What Are the Cons of Police Tasers?
Tasers, popularly known as stun guns, are not without risks. Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images Law enforcement and other professionals around the world are increasingly using Tasers, or electronic control devices. Even some civilians are using them for personal protection. Tasers deliver a jolt of electricity that temporarily paralyzes the target. Taser International claims that its products “protect life, protect truth, and protect family,” and there are probably many instances of lives saved because a Taser was used instead of a gun. However, the devices are not without drawbacks. Risk of Death More than 351 individuals in the United States, most of them unarmed, have died since June 2001 after being shocked by police Tasers. In susceptible subjects, high voltage stun devices can cause cardiac arrhythmia or ventricular fibrillation, which can lead to heart attack or death. Although preexisting medical conditions or illegal drug-taking may have been the proximate cause of death, in
