Stun Gun Fallacy: How the Lack of Taser Regulation Endangers Lives

Over a recent five-year period, at least 148 people in the United States and Canada have died after encounters with police who shocked them with Tasers. In one recent year alone, there were 77 post-Taser fatalities around the nation.  Fifteen of those fatalities were in Northern and Central California.  In Vallejo, for example, a 21-year-old man was jolted 17 times within 3 minutes before he died.

ACLU-NC Police Practices Policy Director Mark Schlosberg conducted a comprehensive survey of Taser policies and training materials in more than 50 police departments across Northern and Central California. His findings were published as an in-depth report, The Stun Gun Fallacy: How the Lack of Taser Regulation Endangers Lives.

Schlosberg found that even as stun-gun-related deaths rise dramatically, the weapon remains largely unregulated. “We fear that in the absence of strong regulations on how police use the weapon,” said Schlosberg, “we are likely to see more unnecessary deaths.”

Taser International, the Scottsdale, Arizona-based manufacturer, has yet to concede that their product has led to a single identifiable death. The company continues to downplay safety concerns and bills its product as “non-lethal.” Taser’s reluctance to acknowledge potential dangers is particularly disturbing as over 95% of surveyed police departments rely on use policies supplied entirely by the manufacturer.

The ACLU-NC has been working to reform Taser policies and issued the following recommendations:

• Pass legislation that allows Tasers to be used solely as an alternative to deadly force.
• Adopt stricter policies that strictly regulate the number and duration of Taser shocks. Policies should protect vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, pregnant women, and people under the influence of drugs.
• Bring all training materials in line with new information and retrain all officers who have completed the Taser International training.

The ACLU-NC "Stun Gun" report was distributed to every police and sheriff’s department in Northern and Central California with over 25 sworn officers; to smaller departments known to use Tasers; and to city councils and supervisors in key areas.  "The Stun Gun Fallacy" was widely read, and it has succeeded in effecting policy changes in jurisdictions throughout the region.

Though many Taser regulations remain flawed, several police departments have recently changed their Taser regulations. The new guidelines represent a step in the right direction.