TASER® Conducted Electrical Weapons: Physiology, Pathology, and Law

This is the first published text on Tasers. Due to the widespread usage of these devices and the misconceptions surrounding their operation, this book will have significant utility. The volume is written by physicians, engineers and law enforcement agents.

TASER® Conducted Electrical Weapons are rapidly replacing the club for law-enforcement control of violent subjects within many countries around the globe. A TASER CEW is a hand-held device that delivers a 400-volt pulse with a duration tuned to control the skeletal muscles without affecting the heart at a distance of up to 6.5 meters over tiny wires. If necessary, it begins with an arcing voltage of 50,000 V to penetrate thick clothing; the 50,000 V is never delivered to the body itself. Due to the widespread usage of these devices and the widespread misconceptions surrounding their operation, this book will have significant utility. This volume is written for cardiologists, emergency physicians, pathologists, law enforcement management, corrections personnel, and attorneys.

Only text on Tasers Written by physicians, engineers and law enforcement agents

Inhalt
Conducted Electrical Weapons: A User's Perspective.- The Scientific History.- Conducted Electrical Weapons and Resolution of Use-of-Force Encounters.- Nonlethal Weapons: The Broader Context.- Transcutaneous Muscle Stimulation.- Current Flow in the Human Body.- Animal Studies.- CEW Research Models: Animal and Human Studies.- Cardiac Arrhythmias.- Electrocardiographic Effects of the CEW.- Serum and Skin Effects of CEW Application.- Echocardiographic Effects of the CEW.- Rhabdomyolysis.- Effects of CEWs on Respiration.- Neuroendocrine Effects of CEWs.- Electroporation of Cardiac and Nerve Cells.- Eye and Head Injuries.- CEW Effects with Illegal Stimulant Intoxication.- Alcohol and the CEW.- Conducted Electrical Weapons and Implantable Cardiac Devices.- Risk Management and the CEW.- The New York City Experience.- Impact of CEW and Other Types of Force and Resistance on Officer and Suspect Injuries.- Field Statistics Overview.- Sudden In-Custody Death.- Stimulant Abuse and Sudden Cardiac Death.- The Systemic Role of Illicit Drugs and Their Toxicology.- Excited Delirium Syndrome.- Biochemical Brain Markers in Excited Delirium Deaths.- Sudden Unexpected Death in Custody (SUDIC).- Legal Basics for the CEW.- Science and Logic Meet the Law.