Taser International unveiled its first new stun gun since 2003 Monday, a device that can shock three people without being reloaded.
Older Taser stun guns, in use by 14,200 law enforcement agencies throughout the United States, have to be reloaded after one shot, which can be a problem for an officer who has missed a arget or has more than one suspect to subdue.
Taser CEO Rick Smith and his brother, Chairman Tom Smith, unveiled the new device to hundreds of law enforcement officers and distributors at the Scottsdale-based company’s annual conference. They stood on stage, each holding two new Tasers, and fired six rounds a piece at metal targets to whoops and applause.
“This is as big a step as when firearms went from a muzzle loader to the revolver,” Rick Smith claimed while touting the new model. “If I was a cop I’d want to carry one.”
The new stun gun costs $1,799, compared with $799 for the older model, though Smith said law enforcement agencies could trade in their older ones for credits worth $300-$800.
He said the device will be available to law enforcement agencies in late August. Officers at the conference will receive free ones provided they pass an operating test.
Smith said he believes the device will become the new standard for police officers who want greater tactical abilities and allows for greater accountability because it has sensors that measure each discharge; that data can then be downloaded and analyzed.
Like the older models, the new stun gun shoots two barbed wires that deliver about 6 watts of electrical current for several seconds, temporarily immobilizing people from a distance.
The device, which can hit people up to 35 feet away, looks like a bulky gun but weighs less than two pounds. It’s about 2.5 inches wide and seven inches tall.
Human rights groups contend Tasers cause heart attacks. Taser spokesman Steve Tuttle said the company has won 96 of 97 wrongful-death and product liability lawsuits filed against it and is appealing after being found 15 percent responsible in the one suit it lost.
Amnesty International says there have been 351 U.S. Taser-related deaths since June 2001, including two minors this year. The human rights organization says on its Web site that most of those who died were not carrying weapons.
