunteers were considered “overweight” for American adults
and some were “obese.” Collectively, this data indicates that
TASER devices in use today are seemingly safe for use on individuals of widely varying age and health.

STRESS TESTING
In my original 2006 human study, the persons studied
were at rest and had five-second TASER exposures. It was
pointed out by some critics that in real life, TASERs are rarely
used on rested persons since they have usually just engaged
in behavior such as fleeing or fighting with law enforcement.
It was also pointed out that sometimes the TASER is used for
longer than a cumulative five-second exposure.
This criticism spurred a follow-up study, “Physiologic Effects of Prolonged Conducted Electrical Weapon Discharge
on Acidotic Adults,” published in the Academy of Emergency
Medicine earlier this year.
In this study conducted by myself, D.M. Dawes, and L.L.
Bultman, the human volunteers were exercised to the point
of exhaustion and then they were exposed to a 15-second
TASER application.
We examined blood and electrocardiograms before and
after the exercise and the TASER exposure. This was meant to
more closely simulate encounters in the field where the subject may be exhausted and the application is for more than a
single trigger pull. We compared this group with a control
group that exercised only and received no CEW application.
What we discovered was that both groups had similar blood
serum results before and after their exposure, regardless of exhaustion. The conclusions from this indicate that CEW use on
persons in an exhausted state does not appear to cause evidence of dangerous physiologic changes.

THE BREATH OF LIFE
In another study published in the Academy of Emergency
Medicine, “Respiratory Effect of Prolonged Electrical Weapon
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37

ARE S
A
T SERLY
REAL

?
L
A
H
T
E
NON-L

Application on Human Volunteers,” myself, D.M. Dawes, and
L.L. Bultman investigated the ability for humans to breathe
during TASER application. Critics of TASERs have theorized
that they can restrict a person’s ability to breathe, leading to a
bad outcome.
To determine if this was true, we took human volunteers
and placed TASER electrodes in various positions on their
backs and chests. The electrodes always were positioned so
that one was above and one was below the area of the diaphragm. The reason for this is that the chest wall and the diaphragm are the primary areas that contain the muscles
used in breathing, so we wanted to be sure to involve all of
these areas on each subject.
The volunteers were also fitted with a mask that captured
all breathing data on a breath-by-breath basis for measurement. This way we were able to measure rate, volume, and
concentration of inspired and expired gases.
Volunteers were exposed to a prolonged (15-second) application from a factory standard TASER X26. We found that
POL0107hytape.qxp
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each and every12/8/06
volunteer4:19
continued
to breathe
during the
application. In fact, we found that they uniformly breathed
faster and deeper during the application than at baseline.

This is an extremely important finding because it puts to rest
any questions on whether or not humans breathe during
TASER exposure.
Study after study continues to show that TASERs are a safe,
non-lethal weapon for law enforcement applications. Based
on all of the available data, including the most recent human
study, there seems to be no reason to prevent law enforcement agencies from continuing to use these devices with
confidence.
Dr. Jeffrey Ho is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency
Physicians. He practices clinically at an urban Level 1 trauma
center and is a licensed deputy sheriff who currently serves
with a county enforcement agency and has previously served
as a SWAT team tactical physician. Dr. Ho regularly consults
with law enforcement agencies on issues of in-custody death.
He has an academic appointment in emergency medicine at
the University of Minnesota and is an independent, expert
medical consultant to TASER International where he leads a
cadre of researchers in studying human physiologic effects to
non-lethal weaponry.

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