TASER self defense

On June 12, officers responded to a complaint of an unwanted person at a home near Miramichi, N.B., according to an RCMP spokesperson. When they arrived, RCMP said, they faced Levi, who was holding knives.

The police brutality attorneys at Piccuta Law Group recently argued a case involving the use of a Taser in dart-mode.  The parties disputed whether the use of a Taser was excessive force.  The court undertook the balancing test and first concluded that the police officer’s use of a Taser in dart-mode was an intermediate, significant intrusion on our client’s Fourth Amendment rights.

They tried to use a Taser on Levi multiple times. But it didn't immobilize him, and he was shot and killed by an officer. It's not clear why the Taser didn't work. A coroner's inquest has been ordered into Levi's death.

Despite the limitations, Knapman said, Tasers and other stun guns are an excellent tool and make police work much safer for officers and the public. He said in some cases a Taser can safely resolve what might otherwise be a lethal encounter.

Yes.  The ability to cause serious injury or death has been a major criticism of Taser use in recent years.  According to a study published by the American Heart Association’s journal, Circulation, Tasers can cause abnormal heartbeats, heart attacks and death.  Reuters recently reported at least 1,081 deaths in the United States following the use of Tasers.  Certain categories of individuals may be particularly vulnerable to the risk of serious injury or death.  Many of the persons most at risk fall into one or more of the following groups:

The `reasonableness’ of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight.  In addition, [t]he calculus of reasonableness must embody allowance for the fact that police officers are often forced to make split-second judgments — in circumstances that are tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving — about the amount of force that is necessary in a particular situation.

As with other determinations of objective reasonableness, the intrusion on the victim’s Fourth Amendment interests must be weighed against the interests of the government in the use of force.  The first step is to assess the intrusion by considering the amount and type of force used by the officer.  Importantly, the Ninth Circuit has recognized that Tasers “used in dart-mode constitute an intermediate, significant level of force that must be justified by the government interest involved.”

In investigating the suicide in Cape Breton, for instance, SIRT concluded that one of the Taser's darts entered the man's back, while the other landed in the hem of his shorts and did not penetrate his skin.

"I mean, how do you jump from one being sufficient to the other being justifiable in a matter of seconds? It doesn't make a lot of sense to me."

In October 2017, a man in Lower Sackville was trying to harm himself so officers used a stun gun on him, but it "appeared to have minimal effect as the AP (Affected Party) continued to be combative," said a SIRT report.

"Had that weapon been more effective than it was, then I believe that we would, obviously, have a different outcome," said Alisa Lombard, a lawyer representing Levi's family.

People who have been tased repeatedly or for extended periods are also at greater risk of harm.  According to the Department of Justice, police officers should refrain from the continuous activation of Tasers for longer than 15 seconds. Typically, the Taser will cycle for one five second deployment upon each trigger pull. As such, the guidelines set forth that no more than three successive trigger pulls be used. Also, police officers are taught to reevaluate the situation and need for force after each trigger pull and before the next. Finally, police officers are taught not to deploy the Taser when an individual is unable to comply with a command given and for that reason alone.

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There is also a "defensive mechanism" that can counteract the effects of a stun gun, said Knapman, but he wouldn't reveal what that was.

Lombard wants police forces across the country to cut down on how often they use all their weapons. She said communication is key.

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A Taser is a hand-held weapon that shoots barbed dart-like electrodes (often referred to as darts) that are intended to incapacitate a person by paralyzing his or her nervous system.  Each Taser cartridge is single-use and contains a nitrogen charge and electrodes, which are propelled by the charge.  The darts are attached to the main component with thin copper wires.  The darts are designed with pointed tips and are barbed.  This helps the darts to pierce the skin and clothing and to remain affixed to the individual.  Depending on the Taser model, the darts can travel up to 180 feet per second, with a maximum range of 35 feet.  However, practically speaking, a Taser’s effectiveness diminishes greatly when fired from farther away than 15–25 feet from the target.

Rodney Levi was one person a stun gun didn't work on. His family thinks that may have played a part in his death at the hands of police.

Axon said when a person is not incapacitated by a Taser it is usually because one of the required conditions for the weapon's functionality are not met.

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"The family continues to be in deep mourning. You know, there's essentially zero feedback on what's happening, no sharing of evidence. [They] let the family sit there and percolate in their absolute grief wondering what the hell happened and how the heck it could have happened."

About the author: The content on this page was written by California civil rights lawyer and Monterey personal injury attorney Charles “Tony” Piccuta. Piccuta graduated with honors from Indiana University-Maurer School of Law in Bloomington, Indiana (Previously Top 35 US News & World Report).  Piccuta took and passed the State bars of Arizona, California, Illinois and Nevada (all on the first try). He actively practices throughout California and Arizona. He is a winning trial attorney that regularly handles serious personal injury cases and civil rights lawsuits. He has obtained six and seven figure verdicts in both state and federal court. He has been recognized by Super Lawyers for six years straight. He is AV Rated by Martindale Hubble. He is a member of the Consumer Attorneys of California, American Association for Justice, National Police Accountability Project, Arizona Association of Justice, Maricopa County Bar Association and Scottsdale Bar Association, among other organizations.

In the hands of police, stun guns like Tasers are designed to save lives, but when the weapons don't incapacitate someone there can be fatal consequences — from officers using lethal force to a person continuing to harm themselves.

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Tasers and other stun guns can fail for a number of reasons, according to RCMP Sgt. Wayne Knapman, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the training section for the RCMP in Nova Scotia and the senior use-of-force expert in the division.

“TASER” is the brand name of an electroshock weapon manufactured and sold by Axon, formerly TASER International.  The word “Taser” has become so popular that it is generally used to describe any hand-held electric-discharging muscle immobilizer.  Tasers are sometimes referred to more descriptively as conducted energy devices, conducted energy weapons, electronic control devices or electronic control weapons.  For simplicity, we will refer to the weapon a Taser, with no association to any particular brand name or company intended.

Can a taser kill you

The following link is to guidelines regarding the use of Tasers from the United States Department of Justice.  It sets forth standards regarding the appropriate use of Tasers and provides data regarding the same. It was published in 2011 and no subsequent versions have been published since that time. As such, it is still relied on as authoritative as to issues regarding the use of Tasers by law enforcement.

When one of the darts, also called probes, doesn't strike the person, the electric circuit can't be formed and the person isn't immobilized, said Knapman. Loose-fitting clothing can keep the probes from reaching a person, preventing the weapon from working.

When a police officer fires the dart-like electrodes at a target from a distance, this is called using a Taser in “dart-mode.”  However, many Tasers carried by law enforcement also have what is referred to as “drive-stun” capability.  In drive-stun mode, no darts are fired.  Instead, the Taser is held directly against the individual.  This can be done after a cartridge has been deployed in dart mode or without a cartridge in place.  The Taser in drive stun mode does not paralyze a target’s nervous system.  Instead, it is intended to effect compliance through pain.

"It is an electrical device, there are times it can fail for multiple reasons … we can't rely on that one tool, we have to have multiple options," said Knapman. "All our tools have the possibility of failing, even our firearms."

Still, Lombard said the public needs to discuss what an appropriate use of force by police is and if those standards should change.

Notably, certain features of Axon’s Taser models can help hold law enforcement accountable when they misuse these potentially deadly weapons.  For example, the X26P records when the weapon was used and other performance metrics, including the electrical output at the time of use.  Similarly, the X2 uploads data logs automatically when the battery is removed and docked. The TASER 7 also uploads use logs simply by docking the weapon.

Next, the court assessed the government’s interests in using the Taser.  The court began by considering the severity of the crime or crimes of which our client was suspected.  At most, our client had committed a minor traffic infraction and a non-violent misdemeanor for disobeying a police officer’s instructions to exit his vehicle.

Nova Scotia RCMP say stun guns are effective 87 per cent of the time at making a person comply with police orders, including instances when the weapon is simply drawn and not fired. Last year, its officers in the province drew their stun guns 59 times, firing them in 17 cases.

Axon has three Taser models available for use by police officers.  The X2 model is a two-shot weapon, which eliminates the need to reload in case of a missed shot or a dart that does not attach to the targeted individual.  The X2 also comes equipped with dual lasers for accuracy and an audible warning arc.  The purpose of the warning arc is to increase voluntary surrender before the need to discharge the Taser.

Next, the court will look to the facts and circumstances of the case and consider the governmental interests in the use of force.  At a minimum, the following factors (commonly referred to as the Graham factors) will be considered:

The secondary risk to an individual may be more significant than the risk of harm from the Taser itself.  Not everyone who is tased will fall into one of the vulnerable categories discussed above, such as persons with pacemakers.  On the other hand, anyone tased while running up or down stairs or at a gas station faces a significantly greater risk of suffering a serious injury or death.

Stun guns work by firing a pair of darts attached to wires. When the darts connect with a person's body they form an electric circuit. The wires carry a jolt of electricity that causes an uncontrollable muscle contraction that usually immobilizes someone, forcing them to the ground.

In an email, the company said police forces need to clearly identify why a Taser doesn't work and if it was caused by environmental or situational factors versus a weapon error. Figuring out the cause of the failure will determine whether more officer training is needed or if a weapon needs to be serviced.

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"Some fields cannot afford any real margin of error," said Oriola. "Within a field such as policing you've got to get it right practically all of the time, and this is where those tensions arise. This tool still needs further refinement."

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In September 2017, a Cape Breton, N.S., man also died after a stun gun didn't work. The man was trying to harm himself by jumping from an overpass, and a Cape Breton Regional Police officer fired his Taser to try to immobilize him. It struck the man but but didn't stop him, and an instant later, he died by suicide, according to a report by Nova Scotia's police watchdog, the Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT).

Tasers are used any time an officer feels they or the public are going to be seriously hurt by someone, said Knapman. If an officer is in that kind of danger, they could also draw their gun. In fact, if an officer is alone in that kind of situation, they would draw their gun and not their Taser.

The intrusion on the suspect’s Fourth Amendment rights is then balanced against the importance of the government’s interests that it is supposedly justified for that particular use of force.  Again, the standard is one of objective reasonableness.  The subjective intent of the police officer does not matter.  The Ninth Circuit has described the reasonableness test as follows:

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As to any threat of safety to others, the police officer claimed our client’s actions were threatening because our client ignored an instruction to exit the vehicle, because our client caused the cop’s Taser to be caught in the window and because our client lunged toward the passenger seat.  The court decided that noncompliance with an order, alone, does not necessarily present a threat to the safety of the officer.  Further, no part of the officer’s body was caught in the window when our client attempted to roll it up.  It was only the Taser that was caught.  As to the alleged lunge toward the passenger seat, we presented evidence showing that our client simply dove to try to avoid the Taser after he saw that it had been activated.  The court concluded that our client did not present a safety threat that would justify the use of a Taser.

As discussed on our main Police Brutality page, when cops use force in making an arrest, they are held to a standard of objective reasonableness.  The use of a Taser is no exception.  A police officer’s use of a Taser must be reasonable under the circumstances.  If it is not, the cop violates the individual’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from an unreasonable seizure.  This constitutes what is commonly referred to as excessive force.

In some cases, it's not obvious why a stun gun doesn't incapacitate a person. In other cases, it's more clear: For instance, a stun gun doesn't work unless two or more of the darts it fires connect with a person.

Axon, the company that manufactures Tasers, said its weapons require two or more probes to connect with a target and they must hit sufficient muscle mass to effectively incapacitate someone.

"There's a really big difference between being administered an electromagnetic shock and being dealt a fatal blow from a firearm," said Lombard.

The use of the Taser as a less lethal alternative to firearms has increased greatly in the past couple decades.  According to a study by the National Institute of Justice, more than 15,000 military and law enforcement agencies use some form of the weapon.  Supporters of the Taser claim that the device helps protect police officers who may otherwise be forced to engage in hand-to-hand combat.  They also argue that the weapon may be used as a less deadly alternative to a firearm.  As a result, advocates of the Taser claim that Tasers save the lives of both police officers and criminal suspects.

Finally, we offered evidence showing that the only resistance of our client before he was tased was that he did not exit the vehicle as ordered and expressed disagreement that he should have to do so.  Importantly, the court noted the difference between passive and active resistance and determined that our client’s resistance was minimal or passive.  In sum, the court held that the evidence presented was enough to establish that the officer was guilty of police brutality for the use of his Taser.

While Tasers may be a safe alternative to guns, Tasers can cause serious bodily injury or even death.  Police officers who are not properly trained sometimes use Tasers when that level of force is not needed.  Officers may also use Tasers against vulnerable people or in dangerous circumstances.  The results can be devastating.  The police brutality lawyers at Piccuta Law Group have significant experience and a record of success handling police brutality cases, including when a Taser is used.  Contact us at (831) 920-3111 for a free consultation or send us an email through the form on this page.  A skilled and experienced civil rights attorney is available now to discuss your case and help determine your right to a recovery.

In addition to creating use logs, these devices can also help visually capture incidents of police brutality.  Recently, Axon expanded its business into the areas of software and body cameras.  All three Taser models are “Axon Signal compatible.”  This means that when a Taser is armed, nearby Axon body cameras automatically begin recording.  This sort of evidence can be invaluable to victims of police brutality when there is a dispute as to what occurred and whether the use of force was needed or appropriate.

But the success rate isn't high enough for Temitope Oriola, a criminology professor who studied stun guns at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. He said he doesn't know of anyone tracking how often stun gun failures lead to police using deadly force.

How doesa Taserworkon the body

David Burke is a reporter in Halifax who covers everything from politics to science. His reports have been featured on The National, World Report and As it Happens, as well as the Information Morning shows in Halifax and Cape Breton.

However, as will be discussed below, Tasers can cause serious injury or death, especially to individuals with certain underlying conditions or when the device is discharged repeatedly. Sometimes, law enforcement officers abuse this weapon and use it to punish individuals. Other times, law enforcement can use this force option as a short cut to gain compliance when it is not needed. For example, when simple communication and de-escalation techniques could have resolved the conflict.

In contrast, the X26 and X26P model is only a single-shot smart weapon.  It is the smallest and most compact of Axon’s Tasers.  Finally, there is the TASER 7, which Axon describes as “The most effective TASER weapon ever.”  The darts fly faster and straighter with almost double the kinetic energy, allowing for better connection.  The TASER 7 is also equipped with a back-up shot and allows for simultaneous two-cartridge reload.

In New Brunswick and in Nova Scotia, at least two people have died in recent years after the weapons didn't immobilize them.

There are also secondary or indirect dangers associated with Tasers that people should be aware of.  These are risks of harm that result from a person’s surroundings when tased as opposed to the harm caused directly by the electricity of the Taser.  Circumstances that could present a significant indirect risk of harm include the following:

Oriola said when stun guns don't work, the person who was hit with one can become even more agitated and lash out. He said police forces across the country use stun guns far too frequently and should focus on de-escalation, ways of calming people down to reduce the chances of conflict.

He said there are no long-lasting effects from the use of a Taser compared to weapons like pepper spray or a baton. He said a Taser jolt lasts for five seconds, versus pepper spray, which can be painful for an hour or more.

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In September 2018, there was another incident in Lower Sackville where the RCMP responded to a report of a woman becoming violent after taking drugs. Officers fired a stun gun at her, and the darts struck her midsection and leg. She was momentarily stunned, then removed one of the darts, ending the effects of the weapon.