Tasers

As you may have seen, an announcement from Taser International is making big news this afternoon (though various foreign and local press had actually reported this last week). The company recently put out an advisory essentially saying that, where possible, officers should avoid aiming for the chest. And that there may be some possible danger. But it's not saying that hitting the chest must be avoided at all costs, nor admitting outright cause of injury.

I think some of the headlines today are simplifying this a bit, making it sound more extreme. But that said, I do think the news if huge. It will take some time for the legal community to figure out the potential liability implications (if there are any -- I'm not sure there necessarily are) for Taser International and/or for local police departments. Surely TI thought long and hard before making this decision, and they've also always been careful to try to show to PD's that they will be safe in terms of liability.

It's huge news in part because it is a dramatic shift for the company, which has tried so hard to argue that its product can do little wrong.

I'm linking to Robert Anglen's article from this morning because he has been covering this for years so I trust his assessment more than others. He also posts this new training advisory itself.