Swerdlow, C., M. W. Kroll, et al. (2008) Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN San Marcos Police Department, San Marcos, TX University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH. Hearty Rythm Society 2008

Ho, J. D., D. M. Dawes, et al. (2008) Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN, Lompoc District Hospital, Lompoc, CA, Heart Rythm Society 2008.

Ho J, Lapine A, Joing S, Reardon R, Dawes D. Acad Emerg Med. Apr 2008;15(4):398. We have demonstrated the presence of respiration through visualizing diaphragmatic excursion during a 10-second exposure to a TASER X26 CEW (TASER International, Scottsdale, AZ). There was no evidence of paralysis of the diaphragm during the exposure.

Jeffrey D. Ho, MD, Emergency Medicine News 02/08

Chistian Sloan, MD & Gary Vilke, MD, Emergency Medicine News. 02/08

James R. Roberts, MD, Emergency Medicine News. 02/08

Dawes DM, Ho JD, Johnson MA, Lundin E, Janchar TA, Miner JR. 15-Second conducted electrical weapon exposure does not cause core temperature elevation in non-environmentally stressed resting adults. Forensic Sci Int. Nov 3 2007. A 15-s discharge from a TASER X26((R)) CEW does not increase the core body temperature of resting, non-environmentally stressed adult subjects. These results challenge the speculation that this weapon technology may be contributing to the hyperthermia in subjects who die from excited delirium, drug toxicity, or other causes while in custody.

Michael D. White, Ph.D* and Justin Ready, Ph.D John Jay College of Criminal Justice Despite the Taser’s increasing popularity among police agencies, questions have been raised concerning the weapon’s use and effectiveness as well as its potential to cause serious injury or death. This article examines all Taser deployments by the New York City Police Department from 2002 to 2005 ( N = 375) and uses two multivariate approaches—logistic regression and chi-square automatic interaction detection—to identify predictors of Taser effectiveness, measured as continued suspect resistance and officer satisfaction.

In short, Taser weapons have the potential of providing law enforcement with a viable life-saving tool that presents no greater health risk than other less-lethal methods currently in use; however, extensive training, detailed deployment policies providing clear direction on how to avoid unnecessary acts of force, further research, and community approval are critical to ensure its safe, effective, and appropriate use.

Volunteers underwent a 24 hour monitoring process. After informed consent a health history and baseline bloodwork was obtained. Subjects then received a 15-second or two consecutive 5 second DS applications.

There were no cardiac dysrhythmia and interval or morphology changes in subjects who received a Taser discharge based on a 12-lead ECG performed immediately before and within 1 minute after a Taser activation.

These weapons have been associated with reduced overall injury rates among suspects and officers, but significant contreversy remains about their safety.

Conducted electrical weapons (CEWs) are used by some law enforcement agencies to subdue mentally ill subjects who are combative, violent, or suicidal. The use of CEWs in this population is controversial. Proponents advocate CEW use to avoid other forms of escalated force. Opponents advocate against CEW use because of the potential for abuse. What is lacking in the medical literature is documentation of the impact on outcome that this technology may have when used in this population. This project represents an initial report in this area.

TASERs deliver electrical pulses that can temporarily incapacitate subjects. The goal of this paper is to analyze the distribution of TASER currents in the heart and understand their chances of triggering cardiac arrhythmias. Methods and Results: The models analyzed herein describe strength-duration thresholds for myocyte excitation and ventricular fibrillation induction. Finite element modeling is used to compute current density in the heart for worst-case TASER electrode placement. The model predicts maximum TASER current-density of 0.27 mA/cm2 in the heart. Conclusion: Numerically simulated TASER heart current density is about half the threshold for myocytes excitation and more than 500 times lower than the threshold required for inducing ventricular fibrillation. Showing a substantial cardiac safety margin, TASER devices do not generate currents in the heart that are high enough to excite myocytes or trigger VF.

TASERs deliver electrical pulses that can temporarily incapacitate subjects. The goal of this paper is to analyze the distribution of currents in muscle layers and understand the electro-muscular incapacitation safety and efficacy of TASERs. Methods and Results: The analyses describe skeletal muscle and motor nerve activation, cell electroporation and current and electric field distributions through skin, fat and muscle layers, under worst-case assumptions for TASER electrode penetration and separation. For the muscle layer, the analysis predicts worst-case current-density and field-strength values of 94 mA/cm2 and 47 V/cm. Both values are higher than thresholds required for neuromuscular activation but significantly lower than levels needed for permanent cellular electroporation or tissue damage. Conclusion: The results indicate that TASERs are safe and effective in producing temporary subject incapacitation.

Pacemakers and ICD generators and leads functions were not affected by the tested standard 5 s stun gun shocks.

There were no clinically significant or lasting statistically significant changes in cardiovascular, electrolyte or pH levels in human subjects after a 5 s TASER activation.

Our objective in this study was to evaluate for rhythm changes utilizing cardiac monitoring during deployment of the Taser® on volunteers. A prospective, observational study evaluated law enforcement personnel who had continuous electrocardiographic monitoring immediately before, during, and after having a voluntary exposure to the Taser X-26®. Changes in cardiac rate, rhythm, ectopy, morphology, and conduction intervals were measured.

Markers of acidosis and cardiac injury were similar among acidotic subjects who underwent both sham and real prolonged CEW exposure. Prolonged CEW exposure in humans does not appear to have an effect with regard to worsening acidosis that is already present.

Though limited by short shock duration, human volunteers exposed to a single shock from the TASER did not develop an abnormal serum troponin I level 6 hours after shock, suggesting that there was no myocardial necrosis.

Conducted electrical weapons (CEWs) are used by law enforcement to subdue combative subjects. Occasionally, subjects will die after a CEW has been used on them. It is theorized that CEWs may contribute to these deaths by impairing respiration. CONCLUSIONS: Prolonged CEW application did not impair respiratory parameters in this population of volunteers. Further study is recommended to validate these findings in other populations.

In this resting adult population, the TASER X26 CEW did not affect the recordable cardiac electrical activity within a 24-hour period following a standard five-second application. The authors were unable to detect any induced electrical dysrhythmias or significant direct cardiac cellular damage that may be related to sudden and unexpected death proximal to CEW exposure. Additionally, no evidence of dangerous hyperkalemia or induced acidosis was found. Further study in the area of the in-custody death phenomenon to better understand its causes is recommended.

Neuromuscular incapacitation (NMI) devices discharge a pulsed dose of electrical energy to cause muscle contraction and pain. Field data suggest electrical NMI devices present an extremely low risk of injury. One risk of delivering electricity to a human is the induction of ventricular fibrillation (VF). We hypothesized that inducing VF would require a significantly greater NMI discharge than a discharge output by fielded devices.

Standard NMI discharges (x1) did not cause VF at any of the 5 locations before or after cocaine infusion. The maximum safe multiple, minimum VF-inducing multiple, and VFT of NMI application increased with increasing electrode distance from the heart. There was a 1.5- to 2-fold increase in these values at each position after cocaine infusion, suggesting decreased cardiac vulnerability for VF. Cocaine increased the required strength of NMI discharge that caused 2:1 or 3:1 ventricular capture ratios at all of the positions. No significant changes in creatine kinase-MB and troponin-I were seen. CONCLUSIONS: Cocaine increased the VFT of NMI discharges at all dart locations tested and reduced cardiac vulnerability to VF. The application of cocaine increased the safety margin by 50% to 100% above the baseline safety margin.

Michael R. Smith, Robert J. Kaminski, Jeffrey Rojek, Geoffrey P. Alpert and Jason Mathis, Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, Vol. 30 No. 3, 2007, pp. 423-446.

Jauchem JR, Cook MC, Beason CW., Forensic Sci Int. 2007 Jul 12; In conclusion, three repeated TASER device exposures had only transient effects on blood factors, which all returned to pre-exposure levels, with the exception of hematocrit (which remained elevated after 3h). Since the increase in this factor was less than that which may occur after short periods of exercise, it is unlikely that this would be an indicator of any serious harm.