Tasers - How Safe Are Taser Guns

Clinical studies have shown that there may be legitimate medical reasons why the taser gun should not be used as police products for safety control. During an experiment at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, scientists stunned 11 pigs with tasers. All of the animals suffered heart rhythm problems and two later died - one within only three minutes. The head of the U.S. southern regional office of Amnesty International reports that 277 people in the United States have died after being shocked by a taser, between June 2001 and October 2007. He also noted that about 80% of those people were unarmed.

The British Columbia provincial government in Canada has promised a public inquiry into the danger of tasers and is willing to consider a ban on the controversial weapons. This inquiry is prompted by the death of a Polish immigrant after he was tasered twice by police in a Vancouver airport. The incident was captured on video and has been viewed all over the world. If taser guns are found to be a factor in the man's death, then the province could change its policy on their use as early as this summer.

Contrarily, the United Kingdom is expanding its use of stun tasers. Police are now permitted to use taser stun guns against children, despite warnings that they could trigger a heart attack in youngsters. Until now, taser guns have been used only by specialist officers as a "non lethal" alternative to firearms. A taser gun can now be used against all potentially violent offenders even if they are unarmed. In North America, there are no guidelines for the use of a taser stun gun.

When compared to pepper spray or a police dog, a tasers actually have less of a chance of causing injury. Dog bites can cause long term injury, and pepper spray can injure the officer and civilians who may be in the immediate area. This is not an issue that is easily resolved, nor, it appears, will it be resolved any time soon.