{"id":2703,"date":"2012-09-20T09:20:01","date_gmt":"2012-09-20T13:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thinblueflorida.com\/?p=2703"},"modified":"2012-09-20T11:16:27","modified_gmt":"2012-09-20T15:16:27","slug":"evolution-of-the-police-taser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinblueflorida.com\/?p=2703","title":{"rendered":"Evolution of the Police TASER"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>There is no doubt that one of the most significant technological advances in law enforcement over the last twenty years has been the development and deployment of Electronic Control Devices (EDC\u2019s) for less lethal suspect management.<\/p>\n

The father of the modern EDC was the late Dr. John \u201cJack\u201d Higson Cover, Jr., a nuclear physicist and NASA scientist.\u00a0 He envisioned an electric weapon that could immobilize a person without the harm of a firearm.\u00a0 In 1974, Cover patented an ECD named after the 1911 novel Tom Swift and his Electric Rifle\u2014<\/em>hence the name TASER<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Dr. Jack Cover<\/p><\/div>\n

Cover\u2019s original TASER Systems TF-1 was classified as an NFA Title II weapon by the BATF based on the case design and because the electrified wire-tethered darts were propelled by a gunpowder charge.\u00a0 Further developments by Cover led to the TF-76 and TF-76A being classed as \u201chandguns.\u201d\u00a0 Sales of the new technology were therefore less restrictive.<\/p>\n

After TASER Systems went bankrupt, Cover sold its interests to an investor who marketed ECD\u2019s under the name Tasertron beginning in the mid-1980\u2019s.\u00a0 Their flagship EDC was the TE-86.\u00a0 Still gunpowder fired, the TE-86 was marginally effective.<\/p>\n

At my agency, TE-86\u2019s were fielded by SWAT members and supervisors. The triggering device on the Tasertron was a rocker switch.\u00a0 Push right to fire the right side cartridge, push left for the other cartridge.\u00a0 The problem was that you had to push to fire the darts, but hold down the rocker switch to continue the electrical charge to the probes.<\/p>\n

I have one vivid recollection of a knife-wielding suspect being hit with a TE-86 in the late 1980’s.\u00a0 The sergeant, though trained, was not proficient with the ECD\u2019s use.\u00a0 He pushed the right then the left rocker, but under stress he did not hold down either one.\u00a0 The suspect jumped into the air, having only been briefly stunned and now wearing four darts.<\/p>\n

Worse, the suspect had convulsed and grabbed the blade of the butcher knife he had been brandishing.\u00a0 I won\u2019t forget the mix of anger and shock on his face as he stood there bleeding from one hand while holding the knife in the other.\u00a0 We eventually talked him into dropping the knife, but I thought we might have to shoot the guy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Jack Cover and brothers Tom and Rick Smith founded Air Taser, Inc. in 1993.\u00a0 Their first product was the 34,000 model.\u00a0 It projected darts with the use of compressed nitrogen instead of a gunpowder charge, relieving it of the firearm classification.<\/p>\n

We found better success with the Air Tasers than we had with the old TE-86\u2019s.\u00a0 Still, there was room for improvement and in 1998 Air Taser became TASER International.\u00a0 To better the breed, they came out with the Advanced TASER M26.<\/p>\n

The M26, at 26 watts of power, had better “electro-muscular disruption”\"\"<\/a> than the 34,000, which had 7 watts.\u00a0 The M26 was also ergonomically designed to resemble a handgun, something that was more intuitive for a cop to handle.\u00a0 I did not like the battery trays in the M26.\u00a0 The officers sometimes cracked the trays when replacing the rechargeable AA batteries. Battery life was an issue and function checking an M26 daily was a necessity.\u00a0 On the street, hearing that slow \u201cclack, clack, clack\u201d meant you needed to transition to something else.<\/p>\n

TASER International debuted the X26 in 2003.\u00a0 This was the period in which more TASERs began to see duty on the road.\u00a0 Whether or not the \u201cShaped Pulse Technology\u201d was more effective, the smaller size and lack of battery recharging made the X26 popular with the rank and file.\u00a0 This was the first ECD issued to all our officers and another sergeant and I conducted the implementation training.<\/p>\n

We worried at first that all the officers having TASERs would result in suspects being \u201cSpidermanned,\u201d or trapped in webs of electrified wires from the officers deploying en masse.\u00a0 Thankfully, we were wrong.\u00a0 Our General Orders and Use of Force forms even included \u201cpointing a TASER at the suspect\u201d to gain compliance, which occurred more after combative criminals began “riding the lightning.”\u00a0 Our TASER X26 use has been infrequent, but generally effective when justified.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The only knock I have to the X26 is the weak safety selector, which has been the most reported problem at our department.\u00a0 The plastic selector switch can break at the pivot point rendering the ECD useless.\u00a0 We have sent them back to TASER for this.<\/p>\n

Last year, I received a new TASER X2.\u00a0 We looked at the TASER X3, but decided it crossed the line into prohibitive size.\u00a0 The X2 has a second shot capability and dual lasers for accurate probe hits.\u00a0 I had first seen a dual laser on the Tasertron TE-95, when I received their instructor training in the late 1990\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>TASER\u2019s X2 is the cutting edge ECD at this time.\u00a0 We are slowly replacing our aging X26\u2019s with the X2, which seems more durable.\u00a0 With only about a dozen issued to instructors and senior officers, we have yet to fully test its effectiveness on the street.<\/p>\n

Other companies have tried to break into the ECD market.\u00a0 Karbon Arms Inc.<\/a>, formerly known as Stinger Systems, and PhaZZer Electronics<\/a>, Inc. are two that come to mind.\u00a0 Both companies have made agency sales, but they have not enjoyed the wide spread acceptance of TASER International\u2019s products.<\/p>\n

Law enforcement methods of suspect control have come a long way from the days of the \u201cwood shampoo.\u201d\u00a0 Electronic control devices are evolving.\u00a0 The Military\u2019s Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) is studying ways to make a wireless ECD using an electrically conductive path between the device and the target.<\/p>\n

The Electronic Control Device has changed how police officers react to resistive suspects.\u00a0 ECD\u2019s have been responsible for saving countless citizens, officers and suspects from unnecessary injury and death.\u00a0 Though they are not a stand-alone solution, ECD\u2019s have evolved to become an integral presence on a patrolman\u2019s gun belt.<\/p>\n

Randall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is no doubt that one of the most significant technological advances in law enforcement over the last twenty years has been the development and deployment of Electronic Control Devices (EDC\u2019s) for less lethal suspect management. The father of the modern EDC was the late Dr. John \u201cJack\u201d Higson Cover, Jr., a nuclear physicist and NASA scientist.\u00a0 He envisioned an electric weapon that could immobilize a person without the harm of a firearm.\u00a0 In 1974, Cover patented an ECD named after the 1911 novel Tom Swift and his Electric Rifle\u2014hence the name TASER. Cover\u2019s original TASER Systems TF-1 was classified as an NFA Title II weapon by the BATF based … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[15,306],"tags":[503,278,35,16,507,508,273,504,505,277,502,506],"class_list":["post-2703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-taser","category-technology","tag-air-taser","tag-electronic-control-device","tag-karbon-arms","tag-phazzer","tag-police-taser","tag-police-taser-review","tag-taser-international","tag-taser-m26","tag-taser-x2","tag-taser-x26","tag-tasertron","tag-tom-swift-and-the-electric-rifle"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p28xkp-HB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinblueflorida.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinblueflorida.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinblueflorida.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinblueflorida.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinblueflorida.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2703"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/thinblueflorida.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2748,"href":"https:\/\/thinblueflorida.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2703\/revisions\/2748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinblueflorida.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinblueflorida.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinblueflorida.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}