Electroshock weapons in the United States are often used to detain suspects and de-escalate conflicts between the police and aggressive individuals. The US police exclusively uses TASER products, and the company's name has become a household name for stun guns in English. Since in Russia, in accordance with the law "On Weapons", the sale of stun gun produced abroad is prohibited, there is not enough information about the company's products available in Russian. In this review we have given the main facts about TASER electroshock devices.

Overview of TASER stun guns

Relevance of electroshock devices in the USA

Axon (formerly Taser International), according to information for year 2016, sold more than 850,000 units of its weapons to US law enforcement agencies, including those that were purchased to update or replace outdated or out-of-service devices. According to the company, worldwide, their devices are used on average 904 times a day, or about once every two minutes, and law enforcement officers have used tasers more than 3 million times in the course of their official operation. The company also claims that their weapons have been used more than 2 million times for training purposes.

How does the TASER stun gun work?

TASERs have two modes of operation. The standard and preferred mode is remote application - compressed nitrogen is used in remote cartridges to fire two probes connected to the stun gun by thin wires. When the probes hit the target or cling to clothing, an electric current is transmitted through the wires, which paralyzes the target for several seconds, allowing the police to handcuff the detainee. Many models of stun guns are single-shot, and after using the cartridge it must be replaced in order to make the next shot. But among the company's lineup there is also a dual-shot taser model, shown in the image, which allows two shots to be fired without recharging.

Remote cartridges

Depending on the model, one or two remote cartridges are installed in the electroshock device. After pressing the button, a shot is fired and a five-second cycle of operation of the electroshock discharger is started. The use of electroshock weapons for detention minimizes the risk of injury. Replacement cartridges for the TASER X2 cost $50 apiece. The range of the shot is from 4.5 to 7.5 meters, depending on the cartridge model.

Contact use of TASER

For contact use of the stun gun it is necessary to press its electrodes to the target, and press the button to turn on the electroshock discharger. Contact application has a paralyzing effect on the target, and causes severe pain and muscle spasms. This mode can be used to stop the resistance of the subject in order to enforce the orders of the policeman.

Rechargeable battery

While remote cartridges are disposable, the rechargeable rechargeable battery is designed for multiple use.

The cost of TASER stun guns

The purchase of electroshock devices accounts for a significant part of police departments' spending. Prices for TASER models, the most commonly used by the police, range from about $ 850 to $ 1,500 per unit, in addition to them it is also necessary to purchase remote cartridges and spare batteries.

Monitoring the use of devices

Most TASER models have built-in memory for logging the use of weapons (the time of use and the number of clicks on the discharge/shot button). In addition, each cartridge contains a lot of "confetti" with a unique number for this cartridge, which allows you to confirm the fact of using the cartridge. AXON also specializes in the production of chest cameras for police officers, which record all actions during the performance of their official duties.