Electroshock gun

Encyclopedia : E : EL : ELE : Electroshock gun

Stun baton and Electroshock belt redirect here and for convenience are described here, although neither is a gun.

An electroshock gun, also referred to as a stun gun, is a weapon used for subduing a person by firing something which administers electric shock which disrupts superficial muscle functions. A Taser is a well-known device of this type.

A stun baton does the same by administering an electric shock by contact without firing anything.

Contents

Commercially available varieties

Electric shock baton

Electric shock prods

This type is similar to basic design to an electric cattle prod. It has a metal end split into two parts electrically insulated from each other, or two thin projecting metal electrodes about an inch apart, at an end of a shaft which contains the batteries and mechanism. At the other end of the shaft is a handle and a switch. Both electrodes must touch the subject. In some types the sides of the baton can be electrified to stop the subject from grasping the baton above the electrodes. They are often carried in a sheath slung on a belt. Some such devices are available disguised as other objects, such as umbrellas or cell-phones or pens. Sometimes they have an option to make a noisy visible electric arc between the electrodes, to warn suspects. [Image of electric shock baton].

[This model] and [this model] are long flashlights which are designed also to administer an electric shock with its lit end's metal surround (which is split into halves insulated from each other).

In the beginning police used electric cattle prods for this purpose.

Taser

This weapon administers an electric shock through a projectile which trails a wire. See Taser.

Wire-less long-range electric shock weapon

This weapon fires a projectile which administers an electric shock without needing a connecting wire. See TASER International#Wire-less long-range electric shock weapon.

Stun belts

A stun belt is a belt that is fastened around the subject's waist or leg or arm which carries a battery and control pack and contains features to stop the subject from unfastening or removing it. A remote control signal is sent to tell the battery pack to give the subject an electric shock. Some models are activated by the subject's movement.

The United States uses these devices to control prisoners. One type is the REACT belt. Some stun belts can restrain the subject's hands and have a strap going under the subject's crotch to stop him from rotating the belt around his waist trying to deactivate it. Stun belts are not generally available to the public. There are images and descriptions of stun belts at these links:-

Prototype designs

Due to increased interest in developing less-lethal weapons, mainly from the US military, a number of new types of stun gun are being researched. They are designed to provide a "ranged" non-lethal weapon.

Weapons that administer electric shock through a stream of fluid

Prototype stun guns exist which replace the solid wire with a stream of conductive liquid (essentially salty water) which offers the range of a Taser (or better) and the possibility of multiple shots. See Electrified water cannon. Difficulties associated with this experimental design include:

"Non-continuous" discharge onto subject: liquid stream needs over 30 feet and over 5 second discharge.
"Pooling" of electrified liquid at base of subject, making apprehension of subject difficult by observing officers.
Need to carry a large tank of the liquid used, and a propellant canister, like a "water gun", to administer consecutive bursts of liquid over distances.

Another design, announced by Rheinmetall W&M as a prototype in 2003, uses an aerosol as the conductive medium. The manufacturers called it a "Plasma Taser"; however this is only a marketing name, and the weapon does not use plasma. Problems associated with this design include:-

Poor electrical conductivity.
Range of concept design is nominal (a gas cannot be propelled greater than 10 feet effectively).
The "gassing effect": all subjects in enclosed spaces are subjected to same effects (if any: see poor electrical conductivity).

Electrolaser

Other known or rumored variants include the electrolaser, which uses blooming of a laser beam to create a steam of ionised air (plasma) to carry the electric shock.

Principles of operation

Stun gun technology uses a temporary high-voltage low current to override the body's superficial muscle-triggering mechanisms. The recipient is immobilized via two metal probes (darts) connected via metal wires from the stun gun usually penetrating the human skin, and superficial muscle. The recipient that is 'connected' to a stun gun feels great pain and can be momentarily paralyzed (only so long as there is an electrical current being applied) because his muscles are receiving electrical 'shock'. The (relatively) low electric current must be pushed by (relatively) high voltage to overcome the electrical resistance of the human body. The resultant 'shock' is caused by muscles twitching uncontrollably, appearing as muscle spasms. However, because the amount of current is relatively low, there is considered to be a 'margin' of safety by a number of medical experts upon usage on humans. To date, scientific experiments to determine the effects on human cardio-pulmonary and respiratory functions have shown no significant findings of lasting effect.

In current stun-gun models, the amperage is relatively low (2.1mA to 3.6mA) which is based in part on the electrical supply, (for example M-26 Taser models use 8 x AAs batteries). Electrical current above 100mA is considered to be potentially lethal to humans.

The internal circuits of most stun-guns are fairly simple, either based on an oscillator, resonant circuit and step-up transformer or diode-capacitor voltage multipliers to achieve the continuous, direct or alternating high-voltage discharge may be powered by one or more 9 V battery depending on manufacturer, and model. The output voltages without external "load" (which would be the target's body) can range from 50 kV up to 900 kV, with the most common being in the 200 to 300 kV range. The output current upon contact with the target will depend on various factors such as target's resistance, skin type, moisture, bodily salinity, clothing, the stun-gun's internal circuitry and battery conditions.

According to the many sources, a shock of half a second duration will cause intense pain and muscle contractions startling most people greatly. Two to three seconds will often cause the subject to become dazed and drop to the ground, and over three seconds will usually completely disorient and drop an attacker for at least several minutes and possibly for up to fifteen minutes.

Controversies

Deaths associated with stun-gun use

Supporters say that stun guns are a safer alternative to devices such as firearms. Stun guns were originally marketed as "non-lethal" devices. However, based on the judgements of the SEC, this has had to be amended as "less-lethal" devices.[link]

Between September 1999 and October 2004, there were 73 cases of deaths of subjects soon after having been shocked using Tasers. Of these cases:

In 8 cases, medical examiners said Tasers were a cause or a contributing factor or could not be ruled out as a cause of death.
In 18 cases coroners and other officials stated that Tasers were not a factor.
In most of the 73 cases, drugs including cocaine, methamphetamine and PCP were concluded to be the major factor leading to death.
In many cases pre-existing cardiovascular conditions or other medical conditions were stated to be a factor.
Several deaths occurred as a result of injuries sustained in struggles. In a few of these cases head injury due to falling after being shocked contributed to later death.

These incidents form a very small percentage of many tens of thousands of operational uses of Tasers. [link]

Various lawsuits against the manufacturers and users of stun guns are pending, but many court judgements have dismissed lawsuits by finding evidence of preexisting conditions, ranging from excited delirium (caused by a subject's interaction with high levels of drug-use) which may be a factor before cardiac arrest, and preexisting osteoarthritis which may make bone fracture more likely when the device is used on the subject.

Critics argue that although the medical conditions or illegal drug-taking of some of these casualties, may have been the proximate cause, the use of the taser may have significantly heightened the risk of death for those suspects in an at-risk category. Therefore, they argue, this suggests that tasers and other electroshock weapons may be too dangerous to use on people with certain medical conditions. Furthermore, since police officers will typically not know about a person's medical conditions or the contents of his/her bloodstream, this entails a risk of death with virtually any suspect.

Supporters say that stun guns and tasers are more effective than any other means including pepper-spray (an eye irritant/breathing irritant), batons (and other conventional ways of inflicting pain), hand-to-hand combat (i.e. wrestling a subject to the ground), or even hand guns, at bringing a subject down to the ground with a minimum physical exertion, and with a minimum of potential for injury. Stun-guns have a direct link to reduced injury from use of physical force, and are attributed to saving human lives by use as an alternative to the use of firearms to subdue violent or out-of-control subjects. However, critics charge that police officers who are risk-averse will also resort to tasers in situations where previously they would have used more conventional, less "extreme" techniques, such as trying to reason with a cornered suspect.

Legal restrictions

Electroshock guns are generally used for self-defense, or by law enforcement to subdue, for example, an out-of-control prisoner. They are illegal or subject to legal restrictions on their availability and use in many jurisdictions. Reports of the devices being used for torture or as interrogation tools have led the United States to place restrictions on export of the devices. Critics point out that any country could easily duplicate these devices, which are relatively simple.

Flammability

Tasers come with express instructions to not utilize them in areas where flammable liquids or fumes may be present, such as filling stations or meth labs. Tasers, like other electric devices, have been found to ignite flammable materials.

An evaluative [study] carried out by the Home Office investigated the potential for tasers to ignite CS gas. Seven trials were conducted, in which CS gas canisters containing methyl isobutyl ketone (a solvent used in all CS sprays utilized by the United Kingdom police) were sprayed over mannequins wearing street clothing. The tasers were then fired at the mannequins. In two of the seven trials, "the flames produced were severe and engulfed the top half of the mannequin, including the head". This poses a particular problem for law enforcement, as normal police doctrine needs use of CS before the use of a taser. [(Guardian article)]

In another case, a man's shirt caught on fire after one of the taser spikes hit a cigarette lighter in his pocket; he suffered minor burns, but was treated for two self-inflicted knife wounds, which had needed use of the Taser to take him into protective custody.

Use in schools and on minors

Police officers that patrol schools, including grade schools, in several US states (including Kansas, Minnesota and Florida), currently carry tasers. In 2004, the parents of a 6-year old boy in Miami sued the police department for tasering their child. The police said the boy was threatening to injure his leg with a shard of glass, and claimed that using the taser was the only option to stop the boy injuring himself.[link]

It can be difficult to find out what policies are in place to regulate the use of tasers in schools. In March 2006, worried students at Wichita West High School in Kansas noticed that officers had started to carry tasers at their school, and started a campaign to demand information from the school district and the police department. They hand-delivered letters asking how long the tasers had been carried, what safety policies were in place, and under what circumstances they have already been used, if any. However, they have so far received no information.[link]

Supporters of taser use in schools argue that merely switching on the device, and threatening to use it, can be effective in frightening violent or uncooperative students into desisting from inappropriate behaviour, in cases where verbal reprimands have not succeeded. Critics counter that tasers may interact with preexisting medical complications such as medications, and may even contribute to someone's death as a result. Thus, critics say, they should either be prohibited altogether in schools, or classified as possibly-lethal weapons and as a consequence, should be regulated extremely tightly. Critics also argue that using a taser on a minor, and especially a young child, effectively acts as cruel and abusive punishment, and therefore it should be banned on the same grounds that other, older forms of physical punishment such as canings have been banned from use in many schools.

There has been at least one case of students using improvised electroshock guns in a school. In March 2005, several high school students in Maine faced charges when another student reported that they had been playing with improvised stun guns and testing them on themselves and fellow students. The devices were made from disposable cameras with a 330-volt electric charge, which, while not strong enough to cause severe injury, could be fatal to a person with a condition such as arrhythmia.

Political suppression

Stun guns have been used at political protests such as those by the anti-globalization movement. Members of this movement have argued that the technology, and other "non-lethal" weapons, are likely to become tools for suppressing legitimate protest.

Torture

The use of stun belts has been condemned by Amnesty International as torture, not only for the physical pain the devices cause, but by what they view as the psychological torture they inflict on people wearing one. They have also raised extensive concerns about the use of other electro-shock devices by American police and in American prisons, as they can be (and according to Amnesty, sometimes are) used to inflict cruel pain on individuals without leaving the telltale markings that a conventional beating might. The American Civil Liberties Union has also raised concerns about their use. There have been several well-publicized instances in which stun belts were accidentally activated by careless court personnel and criminal defendants were shocked for no justifiable reason.

Electric shocks have been used as an instrument of torture in many countries around the world.

Doubts over their effectiveness as self-defense weapons

Although these devices are usually advertised as very effective "personal defense" weapons, many security operators and martial arts experts genuinely doubt their effectiveness against determined and physically strong aggressors in a real melee combat situation and their value as a defense weapon in general.

They claim that "stun-guns" need much more continuous and uninterrupted contact time with one's intended target than usually advertised, well above 5 seconds, to effectively stop a determined assailant, and that much time can be impossible to achieve against a "physically superior" or better-trained opponent in close unarmed combat (street fight, mugging, etc). They claim that in such an event, the likely outcome would probably be merely irritating the assailant and have the "stun-gun" being broken, taken away, or used against oneself for retaliation, after giving its intended user a false sense of security and power. See these links: [link], [link], [link].

It is argued that this declassifies all but the most powerful of Electroshock/Stun guns into self-assurance, last-resort pseudo-weapons or even mere torture instruments only meant to deliver pain to subjects who would not be able to escape or effectively defend themselves anyway (elderly and invalid people, animals, bound prisoners, detainees, torture victims, etc.).

Other types

There are unconfirmed reports that conventional close-quarter combat weapons (swords, maces, arrows, spears, harpoons) have been adapted to deliver electric shocks (sometimes fatal) on contact.

Patents

[U.S. Patent 8843] - Electric whaling apparatus - Albert Sonnenburg and Philipp Rechten
[U.S. Patent 2805067] - Electric weapon - Thomas D. Ryan

External links

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