statism watch

CBC News
December 5, 2008

Human rights group Amnesty International is renewing its call for a moratorium on Taser use after recent tests commissioned by CBC News and Radio-Canada found some of the Human rights group Amnesty International is renewing its call for a moratorium on Taser use after recent tests commissioned by CBC News and Radio-Canada found some of the stun guns deliver a higher level of electricity than the manufacturer promises.

The tests, conducted by the U.S.-based lab National Technical Systems, used 41 X26 model Tasers from seven police departments in that country. Each weapon was fired six times.

Of the 41 Tasers tested, four delivered significantly more current than Taser International says is possible. In those cases, the current was up to 50 per cent stronger than specified on the devices.

The abnormal X26 model Tasers were made before 2005, prompting some scientists to suggest police should stop using any older versions of the stun guns until they can be tested.

The human rights group has said it believes police forces around the world have relied too heavily on the manufacturer’s safety claims. It wants to see more independent tests.

“The fact that Tasers were firing above their specified limits then raises questions as to what of the thousands of Tasers that are out there across Canada and across the United States, how often are they misfiring,” said Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada.

Arizona-based Taser International makes virtually all the stun guns in use today. They are intended to incapacitate people with an electric shock.

The RCMP says it pulled a random sample of some of the force’s Tasers for testing, based on the results of the CBC News/Radio-Canada investigation.

A force communications official, Supt. Tim Cogan, informed CBC News late Thursday that preliminary test results showed the sample of Tasers operated within the manufacturer’s specifications.

Pierre Savard, a biomedical engineer at the University of Montreal, designed the technical procedure for the CBC’s testing, based on Taser International’s specifications.

Savard told CBC News it is scientifically significant that 10 per cent of the Tasers fired in the tests delivered more current than they are supposed to do, especially since he believes no one is verifying the company’s claims.

“I think it’s important because Taser is not subjected to international standards,” Savard said.

“When you use a cellphone, well, cellphones have to respect a set of standards … for the electric magnetic field that it emits. The Taser, well, nobody knows except Taser International.”

Savard said the cause of the increased current could be either due to faulty quality control during the stun guns’ manufacturing or electrical components that deteriorate with age.

The findings are troubling, since police officers are trained to aim a Taser at the chest, said Savard, who studies heart rhythms and how they are affected by electrical stimulation.

“When you combine an increased current intensity with a dart that falls right over the heart for somebody who has cardiovascular disease or other conditions such as using drugs, for example, it can all add up to a fatal issue,” Savard said.

Need time to examine results, Taser says

For years, police forces across North America assured people that Tasers were safe.

Taser International has said its product is “safer than Tylenol.”

Taser said that because of the time needed to analyze the test results and the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday Nov. 27, the company couldn’t provide someone for an interview before CBC News made its results public.

However, Magne Nerheim, Taser’s vice-president of research and development, sent a written response, acknowledging the CBC tests show four of the Tasers malfunctioned.

Nerheim called the malfunctioning an anomaly — one that could be explained if the weapons are not spark-tested on a regular basis.

Nerheim also suggested the testing be repeated to verify the results. He made no comment about the age of the Tasers and whether there could be an issue of reliability.

During the tests commissioned by CBC News and Radio-Canada, three Tasers didn’t fire, even with charged battery packs. Those were set aside and not counted in the final results.

But a Taser that doesn’t deploy could create a safety issue for a police officer, Savard said.

“When we are talking about Tasers that don’t function, I think it is dangerous for the policeman who would try to use the Taser and the individual response can be aggressive,” he said.

The CBC showed the results to several electrical engineers as a peer review of the analysis. They agreed that, at the very least, the Tasers made before 2005 should be withdrawn and not used again until they are tested and proved reliable.

Source | See Also: Some tested Tasers fire stronger current than company says: CBC/Radio-Canada probe | RCMP Investigates, Clears Self of Wrongdoing in Case of TASERed Inuvik Girl | US Cops Tase 54 Year Old Woman For Sitting In Wrong Seat At Football Game | Prison service ices TASER pilot project | B.C. man dies after Taser used during Calgary arrest | Mountie involved in fatal crash was supervisor at time of airport Taser death | Drug abuser executed by TASER blasts – TASER toll stands at 25 | Mountie arrested in fatal crash present at airport Taser death | Inquiry into Vancouver airport Taser death put off 2nd time | Tasers being used for pain compliance during interrogation, suit alleges | Family sues police claiming Taser raid on autistic son in own bedroom |  Naked Langley, B.C., robbery suspect dies after Taser jolt | Tasering of mom with baby ‘necessary’ in order to take child, police say | Brampton man is 23rd Canadian TASER death; police duly investigate themselves |  RCMP didn’t study Taser use enough: Report | Probe into tasering of teenaged girl reopened | Police Taser and abuse suspect, lie on stand, man still convicted | RCMP should end use of Tasers: Zaccardelli | Police delay report on Taser until 2009 | Mounties pinned me down in cell and tasered me, Manitoba girl says | 21st Canadian TASER death occurs in Winnipeg alleyway | RCMP e-mails throw Dziekanski Taser probe into question, critics say | Taser use could put police under fire | Inquiry says ‘insidious’ TASERs being used as tool of convenience, should be reclassified, restricted under criminal code | Man dies in custody after Taser incident involving Ontario police | Ban Tasers if RCMP doesn’t curb use by year’s end: Commons committee | One-third of people shot by Taser need medical attention: probe | RCMP firing Tasers multiple times at subjects, probe reveals | U.S. jury shocks Taser, investors, with rare loss in court | Youth Worker Subjected to Warrantless Raid on Secret Evidence | Tasering violated suspect’s rights, judge rules | RCMP willing to change Taser policy, inquiry told | Tasers pose risk to heart, MDs testify | ‘Peel and Stick’ Tasers Electrify Riot Control | Canadian police have been brainwashed, Taser inquiry told | Mounties censor Taser report | Taser group’s chair to defend stun guns at public inquiry | Chicago study calls Taser’s safety claims into question | Officer injured in Taser demonstration

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