CROWD CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES - Omega Research Foundation

when fired at too close a range. 221 In Canada, the Ottawa-Carleton regional police agreed to stop
using beanbag shotguns after a man died shortly after being struck by a projectile. The autopsy
indicated that the beanbag shot was lodged inside the mans body. 222 Penetrating injuries have also
occurred when the bean bag bursts. 223
Recently doctors in Northern Ireland re-graded their calculations of the relative lethality of plastic
bullets by including any impact on the body on the abdomen or above as being fatal. Previously
medical reports had assumed that only impacts on the chest or above were potentially lethal. 224 Despite
these medical reports, the newly introduced guidelines for plastic bullet usage in the UK actually
recommends shots up to the abdomen. 225 Failure to absorb scientific and biomedical research into
operational procedures in regard to crowd control weapons is a depressing feature common to many of
the technologies covered in this report. It highlights the need for proper independent social impact
assessment procedures for all these weapons. (Discussed in section 7).
4.3 Electro-shock weapons. The health, medical and safety effects of stun weapons can be
considered within two key areas, namely: a) the intended design and use effects of the weapon, and b)
the effects resulting from the use (and abuse) of such weapons. A number of medical professionals
and human rights organisations have highlighted the lack of independent medical, safety and scientific
evaluation of stun technology - a lack identified in a Amnesty International report, Arming the
Torturers, published in March 1997. 226 Since that publication, a growing number of reports of injuries
sustained from the use of stun weapons and reports of fatalities associated with the use of such
weapons has made the need for independent medical and scientific evaluation an urgent requirement.
Whilst most of the consideration of health and safety relates to the impact of stun weapons on the
subject, it is important to note that such weapons can have health and safety implications for the user,
especially if badly designed. For example, badly designed on/off switches that can result in selfactivation
and excessive current leakage from the activation switch which can cause significant pain. 227
4.3.1 Intended effects of stun weapons according to the stated design criteria, are to temporarily
immobilize the recipient by delivering a series of short duration, high voltage pulses that lead to tetanic
contraction of the bodys muscles. Thus the body is involuntarily paralysed as long as the current is
flowing. 228 Most manufacturers and suppliers of stun weapons such as Stun Tech Products 229 and
Taser International (formerly Air Taser Inc) 230 231 state that the devices are medically safe and nonlethal,
although some manufacturers caution against the possibility of fatalities. 232
A range of other effects have been claimed, e.g. some stun gun suppliers have claimed that stun
guns were an effective treatment for venomous snakebites. 233 Yet medical studies have refuted these
claims and found that )Shocks delivered by the Parali/azer Stun gun actually delayed wound
healing...(. 234 Indeed, most of the manufacturers research and evaluation reports of stun weapons
refer to non-lethality in relation to )normally healthy people( 235 . The impact on people with existing
medical conditions has received less attention. For example, in December, 1995, Harry Landis, a
Texas correctional worker, who had a history of heart problems 236 was reported to have died after
237 238
receiving two 45,000 volt shocks from an electronic riot shield.
Why the discrepancy between alleged safety and reported fatalities of such weapons? Some
members of the medical profession have highlighted the lack of independent medical research. A 1991
study reviewing the safety of electronic weapons reported that, )Electronic weapons represent a new
class of weapon available to law enforcement and the lay public. Although these weapons have been
available for several years, there is inadequate research to document their safety or efficacy.( This
study found that whilst the electronic weapon was initially and is currently approved by the US
Consumer Product Safety Commission, this questionable approval was based on the theoretical
calculations of the physical effects of )damped sinusoidal pulses(, not on the basis of animal or human
studies.
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