The Axon Enterprise, which is formerly known as Taser International, is the maker of the most popular brand of stun gun called the Taser. The name “Taser” has become synonymous with the stun gun, much as “Band-Aid” is used as a catchall term for adhesive bandages. Stun guns, which have been used by law enforcement for decades, can temporarily immobilize a person — think of someone who is combative or resisting arrest, for instance — by jolting them with 50,000 volts of electricity.
A discharge, also known as a “cycle,” can last five seconds. The shock can cause pain that has been described as excruciating. When a Taser is fired from a distance, prongs or darts connected by wires are discharged at a person. In those cases, Tasers have a reliable range of about 10 feet, Professor Kenney said, but beyond that, their effectiveness in hitting a target becomes spotty.
However, with recent occurrences of ‘accidental discharges’, the argument continues to ensue on whether cops should continue making use of firearm or take a nose-dive to tasers. However, the case of a fatal police shooting killing one Rayshard Brooks, a black man who was found asleep in a car in a drive-through at a Wendy’s on Friday night in Atlanta, has reignited the debate over Tasers.
Mr. Brooks, 27, had fled from the police after failing a sobriety test, and grabbed a Taser from an officer during a struggle, the authorities said. He was later killed by the officer who struck him dead with his own firearm. Officers are trained that they have the right to escalate their use of force if they believe someone is threatening to incapacitate them. And in this case, it felt as such. However, the question remains, should officers be given multiple tasers or retain firearms?
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