May 6, 2005:  Middleburg, FL A school resource officer was treated and released from the hospital for a concussion and bite wound to his hand that resulted from assaulted by an 18-year-old high school student who was trespassing, refused to leave school grounds, and resisted arrest. The suspect reportedly punched the officer in the face and knocked his radio from his hand as he tried to call for help after the officer fell.  The suspect reportedly punched and kicked him while he was on the ground.  The student left the area to go to another office and was subsequently arrested by the officer after the officer used a Taser on him.

August 11, 2005: Orlando, FL A sheriff’s deputy twice stunned a 14-year-old female student with a Taser after the female reportedly went after her boyfriend with an 8-inch chopping knife and then turned on another deputy who directed her to stop.  The student was said to have had a note written on her school notebook reminding her to bring the knife and had reportedly told another student that she was going to kill her boyfriend with the knife.  She went after the boyfriend as soon as exited the school bus and before officials at the school for emotionally challenged students could conduct their weapons search.

Millimeter wave weapons have wavelengths between 1 and 10 millimeters and generate more than 1 kilowatt of power. Millimeter wave weapons have a larger beam size than high energy lasers and therefore can affect multiple targets at once.

November 20, 2006:  Henderson, NV The father of a high school student became combative and was escorted off campus by school police and security personnel after coming to the school nurse’s office for his daughter.  The male threatened to return with a gun.  He came back with a knife and was arrested after breaking loose, hitting two officers, and being hit by a Taser from city police who also responded.

October 5, 2005:  Sante Fe, NM A police officer used a Taser on a 16-year-old who reportedly fought with the officer and resisted arrest.  The student was examined at a local hospital. The incident occurred during a riot involving up to 200 students that became involved in a food fight which led to a riot at the high school around noon. The school was locked down for about two and one-half hours as parents had to respond to pick up students.

High power microwave weapons produce microwaves, which have longer wavelengths than high energy lasers and millimeter wave weapons. These weapons can produce more than 100 megawatts of power, which is nearly 150,000 times more powerful than the average household microwave. Like millimeter wave weapons, they can also affect multiple targets because of their larger beam size.

All DEWs emit energy at the speed of light, and are often discussed in terms of their power output—the amount of electromagnetic energy transferred over time. While DEWs use electromagnetic energy similar to everyday items, such as household microwaves, their power output is vastly higher, as described below.

August 19, 2005:  Tampa, FL A 39-year-old mother and her 16-year-old son were charged with felony offenses for allegedly assaulting a school police officer at a high school.  Reports indicate that family had been attempting to register the 16-year-old at high school all week, although he had been suspended from school since last school year.  School officials referred the family to a high school closer to their home when the male reportedly “body checked” the officer, almost knocking him to the ground.  The officer, while arresting the student, was allegedly attacked by the mother and the son.  The suspect’s other brother, age 22, reportedly started to also attack the officer but was stopped by a security officer.  The police officer reportedly pulled a Taser and the two ceased the attack, at which time all three family members were arrested.

DEWs can also degrade the efficacy of an enemy's assets. For example, high energy lasers can temporarily overwhelm a person or a sensor's ability to see or sense by emitting a glare—called dazzling. Dazzling can act as a non-verbal warning before resorting to increased force.

Each DEW can produce a range of effects from nonlethal to lethal, depending on factors such as the time on target, the distance to the target, and even the part of the target on which the DEW is focused. DEWs can use this range of effects to graduate responses to a threat. A graduated response could start with temporarily preventing use of an asset or its access to an area and increase to destruction of the asset if necessary (see fig. 2).

If a greater amount of force is required, DEWs can also damage or destroy enemy assets. To do this, a high energy laser can emit electromagnetic energy with a wavelength the target material absorbs most effectively, melting the material. The laser could focus on a sensor and damage a drone, or focus on a fuel tank or battery and destroy it.

October 27, 2005:  Huntersville, NC Lunchtime fights resulted in seven students taken to the hospital and 15 arrested, with police officers using Tasers on two students involved in the fights. At least one of the students on which the Taser was used had reportedly pushed a police officer and refused to stop after the officer arrested her brother.

What is it? Directed energy weapons (DEW) use concentrated electromagnetic energy to combat enemy forces and assets. These weapons include high energy lasers and other high power electromagnetics—such as millimeter wave and high power microwave weapons. Unlike weapons that fire bullets or missiles, DEWs can respond to a threat in different ways. For example, they can temporarily degrade electronics on a drone or physically destroy it. See our 2022 Spotlight for more information on counter-drone technology.

4) What if a Taser is used on a “special needs” student or one who has a known or unknown medical condition (heart problems, for example)?

Incapacitating effects of a TASER

September 26, 2005: Charlotte, NC A police officer reportedly used a Taser on a 17-year-old male high school student who allegedly slapped an assistant principal in the face, resisted arrest, and told the officer he was not going to jail and not going anywhere.  This incident followed a separate, unrelated incident on September 23rd where an officer used a Taser on a student at a different high school when the student allegedly assaulted an assistant principal, hit a police officer, and started swinging her belt with a large metal buckle.

Why now? DEW research and development has been ongoing for decades in many countries—including the U.S.—and is currently experiencing a surge worldwide. This surge stems in part from advances in technology and a desire to maintain competitiveness on the battlefield. Technological innovations, such as the development of smaller lasers that are safer to operate, enable modern DEWs to be much more portable and practical. For example, a four-wheel all-terrain vehicle can now hold a high energy laser powerful enough to damage drones. The U.S. and 30 other nations are developing DEWs, most for counter-drone missions, according to a 2021 Air Force report.

How mature is it? DEWs range in maturity from research projects to prototypes tested in the field. DOD named DEWs as a technology critical to enabling the 2018 National Defense Strategy and reported spending about $1 billion annually for the last 3 years on research and development. The U.S. military has tested a variety of DEW prototypes since 2014, primarily for counter-drone missions. For example, the Air Force’s prototype Tactical High Power Microwave Operational Responder (THOR) recently completed 2 years of testing. DOD is researching ways to increase the power output of DEWs to engage more powerful targets—like missiles. However, as GAO recently reported, the U.S. military faces challenges bridging the gap between DEW development and acquisition, potentially limiting widespread operational use.

We recommend that age and developmental stages be given serious consideration in discussions between law enforcement officers and educators about using Tasers in school settings with all children, particularly younger children. We acknowledge, however, that there could be life and death situations, and situations with threats of serious harm, where a Taser may be a necessary option and a better alternative than the use of a firearm. While such situations are rare, society must acknowledge that they can and do occur.

Fortunately, most school-based police officers have long understood the seriousness of “weapons retention” issues because of their having a firearm in large groups of students.  The vast majority of school-based police officers are highly sensitive to the need for caution, consideration, and conservatism in the use of Tasers or firearms in a school setting. School-based officers are also typically better experienced, trained, and skilled in dealing with students and large groups of juveniles than the regular “street officer” who has not had a daily exposure to school settings.

Directed energy weapons—such as lasers—use energy fired at the speed of light. These weapons can produce force that ranges from deterrent, to damaging, to destructive. Many countries, including the U.S., are researching their use.

How does it work? Each type of DEW uses a different region of the electromagnetic spectrum (see fig. 1). This spectrum describes all of the kinds of light—including those the human eye cannot see—and classifies them according to wavelength. Different types of electromagnetic energy have different properties. For example, the wavelength affects what the directed energy can penetrate—such as metal or human skin.

It is important for parents and the general public to also realize that many police officers are not equipped at all with Tasers.  Many, if not most, school-based police officers are also not equipped with Tasers, especially if their respective law enforcement agencies have not so equipped their entire departments.  For those school-based officers who are equipped with a Taser, it is important for school and public officials to recognize that these officers are certified police officers who are equipped with the same tools as any other police officer in their department.

Unfortunately, inappropriate uses of Tasers such as those described above generally reflect situations involving poor individual judgment. Fortunately, they do not characterize the vast majority of police officers carrying Tasers on the streets and in our schools.  While one inappropriate use is one too many, caution should be exercised to not characterize all police officers carrying Tasers in the category of those making poor judgments in anecdotal cases that capture high-profile media and public attention.

Thepreferred target areas for CEW exposure are

DEWs can deny entrance to an area or prevent enemy forces or assets from functioning within an area. DEWs used for denial do not cause long-term damage to targets, and when enemy forces or assets leave the area, they typically regain function or the effect is mitigated. For example, the Department of Defense's (DOD) Active Denial System uses millimeter waves that interact with the water and fat molecules in a person's skin to create a heating sensation. During testing, the discomfort persuaded individuals to move away from the area.

A handful of anecdotal incidents have occurred which suggest questionable judgment in the use of Tasers by a very few officers on juveniles. These range from Tasers being used on younger children for situations not life threatening to use on several students who asked to be voluntarily jolted by a Taser and an officer complied with the request.  In one case, a Taser’s electrical current was reportedly zapped by an officer standing behind a student sleeping in a class for the purpose of waking up the student.

High energy lasers produce a very narrow beam of light, usually in the infrared to visible region, and are typically used on one target at a time. The beam can be pulsed or continuous, generating a power output of at least 1 kilowatt. This output is 200,000 times greater than a typical laser pointer and is capable of melting steel.

Axon Evidence program

NOTE: This is not to suggest that school districts can, should, or even could “negotiate” a separate and/or lower standard “use of force” policy by the police department for officers who are working in a school setting.  What we suggest is that school and police leaders discuss what policies and use-of-force continuum guidelines are in existence by the police department, how they may surface in various types of scenarios in a school setting, what supportive measures can be put in place in consideration that an officer may use a Taser on a student, how schools and police will issue joint communications on the incident to the media and community, etc.

December 4, 2007: Colorado Springs, CO Students reported a suspicious man in the high school parking lot.  A school resource officer (SRO) attempted to question him but he refused to answer, drove off fast, and hit a tree.  The officer told him to turn off the car and he moved to the glove compartment, at which time the officer used a Taser on him.  A knife was found in the car.

On a day-to-day basis, however, we strongly advise that school officers take a very, very conservative approach to the use of Tasers in a school setting. The use of such a device, or even the displaying of such a device in a crowd of students, will likely draw a great deal of emotional and political responses in a school community.  School-based officers should consider all options before using a Taser on a student, including what they would have done in a similar situation in the past before they were trained and equipped with a Taser, and if that course of action is an option in lieu of using the Taser on a student.

There is a surge in interest in directed energy weapons from several nations—including the U.S.—primarily for counter drone missions. These weapons use electromagnetic energy to cause effects ranging from deterrence to destruction. They offer capabilities that conventional weapons may not, but challenges have so far prevented widespread operational use.

However, the long-term health effects of these weapons are unclear. They also generally have a shorter range than conventional weapons, and weather conditions—such as fog and storms—can make certain directed energy weapons less effective.

Because they use energy instead of bullets or missiles, directed energy weapons could be less expensive per shot and have virtually unlimited firing power.

TASER exam questions

1) What policies, procedures, and/or joint memoranda of understanding are in place with the law enforcement agency and the school district regarding use of force issues followed by the police department which could surface in use of force by school-based police officers?

5) How will school and police officials handle the school-community relations aspect of an officer using a Taser on a student?

We do not believe the school district should attempt to “negotiate” a lower-standard of police use-of-force policy in reaction to high-profile, emotional, and/or political considerations in the school-community. 2) What research and data exists on the use of Tasers specifically on juvenile-aged offenders versus adult offenders?

One supportive measure that could be incorporated into procedures, for example, is to take to the hospital any student upon who a Taser has been used in school prior to the student being booked/processed by police.  Another procedure could focus on protocols for the joint release of information on the incident to parents and the media by the school district and police department.