September 10, 2009 | 8:00 pm
Taser has built an arsenal of weapons that are meant to save lives, by giving police officers the ability to subdue resistant suspects without shooting or bludgeoning them. But since their inception, the less-lethal weapons have drawn criticism.
Reports of minivan moms and mouthy grandmothers getting jolts from the devices still make headlines. And occasionally, people die within hours of being incapacitated. Such was the case with Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant who died after getting several jolts from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at Vancouver International Airport.
Despite those incidents, the company continuously develops new models, and each is a bit more powerful than its predecessor. Taser claims its products have been used on humans nearly 1.4 million times, and that they do not cause damage to the heart, or change its rhythm.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/09/taser-tour/2/">Read more