TASER Return Flights

[jnc36rcpd]

We recently trained the majority of our fifty-officer department on the Advanced TASER M-26. We had some experiences that were, if you'll forgive me, rather "shocking".

Many of the supposed twenty-one foot cartidges we used turned out to be about sixteen to eighteen feet in length. I contacted TASER International and received excellent response from the company. These were older cartridges made in Mexico. TASER has since changed plants and instituted QC procedures to prevent something like this. If you've got TASER cartridges made in Mexico (it's marked on the unit), you might want to test-fire a few.

Secondly, if you miss with the TASER probes, they're coming right back at you with considerable velocity. As TASER people know, both probes would not have to tag you to give you a ride on Old Sparky. One striking your clothing and the other impacting on a carpet or grass might be enough to send you on that five second ride. This reinforces the importance of having a back-up officer with you when deploying the TASER.

By the way, if anyone has any holster ideas, let me know. I just ordered a detachable thigh flap holster from the Richard Cowell Company for T&E.

Be safe and keep the wind at your back.

[Tracy]

Any data on a perp dropping onto conductive ground and zapping the officer as well?

[jnc36rcpd]

I haven't heard any reports of such. Enough people have been hit with tasers, both on the street and in training, that I think such reports would be wide-spread. (Of course, I would have thought the same thing about those return flights.)

You can touch someone who is being tasered without being zapped yourself. You do have to avoid touching the subject between the probes. My guess (I'm no physicist) is that tasers do not produce enough of a charge to be conducted through most floors or ground surfaces.

[MrPotatoHead]

You have to be standing in wet grass or something with a lot of conductivity. A carpeted floor or concrete won't do it.

Thanks for the info on the return flight on the probes. I've never heard of that but it's good info to know.

As for holsters, eagle is comming out with some. Depending on what kind of vest you wear, a lot of the holsters on them can be easily modified to hold the M26 with cartridge attached.



[This message has been edited by MrPotatoHead (edited 11-28-2001).]