When the officer deploys the TASER ECW in probe mode, and the two probes attach to the suspect’s clothing or skin, the device will send a pulsating electrical charge. When there is a successful probe deployment, the subject typically is disabled for the duration of the cycle. The high-voltage, low amperage electrical charge is designed to induce motor-nerve mediated involuntary muscle contractions (NMI) by sending impulses that override the signals of the sensory and motor nervous systems that are sent to and from the central nervous system (CNS). Should only one probe strike the suspect and the other probe fail to make contact, or if one probe attaches to clothing but is more than two inches away from the body, or if one or both probes lose contact with the subject for any reason, or if the probes are too close together on the body, the CED will typically not incapacitate the subject unless the officer is able to approach the subject and do a follow-up “drive-stun” on the subject, which will complete the circuit with the wire(s) that attached during the “probe” mode attempt.

A 2011 fatal incident involving the Pinehurst Police Department led to a court case that changed the law surrounding when officers should use tasers. Ronald Armstrong suffered from schizophrenia and officers were trying to involuntarily commitment him when officers fatally tased him.

The purpose of using a CED is to cause a subject to quickly stop resisting or fighting. TASER ECWs may be used in the “probe” mode (to cause temporary neuromuscular incapacitation, or NMI) or in the “drive-stun” mode (which is generally considered to be a pain-compliance technique that is a lesser quantum of force than deploying the probes). Numerous studies have reported that TASER ECW use results in fewer and less severe injuries to subjects and officers than many other use-of-force tools and tactics.

The “probe” mode is the most effective way to use the TASER ECW. When used in the probe mode, the TASER ECW gives the officer the opportunity to maintain distance from an aggressive/threatening subject. When “activation” occurs, two tiny probes are launched and (ideally) attach to a person’s clothing or skin to complete the circuit back to the TASER ECW. The voltage helps the electricity pass through up to two cumulative inches of clothing. In probe mode, the TASER ECW is aimed by a LASER sight that gives the officer knowledge of where the top probe is likely to impact the suspect. (Some recent models feature LASER sights for both the top and bottom probe placement.) The greater the separation of the probes on the body, the better the results will be for the effectiveness of the TASER ECW.

The number of annual incidents nationwide have declined since 2018 with 72% fewer fatal incidents reported in 2021 than in 2018.

The I-Team's review of the incidents documented in North Carolina by Fatal Encounters found many of the cases started with a call involving a nonviolent incident. Many of the encounters escalated when police said the individual was acting erratically or resisting arrest.

There have been around 500 fatal taser encounters with police between 2010 and 2021 across the country, according to Fatal Encounters.

In another incident, RPD officers killed a man with a taser in 2013. Raleigh police responded to a call involving a naked male who they later learned violently assaulted a minor in his home. Forty-five-year-old Thomas Sadler died after officers used a TASER on him when he became "physically aggressive."

"We know there are instances where people have died from the use of a taser and sometimes those are because they were used improperly. Sometimes it was an unknown medical condition, but we have strict policies on the use of these and frequent training to make sure that our officers know how to use these in a proper way," he said.

In the lawsuit that followed, Armstrong v. Village of Pinehurst, the court determined tasers should only be used if someone poses an immediate safety risk.

The TASER ECW user may deliver different levels of force (“quantum of force”) by controlling the amount of time of the activation(s) of both the probe and drive-stun modes, and based upon what the officer reasonably perceives about the circumstances of the use. When the TASER X26 ECW is activated, the default cycle runs five seconds, then the power automatically shuts off, unless the officer holds the trigger back. The standard five-second cycle for probe application is what is usually taught in training. Ideally, back-up officers approach and attempt to handcuff/control the subject during the five-second exposure (known in this context as the “window of opportunity” and “cuffing under power”) while the suspect is temporarily incapacitated. However this cannot always be accomplished for a variety of reasons, and additional activations may be needed to control the suspect until handcuffing occurs.

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The North Carolina chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) regularly works with agencies to develop crisis intervention teams. NAMI NC's Public Policy Director Ashish George said more efforts to de-escalate are needed to reduce these fatal encounters.

"Conducted energy weapons may be used when it is necessary to incapacitate or gain compliance from a person who is actively resisting, exhibiting active aggression, or to prevent individuals from harming others or seriously injuring themselves," the RPD policy stated.

The “drive-stun” mode is generally considered to be a “pain-compliance” technique, thus a lesser quantum of force than using the probes. Law enforcement uses a variety of pain-compliance techniques on resisting or assaulting subjects who might stop their resistance or attack if they feel pain. However, some subjects in combative situations apparently do not feel pain, so pain-compliance techniques may not work. Officers generally should not expect NMI to result from a drive-stun. The contact points on the TASER X26 ECW are only 1.6” apart, not enough to achieve the effects of a good probe spread. In addition, in a dynamic altercation it is very difficult for an officer to apply and maintain the application of a drive-stun to a person who is resisting or who is reacting to the pain-compliance technique. The drive-stun contact points typically touch the body for part of the time, but are out of contact with the body for part of the time during the dynamic struggle to subdue the subject.

"I'm going to be reading that five day report. Hopefully the tapes will be released and we'll be able to review the body cam footage or the dashcam footage," Puckett Williams said. "What I'm sad about is that someone had to die in order for us to be able to have these conversations. But what I'm hoping is that this conversation leads us to have a real conversation about what does safety look like and who deserves to be saved?"

"These are not like, 'Oh, there was a mass shooting and we were chasing this person with an AR-15 down the street,'" she said. "These are poor people, for the most part who don't want to go to jail that day, but whatever reason and these are very minor incidents that lead to someone being killed."

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Fatal Encounters reported 13 incidents of fatal taser use in North Carolina; ranking it as the 12th state in the country for fatal encounters.

Download Printout: Using a computer loaded with TASER X26 ECW download software, one can produce a “download printout” to observe data for each “activation” including the time of occurrence, the duration of each “cycle” in seconds, the internal temperature of the device, and the remaining percentage of battery charge. The recorded activation time is the end of the cycle. One-tenth of a second of activation will record as a full second. For example, an activation lasting from 3.1 seconds up to 4.0 seconds, will record on the printout as “4 seconds.” For the M26 and X26 models, the computer technology does not detect whether there was an “application,” or merely an “activation.” However, forensic analysis of the probes and wires can often determine whether there was an application and the approximate duration of the application. TASER CED clocks are not usually found to be synchronized with each other, nor do they reflect “real time” unless synchronized with a real-time source; this is known as “clock drift.”

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Activation: the trigger is pulled, and a clicking sound is heard, whether or not the device is connected to a person. If there is an “application,” the clicking sound tends to be muffled. If there is no “application,” the clicking sound tends to be loud.

Cities like Durham and Raleigh have launched innovative ways to divert some of these calls away from an armed officer response.

Officers can (and generally should) warn the subject of impending TASER ECW use in a variety of ways, used separately or in combination: verbal warning that it will be used, verbal warning that it will hurt, display of the device, turning on the LASER pointer, and activating the device with the cartridge removed (from the M26 and X26 models) in order to demonstrate the electrical arc and sound. In some cases, verbal and/or demonstrative warnings deter the subject from further resistance. In other cases, the dynamics of the situation do not allow time for a warning to be given (such as when the officer faces an immediate threat as opposed to an imminent threat); or the struggle is already in progress; or the subject’s demeanor, mental state, level of intoxication and/or agitation are such that giving a warning would not be comprehended by the subject.

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"We have found over the years that tasers are an incredibly effective tool at reducing officer injuries, suspect injuries and bringing successful conclusions to some of these incidents. But we also know that they can cause death," said Hendersonville Police Chief Chief Blair Myhand, who also serves as the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police president.

The probes are less effective on fatty tissues than on major muscle groups. TASER ECW effectiveness generally does not depend upon the size, weight, intoxication level, or level of agitation of the subject. Effectiveness is generally dependent upon delivering the probes effectively (with sufficient spread between the two probes, which must remain attached to the subject).

Judges and juries still seem to have problems understanding how TASERs work and why officer use them. My experience is that some officers have difficulty clearly articulating the basics. So, I thought I would provide you with a document I have developed in recent years for use in my reports and in court.

Cycle: when “activation” occurs, the device automatically runs for five seconds, unless the operator turns the device off prematurely, or (for some models, including the X26) holds the trigger back to lengthen the cycle.

TASERdrivestuncase law

It must be noted that there are several generic terms interchangeably in use in the literature and in practice to describe such devices: Conducted Energy Devices (CED), Conducted Energy Weapons (CEW), Electronic Control Devices (ECD), Electronic Control Weapons (ECW).

Studies have shown that more than 80 percent of law enforcement agencies that deploy CEDs consider them to be at the same force quantum level as pepper spray (a.k.a. “OC spray”). However, experience has shown that CEDs are generally more effective on subjects than pepper spray, and the effects of CEDs are of brief duration (a few seconds in most cases) while pepper spray effects generally do not dissipate for 45 minutes to an hour or more. For that reason, officers who have experienced the effects of both CEDs and pepper spray overwhelmingly would prefer to be exposed to a CED again rather than pepper sprayed if given the choice. Typically approximately 95 percent answer that way when groups of them are asked, based upon my personal experience of asking that question in the classes that I have taught across the country over many years.

A relatively “quiet” CED sound (whether using probes or drive-stun) indicates a good connection/contact and it is most likely functioning properly. If the CED sound is loud and can be easily heard, it indicates a poor contact with the suspect, and the CED is most likely having little or no effect on the suspect. When probes are deployed but one hears the CED loudly making its “clicking” noise, it indicates the CED wires attached to the probes may have been broken or damaged; or the probes or contact points of the CED were not at various times making effective contact with the subject.

A successful probe deployment results in the probes being spaced more than four inches apart while targeting major muscle groups, and preferably a foot or more apart.

Application: an “activation” occurs, and electricity flows to a person, whether by effective contact with the two tiny probes that launch from the device (probe deployment) or by touching the front of the device to a person (drive-stun), or by a combination of the two.

The death of Darryl Williams by Raleigh police on Tuesday was not the first time a person has died from a taser in North Carolina or in Raleigh.

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A previous review of nationwide incidents by USA TODAY and the Arnolt Center found, "Four of five cases that ended in death began as calls for nonviolent incidents, and 84% were unarmed."

Myhand said most agencies are required and do review their use-of-force incidents annually to evaluate what training needs to change and what tools are ineffective.

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"You don't know when you encounter someone with their medical history. So the police have no way of knowing that's why they should be very cautious about when and how they use these weapons, because they are just that weapons," said Puckett Williams. "So when is it acceptable to deploy weapons on citizens on residents of a community when is that acceptable?"

A 2011 report from the U.S. Department of Justice found that conduct energy devices, such as tasers, "can significantly reduce injuries to suspects and the use of CEDs can decrease injuries to officers."

The Raleigh Police Department's policy states the use of a taser or a 'conduct energy weapon' is required to be reported and a Use of Force reported will be competed any time a taser is used.

Taserx26p function test

"There are no villains and heroes which is why it's important to remember that law enforcement, is asked to do too much and people with mental illness are often failed by society," George said. "The outreach we do to law enforcement is meant to keep in mind that everyone has legitimate interests and everyone's safety is paramount."

"It makes it difficult to really gauge how large the problem is or what solutions might be because again, it would have to be taken on an individual department basis," said Kristie Puckett Williams, the Deputy Director for Engagement and Mobilization for American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina.

Puckett Williams said she thinks agencies should continue focus on de-escalation tactics given how many of these incidents begin.

The report found injury rates on citizens ranged from 17-64% with a majority of the injuries involving minor bruises, strains and abrasions.

Myhand said North Carolina does not have any specific training requirements or laws surrounding officers' use of tasers. Instead, these policies and training requirements are set agency by agency. Officers in his Hendersonville department receive annual training.

While no state or federal agency officially tracks the number of deaths or injuries that stem from police officers' use of tasers, the site, Fatal Encounters, attempts to track police-related deaths from the past two decades

Circumstances may dictate additional or prolonged activations if the subject is not responding to the effects of the TASER ECW. Officers are trained to assess the effectiveness of the device prior to pressing the trigger for a second or subsequent cycle, or holding the trigger back to extend the cycle; and to consider transitioning to another technique if the TASER ECW repeatedly proves ineffective. However, officers must be cognizant that if transitioning to another technique constitutes an escalation of force, then there is a greater likelihood that the subject, as well as officers, will be more seriously injured; thus the officer might continue to attempt to use the TASER to overcome the subject’s resistance or combative actions in order to reduce greater injury risks.

The policy stated that officers should avoid using the weapon on an individual's head, neck, genital area, and "the chest area that cross vectors the heart." Officers also need to avoid use near explosive materials, when the individual is pregnant, driving, in handcuffs, or in a position where they could fall.

Some of these deaths stem from an individual having preexisting medical conditions but sometimes it is because officers use the weapon incorrectly.

There is a distinct difference between “activation” and “application” when a CED is used. For accountability, the X26 and M26 internal computer records the time of occurrence and the duration of each “activation” and “cycle,” and this and other data are available via the “download printout.”

TASER Basics The TASER Electronic Control Weapon (ECW) has been used by law enforcement since the mid-1970’s to subdue a subject who is resisting or who is combative. Prior to 1999, a few hundred law enforcement agencies used various models of CEDs. Since 1999, when technological changes made TASER ECWs more effective, many thousands of law enforcement agencies have deployed CEDs for use by patrol, specialized units, jails, and prisons. The TASER M26™ CED was introduced in 1999; the TASER X26™ CED was introduced in 2003; the TASER X3 CED was introduced in 2009; the TASER X2 CED was introduced in 2011. The TASER X26 CED is the most often used model.

The Charlotte- Mecklenburg Police Department and city of Charlotte had to pay $10 million for a wrongful death suit that involved an officer fatally shot a teenager in the chest with a taser in 2008.

"We're really pushing de-escalation training now, which is something that you know, when I came on the job didn't exist," Myhand said. "We're learning from our past and not rooting ourselves in it and we are really looking to always get better and find better ways of doing our job and serving our communities."