28 days ago
The shock delivered by a taser could be deadly. That's the warning at went out to law enforcement from the company that manufactures tasers.
Taser International says officers should avoid tasing suspects in the chest to avoid causing cardiac problems that may kill.
Law enforcement agencies are taking the warning seriously.
"In what we call the center of mass area, you have some vital organs that the sudden jolt of electricity might cause a reaction there with those vital organs," says Sheriff Jerry Modena, with the Bibb County Sheriff's Office.
In October, the company that makes the taser issued a training bulletin warning law enforcement about tasering subjects in the chest.
Roy Williams, an instructor with the Bibb County Sheriff's Office, says the 50 officers throughout the department with tasers will be re-trained.
"If there's something new or something updated, of course, we get it out as soon as possible," says Williams. "Everybody's up to date with everything in that regard."
Taser International says though it's still unproven, tasering a subject in the chest could lead to cardiac arrest.
It also says aiming below the chest decreases the possibility of hitting "undesirable" areas like the head, face, and neck.
Sergeant Zac Self with Macon Police says they're also taking Taser's warning seriously.
"We are totally up on training right now on the latest recommendations from Taser," says Self. "As soon as they come out, we're brought in. We have a brief training session, and we're updated on what we need to be updated on to be in full compliance."
Self says twenty officers with Macon's SWAT team have been issued tasers. They are re-certified once a year.
"I can speak from experience, once I was tased," says Self. "I was in total compliance--total compliance. I'd do whatever the officer told me to do once it got to that point."
Self says, despite scientific uncertainties about the taser's safety, in most situations, it could be safer. He and Williams say it's just another tool to bring a swift end to a dangerous situation without inflicting permanent or serious harm.
The group Amnesty International says more than 300 people have died in the United States in the past eight years after being tased.
Self says Macon Police use the taser less than a dozen times a year on average.
Deputy Sean Defoe says the Bibb County Sheriff's Office has used the taser 9 times this year.
