Department of Justice Study Evaluates Electronic Control Device Technology; Report Obtained Through FOIA Request Supports Superiority of TASER Devices
Some of the key findings of the 93-page report are:
1. Lower level of incapacitation when exposed to the Stinger S-200
* "...the majority of people reported a much lower level of
incapacitation when hit with the Stinger S200 in comparison to
the TASER X26." (p. 6)
* "In all cases of TASER deployment, the subjects were immediately
incapacitated. However, the majority of people had little
reaction when hit with the Stinger S200 while this CED was
affixed to them via gator clips." (p. 24)
2. Safety Concerns
* "Further problems existed in that the Stinger cartridges would
also discharge little pieces of plastic and metal that could best
be described as `shrapnel.' This was noted numerous times in
testing as these items constantly stuck the research team."
(p. 37)
* "Should the user make contact with the cross-bolt switch while
the Stinger S-200 is discharging a cycle of current, the user
also receives a shock for the duration of the cycle." (p. 74)
3. TASER X26 is a more reliable device
* "A quantitative review of the weapon systems shows greater
reliability of the TASER X26 over its Stinger S200 counterpart."
(p. 6)
* Stinger S-200 "exhibited little constancy" (p. 35)
* "...the malfunction rate on the Stinger weapon, which was
measured, for the initial equipment, at 47.35%. Many times the
cartridge simply would not fire..." (p. 36)
* "Should the user make contact with the cross-bolt switch while
the Stinger S200 is discharging a cycle of current, the user also
receives a shock for the duration of the cycle." (p. 75)
4. TASER X26 is a more durable device
* "... a number of cartridges were dropped from a height of four
feet to determine their survivability. None of the TASER
cartridges broke during this test; however, fourteen out of the
twenty Stinger cartridges were damaged upon impact with a
carpeted floor." (p. 7)
* "Additionally, a number of Stinger cartridges were broken while
still in their shipping container. The blast doors fell off,
releasing the wire tether." (p. 68)
5. Stinger's Training Materials contained incorrect information
* "Some of the material was found to be outdated and incomplete,
and the instructor advised participants to ignore sections of the
handout material where discrepancies were noted." (p. 17)
6. Stinger S-200 probes flew erratically and frequently broke
* "In addition to the erratic spread of the (Stinger) probes, the
probes tended to fly in an untrue linear manner and did not
penetrate the target as they would often hit the target sideways.
Evidence of this was when the barbs bounced off the target and
flew back towards the researchers." (p. 36)
* "One concern with the Stinger weapon system was that the Stinger
S200 probes frequently broke free from their barbs in the
target." (p. 6)
* "As was the case with our initial volunteer tester, almost every
(Stinger) barb broke off in the plastic dummy target." (p. 36)
* "In this case, the barbs could not be removed by attendant EMS
staff and the subject had to be transported to the local hospital
for removal by a physician. Due to an ethical concern about doing
harm to the additional volunteer subjects involved in this
testing, subsequent testing with all other subjects involved the
use of alligator clips." (p. 22)
* "The Stinger probes frequently broke off in the target during
testing and their removal. During this testing, 52 Probes out of
159 Stinger cartridges broke off in the testing target (32.8%)."
(p. 66)
biz.yahoo.com |
