Stun Guns For Everyone

By Anita Hamilton

Surprising new products pop up all the time at high-tech trade shows. But at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month, one was particularly shocking. Volunteers by the dozen lined up at the Taser International booth for a chance to get blasted with 50,000 volts from the company's newest stun gun. "It felt like I got hit by lightning 100 times," said Jeremy Friedbaum, 46, of Provo, Utah.

The new stun gun, the Advanced Taser M-18L, looks like a pistol. But instead of firing bullets, it shoots tethered darts that hook into the skin or clothes. Victims typically scream in pain and writhe on the floor until the shock subsides--usually within a minute. Heavy-duty tasers are already used by more than 1,000 police departments in the U.S.; United Airlines just bought 1,300. And now Taser, sensing a new market opportunity in post-Sept. 11 anxiety, is launching its first models aimed at ordinary citizens. Prices start at $389.

Granted, Americans are concerned about security these days, but will arming everybody with stun guns really make us safer? The weapons have been linked to more than a dozen deaths and outlawed in seven states. Amnesty International has labeled them "tools of torture" and called for a worldwide ban. In one notoriously brutal incident, New York City cops zapped a teenager several dozen times. The teen filed suit and won a $600,000 settlement.

How dangerous are tasers? Not quite as bad as they sound. Although they put out 50,000 volts--roughly the same as a high-voltage power line--they do it in very short (.00001 sec.) bursts of much lower current. Every time there has been a fatality, the victim was either drugged or suffering from pre-existing medical conditions that made it hard to determine a cause of death. At TIME's request, Dr. Patrick Tchou, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, reviewed the few existing scientific studies on stun guns and concluded there is "some potential for causing harm, such as an irregular heartbeat" that could lead to death.

Taser enthusiasts argue that even if a few dozen deaths could be attributed to the stun gun, that's a tiny fraction of the 30,000 or so Americans who die from gunshot wounds each year. "What our weapon does is highly unpleasant," concedes Taser CEO Rick Smith, "but it can save lives."

Gerald Le Melle, deputy executive director of Amnesty USA, doesn't buy it. "There is a fine line between protection and torture," he says. He complains that of the 43 states where it is legal to buy a stun gun, none requires a background check. Taser requires that buyers be 18 or older, but Florida is the only state that enforces the rule.

Curiously, one of the biggest complaints about tasers is not that they are dangerous but that they don't do the job. Los Angeles police department statistics show that over the past three years tasers were effective only 56% of the time. Although all 1,100 field officers in the San Diego police department are issued tasers, they rarely use them. "They aren't real confident with them," says Sergeant Stephen Margetts. He notes that stun guns work best in a very limited range--8 ft. to 10 ft. from the suspect--and must be held at precisely the right angle. Most officers, he says, just reach for their pepper spray.

But Jeremy Friedbaum, who won a free taser for his momentary pain in Los Vegas, has few qualms about his new weapon. "I was really happy to bring this home to my family," says the father of four children, ages two to 12. He plans to teach his older kids how to use it.