Reuters investigation finds over 1,000 deaths as a result of Taser guns

In 2017, Reuters news service conducted a 6-part investigation titled: Shock Tactics. This series investigated the usage of Taser guns by U.S. law enforcement officials.  The Reuters investigation revealed that 1,005 people have died after law enforcement officers have stunned them using a Taser since the year 2000.  The Reuters examination also found that Tasers were the cause or contributing factor in 153 of those deaths.  25% of the 1,005 people from the Reuters investigation were suffering from a mental health breakdown or a neurological disorder.  In 90% of the incidents the deceased individual was unarmed.  In addition, a majority of the deaths in the Reuters investigation involved other types of force including: batons or pepper spray. 

Critics of Taser guns say that use of the weapon can lead to excessive force and more confrontation between law enforcement officers and civilians.  According to a 2011 National Institute of Justice study it is difficult to ascertain sole responsibility for civilian deaths where Tasers have been deployed.

In Part 1: The Toll, of the Reuters series, the authors wrote: “Most independent researchers who’ve studied the weapons agree deaths are rare when Tasers are used properly.  But the probability of dying from a Taser shock in a police encounter may be incalculable, researchers say, citing a lack of official data on stun-gun use, the fact that deaths often have more than one cause, and other complexities… Studies have found the weapons can reduce injuries to suspects and officers alike by giving police a way to control violent suspects without physical confrontations.” 

More than 17,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States use Taser guns as part of their department-issued equipment.  This number accounts for approximately 90% of all police departments in the United States.  According to Axon Enterprise Inc., (formerly called Taser International), the company that produces the modern Taser, Tasers are used more than 900 times a day by police officers in the U.S.  Axon Enterprise also states that Tasers have prevented death or serious injury more than 135,000 times between 2000 to 2014.  Furthermore, Axon Enterprise estimates that its Taser guns have been used more than 3 million times by law enforcement officials to subdue a criminal suspect or a belligerent individual.

Currently, there is not a national standard for law enforcement officials to follow pertaining to the deployment of Taser guns.  Under current guidelines, individual police departments (not the Taser manufacturer) mandate when law enforcement officials can deploy Taser guns.  In 2009, Axon Enterprise updated user guidelines for Taser guns.  The company began warning law enforcement officials to avoid firing a stun gun’s electrified prongs directly towards a person’s chest.

 

In 2014, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed a state law to create a policy for Taser gun usage for police departments.  The law stipulates that police officers in Vermont should only use a Taser gun on an individual who is exhibiting active aggression or when an individual is resisting arrest in a way that will harm themselves or others.  The Vermont law came into effect after the June 2012 death of MacAdam Mason, 39.  Mason died of heart failure after he was hit in the chest by a Taser gun used by a police officer. 

Sources: 

“Improper Techniques, Increased Risks” by Cheryl W. Thompson & Mark Berman. The Washington Post. November 26, 2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2015/11/26/improper-techniques-increased-risks/?utm_term=.4216b04c93f7

“Reuters Investigates: Shock Tactics: Inside the Taser, the weapon that transformed policing” August 22, 2017. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/usa-taser/

“VT law calls for stun gun training,” Associated Press. June 10, 2014. https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/2014/06/10/new-stun-gun-law-signed/10297133/