Tasers are safe

They call it “the greatest Tasers study” ever produced. Certainly the report made by some researchers on electric weapons so widespread in the United States will be able to reassure at least a part of public opinion. In fact, he claims that Tasers are not as dangerous as some describe them.

“This study is the first large independent study on Tasers associated with accidents. It is the first epidemiological study that analyzes every use of Tasers and reliably defines the general risk and the severity of the consequences in real conditions “. So spoke William Bozeman, head of a team of researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, which produced the research.

According to Bozeman, “the injury rate is low and most of the damage is low. These results affirm the safety of the devices ”.

According to what was declared during a medical meeting that was held in Seattle, the researchers have examined almost 1000 Taser use cases , finding that 99.7 percent of those who had a stabbing either suffered light damage, such as bruising or peeling, or didn’t suffer at all. Instead, only 0.3 percent had to resort to hospital treatment.

The most serious cases, the researchers explained, involve two people who fell to the ground after being hit by Tasers, hitting their heads. In the two cases of death the autopsy verified that this did not occur as a consequence of the use of Tasers.

As the study authors themselves specify, the report does not come by chance right now. It was indeed funded by the government through the National Institute of Justice, which also secured the involvement of six law enforcement departments across the country. It is from the medical documents and the minutes drawn up by these departments that the data referred to in the study emerged.

In conclusion, however, Bozeman points out that the Taser is “clearly a weapon and can of course cause damage and even death in certain cases. The question to ask is how likely is it to cause significant harm? and if the risk of causing harm is greater than the benefits it brings “.