Dec 9, 2004

Taser Me

Just got home from a training day.  The PD here is now going to have officers trained in the use of “Tasers”.  This is the thing that looks like a gun and shoots little darts, which shock you with one-point-twenty-one jigawatts of electricity.  There was all the typical stuff, the history of Tasers, how much voltage, how much the darn things cost and how fast you will be out of a job if you use them wrong.

 

Then it was time to “experience the technology”.  I know this sounds like a family trip to Space Camp, but it really is a double-speak way of saying that we are all going to have the piss shocked out of us.  Some of us asked stupid questions, like; “Why”.  I mean, why do we have to be shocked in order to use this equipment?  “So that you know what it feels like” was the predictable answer.  Wow, why didn’t I think of that?  I carry a .45 caliber Sig Sauer P220 semi-auto handgun, and you know what?  I don’t know what it feels like to be shot!  I also carried a night stick (when I was in uniform); don’t have a clue what a whack upside the head feels like.  So you can see how much I think about being lit up like a Christmas tree.  

 

Well, got into position to be shot… whoops, sorry, can’t say "shot"… got into position to be “kinesthetically trained”.  A slight "pop", indescribable pain and a thought going through my mind: TURN IT OFF!  TURN IT OFF!  TURN IT OOOOOOOFFFFF!  That was about it, no glorious flashes of insight into the universe, no bright light, just a desire for my muscles to work long enought so that I can get up and kill the instructor.   I now know exactly what a moth feels when it flys too close to that weird black light on the back porch.  

 

Will it help me do my job better?  Don’t know… but I can tell you this:  if I  come across someone pointing one of those things at me, one of two things will happen: He will be summarily shot, or I will fall to a fetal position, quivering and crying for mommy.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rofl.....Your daughter was right it is funny...scary too...but funny! I like your journal, I will be revisiting!!!
Jodi

Anonymous said...

owwww...thats got to hurt.  I wouldnt have done it.  no no no.
Interesting journal!!

Anonymous said...

1.21 gigawatts? 1.21 gigawatts? Great Scott!
-Paul
http://journals.aol.ca/plittle/AuroraWalkingVacation/

Anonymous said...

I keep challenging my husband to a game of taser-tag but he won't take me up on it.... pansy!

Anonymous said...

LOL thats good, Hmmm ok it's great because it wasn't me that was getting tasered. But fantastic visual. Do they have bleachers for people to come watch this entertainment?
Great Entry!
Rebecca

Anonymous said...

Heh. Where were you when I was doing Taser research last year?!

I had a misconception about what a Taser is--I saw this show where the "Taser" (which looked like an electric razer) had to be laid against the skin before a blue light instantaneously knocked the person unconscious. Looked pretty cool, but I guess it's not very practical. Much better to shoot darts of electricity at someone's rump.

Um, what body part did they hit you at? Do those darts work if they hit clothing? Do the darts stick, or do they bounce back on the ground? How many seconds does the pain last? If you use it against a fleeing somebody, will the darts knock 'em down? How long will that person be down, do you think?

I'll be back to see if you've answered my questions. Um hmmm. And I'll keep buggin' you 'til you do. Inquiring minds and all, you know! :-)

http://journals.aol.com/andreakingme/Unhinged

Anonymous said...

Um, what body part did they hit you at?

Shoulder/back

Do those darts work if they hit clothing? Do the darts stick, or do they bounce back on the ground?

Maker says will work through up to 2 inches of clothing, probes are barbed and stick into anything.

How many seconds does the pain last?

The gun is set for a 5 second charge, after which it shuts off.

If you use it against a fleeing somebody, will the darts knock 'em down?

If you hit them... they will stop

How long will that person be down, do you think?

Once the charge ends, physically they are able to get right back up so you have to cuff right away, or administer another charge until you have compliance.  This seems like it amounts to torture, but the alternative is fighting with bad guy, usually injuring them and you.

Anonymous said...

"This seems like it amounts to torture, but the alternative is fighting with bad guy, usually injuring them and you."

The best benefit of a taser, in my opinion, is that it allows an officer to subdue a potentially dangerous perpetrator without shooting him. Not that some of these scumbags don't deserve to be shot, but it's always good to avoid to unbelievable red tape that gets pulled out every time an officer discharges his weapon.
-Paul
http://journals.aol.ca/plittle/AuroraWalkingVacation/

Anonymous said...

Didn't they just capture video of a police officer using a taser on a little old lady multiple times and she just would not go down.  Not that I'm comparing her experience to yours or anything. Maybe some peoplejust enjoy it a tase or two from time to time.  Mrs. L