Season Two Research Files
Episode Nineteen
2:00am-3:00am
STUN GUNS AND TASERS
Stun gun technology was developed in the early 1970s as a non-lethal way for police to incapacitate violent criminals. Small and powered by store-bought batteries, they deliver a series of millisecond-long shocks that cause the victim's muscles to contract. One popular variation on the conventional stun gun design is the taser gun. Taser guns work the same basic way as ordinary stun guns, except that charged electrodes are launched through the air with wires trailing behind. Small barbs affix the electrodes onto an attacker's clothing. When the electrodes are attached, the current travels down the wires into the attacker, stunning him in the same way as a conventional stun gun. The main advantage of this design is that you can stun attackers from a greater distance (typically 15 to 20 feet). The disadvantage is that you only get one shot -- you have to wind up and re-pack the electrode wires each time you fire.
The companies that make stun guns and tasers specify that the weapons should be used only for self-defense or incapacitating an unruly person. Unfortunately, stun guns are commonly used as torture devices in many parts of the world. Electrical torture is extremely painful and can be controlled by the torturer. It is also cheap, easy to conceal and hard to trace, leaving very few incriminating marks. Manufacturers and many law officers argue that stun guns, in the right hands, actually prevent worse abuse by police. Without a shock weapon, a cop is left with the choice of clubbing a dangerous criminal with a nightstick or shooting him with a handgun, which can cause more severe injuries. American law agencies have used stun guns thousands of times, and there have been relatively few documented cases of serious injuries.
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