A safe Taser dose: Evaluation of Taser-related in-custody deaths, with implications for law enforcement policy and training

The Taser, an electroconductive skeletal-muscle-incapacitating device originally designed by Taser International Inc. as a {\it non-lethal weapon}, is used by increasing numbers of law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in the USA and Canada. Since 1999, over 200 people ``Tasered'' by law enforcement personnel (LEP) have collapsed and died, prompting public calls for a moratorium on LEA Taser use except when deadly force is justified. If a sufficiently long Taser shock can kill, as seems likely [metabolic acidosis climbs, impairing respiration and elevating the risk of ventricular fibrillation], the data on Taser-related in-custody human deaths collectively support a {\it single-shock policy} for LEAs (ideally, Taser use on people exhibiting physical exhaustion or any type of delirium, or who are taking drugs for mental health reasons, or are pregnant, is {\bf prohibited unless deadly force is justified}), with a {\it second shock} permitted in emergencies {\bf only} for people {\bf not} in the foregoing ``prohibited'' category. If all Taser-using LEAs in North America were to adopt a policy of this type, a {\it 10- to 20-fold reduction} in the rate of Taser-related in-custody deaths is projected! To protect the public, LEP training should distinguish between lethal and non-lethal Taser deployment using a ``safe Taser dose'' concept.