TASER MAKER STAUNCHLY DEFENDS PRODUCT EVEN AS BODIES PILE UP

The tragic death of 22-year-old Ryan Wilson on Aug. 4th has
justifiably refocused public attention on the dangers posed when
police officers fire their new high-powered electroshock weapons.
Sold by Taser International, Tasers are promoted to the public as
devices that can save lives when police would otherwise use firearms.
The public is less aware, however, that police departments, with
Taser International's blessing, encourage and authorize officers to
use Tasers in situations like Ryan's, where no one would claim that
firearms are justified.

Nor is the public generally aware of an increasingly common result:
more than 200 persons have died shortly after being shocked by law
enforcement Tasers. Ryan is the fifth such person to die in Colorado
since 2002.

The number of Taser-associated deaths has steadily increased. There
were 4 in 2001; 13 in 2002; 20 in 2003; 57 in 2004; 73 in 2005; and
an additional 44 so far in 2006.

Most of the deceased posed no serious physical threat to police. Many
were extremely agitated or intoxicated. Some had underlying heart
problems. Taser International has reported that 80 percent of
suspects shocked by Tasers were not brandishing any weapon.

Before the death toll mounts any higher, law enforcement agencies
must declare a moratorium. They must immediately stop using Tasers in
situations that do not present a substantial threat of death or
serious bodily injury.

According to the sparse information released so far, undercover
police spotted Ryan near a small patch of marijuana plants. He ran. A
Lafayette police officer caught up and discharged an X26 Taser. Ryan
immediately began convulsing and died.

With aggressive marketing and a well-oiled PR machine, Taser
International has persuaded thousands of law enforcement agencies to
buy Tasers. Beginning in 1999, promotional materials hawked the new
M26 Advanced Taser as a nonlethal magic bullet that instantly and
safely incapacitated suspects without physical struggle. Police
departments rely on company-supplied training materials, which
continually assure that Tasers are safe, effective and recommended in
numerous situations where suspects pose no serious physical threat.

As the bodies began piling up, however, critics began asking whether
Taser International had overstated its claims of safety. Company
officials scoffed. One spokesperson maintained that Tasers were no
more dangerous than Tylenol, while Taser International's president
denied the existence of any evidence that Tasers could be dangerous.

Two years ago, Taser International spokespersons claimed that no
medical examiner had ever implicated a Taser. As more autopsy reports
began listing Tasers as a primary or contributing cause of death,
however, (Amnesty International counted 23 in February), Taser
International argued that coroners were not qualified to assess
whether Tasers played a causal role.

Investigative reports by The New York Times and The Arizona Republic
have raised serious questions about Taser International's safety
claims, its marketing practices, and the reliability of the limited
and flawed studies that Taser International cites. After the
Securities and Exchange Commission and the Arizona attorney general
launched inquires about allegedly deceptive statements, Taser
International toned down some rhetoric and recently agreed to pay $20
million to settle a stockholders' lawsuit.

Taser International has always claimed that Tasers cannot produce
enough current to cause fatal heart problems. In 2005, however, a
U.S. Army memorandum concluded that Tasers could indeed cause
ventricular fibrillation. It therefore recommended against shocking
soldiers during training exercises.

Earlier this year, a peer-reviewed forensic engineering journal
published a study that tested a Taser and concluded that it
discharged current far more powerful than Taser International
acknowledged - powerful enough to cause fatal heart disrhythmias.

In May, a biomedical engineering professor reported that Tasers
caused the hearts of healthy pigs to stop beating, contradicting
earlier Taser International-sponsored studies.

Taser International lavishly praises reports that provide qualified
support to its safety claims. The company's critics ably dissect
those analyses, while Taser International relentlessly grinds out a
critique of every study that questions Tasers' safety.

With at least 211 deaths linked to this supposedly nonlethal weapon,
however, the Taser proponents must bear the burden of proof in any
battle of experts. It is a burden they have not met. There are no
reputable independent studies that confirm the manufacturer's
assurances of safety, especially in the real-world conditions in
which Tasers are actually used and in which suspects actually die.

Law enforcement agencies must stop and question whether they have
been sold a bill of goods. Agencies that currently use Tasers must
reassess, not only to prevent the deaths of more Ryan Wilsons, but
also to spare the public purse from the expensive lawsuits that will
surely follow the ever-widening trail of broken bodies and shattered lives.