Purchase of Tasers for DPS questioned

December 10, 2011
JJ Hensley, The Arizona Republic

The Department of Public Safety set out to purchase 800 Tasers and accessories in 2009 for about $800,000.

But by the time the equipment was delivered, more than 13 months later, the purchase had grown to 1,000 newer-model Tasers and accessories at a cost of more than $1.9 million.

The DPS officer who requested the more expensive, newer model stun gun is a Taser senior master instructor, according to DPS. The instructor, Sgt. Bud Clark, did not have any paperwork on file noting his relationship with the Scottsdale manufacturer, as state law requires for procurement officers, said DPS spokesman Bart Graves.

"We are looking into why he didn't file that paperwork," Graves said.

Records show the department began taking steps to replace its officers' aging Tasers in the spring of 2009, initially getting approval for 500 units at an approximate cost of $400,000.

By the end of that summer, records show that DPS had received an estimate for 800 Tasers and accessories from a Prescott vendor for $880,000.

But the Taser model that DPS priced in the summer of 2009 was becoming increasingly obsolete, and in 2010, Clark requested that the agency amend the contract to cover a new model, the Taser X3.

The newer model was appealing because it included three cartridges that allow officers to simultaneously fire the electrodes at up to three people or fire three shots in more rapid succession.

"We had an 83 percent reduction in officer-injury rates when deploying the Taser. Sixty percent of our deployments do not capture the suspect on the first shot. Three shots will give the officer a better chance of striking on first deploy and further reducing officer injuries," according to a DPS statement on the purchase.

In December 2010, the agency took delivery of 1,000 Taser X3s at a price of about $1,600 each. DPS administrators also turned in more than 400 of the older model Tasers for a rebate of $75 each. The agency said those Tasers were broken.

The money to purchase the Tasers came to DPS through photo-enforcement citations thanks to a legislative measure that earmarked the funds for the purchase of ballistic vests, stun guns and other safety equipment, said Phil Case, DPS' chief financial officer.

"Normally, we wouldn't think of turning over our stock of anything that quickly," Case said. "In this case, we did because of that infusion of photo-enforcement money."

DPS is not the only Valley agency to upgrade its Tasers stock in the past year.

Chandler police will soon start turning over their stock of Tasers after the City Council last month approved the purchase of about 350 Tasers and accessories at a cost of about $470,000. Chandler police chose a different new-model Taser, which the department received for about $300 less each than the DPS models.

DPS Sgt. John Ortolano, president of the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police, said there were concerns about the X3 among officers who have used the device.

"The technology difference is day and night compared to the X26 but the biggest thing is (the X3) is a big bulky item. If you carry it on a drop-leg holster, it's like you strap a cinder block to your leg. Putting it on your duty belt is a better option, but then you start running into problems, because of the girth of the weapon, you have problems getting seat belts off and on," Ortolano said. "The thing is just so big that it's a problem."

Ortolano said the X2 model that Chandler ordered was smaller and more manageable and that it was well known that the smaller model would be available soon when DPS ordered the larger version.

DPS officers would have likely raised concerns about the bulk of the new Tasers had the product gone through the field testing that is common when the agency rolls out new products, Ortolano said.

Rifles were purchased out of the same fund that paid for the Tasers, and Ortolano said officers tested four brands before settling on the Colt tactical rifles they now use.

"Why didn't we buy 20 or 30 (Tasers) and get feedback instead of doing a huge purchase like this," Ortolano asked. "In this particular instance, a lot of people have a lot of questions as to why things appeared to be done differently."

Hubris, vast ignorance, low safety margin revealed by Taser test

Dinner is served over at www.excited-delirium.com (don't forget the dash), AKA "excited delirium MY ASS"

Taser hopes new products will reduce legal costs

August 3, 2009
Phoenix Business Journal - by Mike Sunnucks

Taser International Inc. is rolling out new technology and weapons that executives hope will reduce the company’s legal bills by as much as 50 percent and decrease Taser-related litigation against its police customers.

On July 27, Taser CEO Rick Smith and Chairman Tom Smith unveiled the Axon tactical computer system, which features a “headcam” the size of a Bluetooth earphone. The device can be worn by police officers and operates much like the cameras mounted on police cars.

The Axon system, which will be field-tested and rolled out later this year, includes audio and video recording technology and links to a new data- and evidence-management system, Evidence.com, which Taser also is launching.

The Smith brothers said the systems allow police to track Taser use better and will give an accurate view of incidents, taking away the “he said, she said” scenarios that accompany wrongful-death and police-abuse lawsuits.

Tom Smith said the Scottsdale stun-gun manufacturer could see its litigation discovery costs cut in half because police will have video and audio of incidents. Taser would not disclose how much it pays in legal fees each year.

“The more data we can supply about what actually happened, the better off we will be,” Rick Smith said. “The new audio-video records should dismiss many of the false allegations right up front. For those that go to trial, the costs of discovery will be greatly diminished as there will be an indisputable record of events, rather than conflicting testimony.”

Taser and police have faced numerous lawsuits related to Taser use, including wrongful-death suits brought by families of those who have died after being tased. The company was the subject of 42 lawsuits during the first quarter, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

More than 330 people have died after being tased by police in the U.S. since June 2001, according to Amnesty International.

Terry Cushing, a litigation attorney with Jennings Strouss & Salmon PLC, agreed that video evidence reduces discovery costs and can help avoid trials and unnecessary lawsuits. However, he said video and audio evidence will cut both ways for Taser if lawsuits go to trial.

“This type of reliable evidence may work both for and against Taser. A video, for example, may tap into the jurors’ raw emotions and may give the appearance that the use of a Taser is either dangerous or an exertion of force that is too great for the given circumstances,” Cushing said. “Alternatively, a video may reveal the very reason why law enforcement’s use of a Taser adhered to protocol or was appropriate under the circumstances. ... These powerful images may quickly sway jurors in one direction or another.”

Rick Smith said that while the company sells its products to more than 14,000 police departments and agencies, fewer than 150 have been sued over Taser use.

“We get the lawsuits dismissed because the science is on our side. That’s the short answer,” he said. “We don’t settle cases, either. We believe in standing up for what is right, and the strategy is working.”

During a second-quarter earnings call, Rick Smith said 91 cases against Taser have been dismissed.

Taser has been largely successful in having lawsuits against it dismissed, but in 2008 a California jury sided with the family of a man who died after being tased by police. The jury originally awarded his family $5.2 million in punitive damages plus $1.7 million in attorney fees and other damages. Taser is appealing that decision, and the $5.2 million punitive award has been tossed out.

Taser also has been in legal battles against competitors and other companies, including patent cases against rival Stinger Systems Inc. Officials at Tampa, Fla.-based Stinger did not respond to a request for comment.

The Smith brothers also showed off Taser’s new X3 stun gun at the company’s annual conference this week in Fountain Hills. The X3 allows police to take three shots without reloading and carries less of an electrical charge than its predecessor, the X26 single-shot model.

The X3 emits 63 micro-coulombs — a measure of electrical current — compared with 110 micro-coulombs from the X26. The X3 also emits a more intimidating warning charge that those about to be tased can see.

The Smiths said the warning charge should result in police having to use stun guns less often.

Taser unveils new 'semi-automatic' model

July 29, 2009
Josh Wingrove, Globe and Mail

Days after British Columbia's Braidwood commission recommended tighter rules around the use of tasers, the American manufacturer of the devices rolled a new product off the line that it says will “fit in” to the province's new guidelines.

Taser International debuted its X3 model Monday, the first new conducted energy weapon the company has released since 2003. The X3's main selling feature is its ability to fire three pairs of electrified probes in quick succession without reloading – giving an officer with a taser the chance to simultaneously zap up to three suspects. Older models, which have only one pair of probes, must be reloaded after each shot.

The Braidwood recommendations, released last Thursday and adopted almost immediately by the province, said that a taser should be discharged once, and not for more than five seconds. A second discharge, it recommended, should only happen if it will be “effective in eliminating the risk of bodily harm.”

Taser International says its new X3 – four years in the making – has a more consistent pulse than its predecessor, the X26.

The new weapon also tracks, second by second, the amount of energy being discharged into a target's body, the company argues. Its earlier model only tracked the time and total duration of a discharge.

“The log just on its own would be phenomenal for courts and [in light of] some of the controversy in Canada,” Taser International spokesman Steve Tuttle told The Globe and Mail.

“The Taser X3 is the most sophisticated handheld weapon ever developed,” Rick Smith, the company's chief executive officer, added in a statement.

The X3's debut in Arizona came as Alberta announced Monday it would restrict the use of conducted energy weapons. The Alberta government is expected to release details of its new rules for police later this week. Three months ago, the province scrapped 50 tasers, or 12 per cent of its inventory, after tests showed they weren't working properly.

Taser International's promise of an improved “pulse calibration system” also comes on the heels of an award-winning CBC and Canadian Press investigation that found 10 per cent of tasers tested were either defective or behaved unexpectedly. Some gave out a higher charge than they were meant to.

The company has disputed the testing methodology of CP, the CBC, the province and the Braidwood commission, in which Mr. Tuttle believes “politics outweighs the science.”

Taser International argues its new model is safer than the previous “proven and widely accepted” device. Mr. Tuttle told The Globe that while the timing of the X3's release and both the B.C. and Alberta announcements was coincidental, the features of the X3 will be useful in adopting the Braidwood recommendations.

“In light of the Braidwood commission, this is only a benefit to have the X3 come out, in terms of timing,” he said. “This will be helpful … the byproduct of it [the timing of the X3's release] is that it does fit in to some of the [Braidwood] recommendations.”

He said the triple-fire capacity could be used to either target more than one suspect – firing the prongs into three people at once – or to fire a second pair of prongs at a lone suspect when the first miss.

An officer with an X3 can fire “in a semi-automatic fashion, hit two probes into one suspect, two shots in another, two shots in another,” Mr. Tuttle said. “Now you don't have to reload, which is hard to do under a dynamic scenario. You can take that second shot. You can take that third shot.”

The $1,799.95 (U.S.) X3 also includes improved resistance to the elements, including “short-term water submersion,” the company said. Police forces will be offered the chance to trade in their old models and upgrade to the X3, the company said.

Taser introduces 3-stun gun

July 27, 2009
CBC News

Leading stun gun manufacturer Taser International Inc. unveiled on Monday a device that is capable of deploying three shocks without having to be recharged — a move that comes just days after a British Columbia inquiry urged stricter limits on the use of the weapons.

Typically, law enforcement officers using stun guns — also known as conducted energy weapons — have to reload after each deployment. Officers using the weapons no longer have to wait to deploy the weapons again, and now can deliver multiple shocks in quick succession.

This capacity could help officers who have missed a target or have more than one suspect to subdue.

Whether or not law enforcement officers should be given the ability to shock people multiple times has been a contentious issue in Canada. One of the recommendations of a report on stun gun use released Thursday by former B.C. Appeal Court justice Thomas Braidwood suggests such use is unwarranted and potentially deadly.

Braidwood recommended in his report that stun guns be used only in single five-second bursts in most cases, rather than multiple bursts. He cited increased medical risks associated with repeated shocks, and recommended that paramedic assistance be requested in every medically high-risk situation.

Though the report recommended a number of stricter limits on the use of the weapons, it stopped short of calling for an outright ban. The British Columbia government promptly adopted all of the recommendations outlined in the report.

The use of the weapons has sparked widespread controversy in Canada, particularly in the aftermath of the death of Polish man Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport in October 2007. His death, which came after he was stunned with Tasers multiple times by RCMP officers, prompted the Braidwood inquiry and the release of last week's report.

Braidwood will also specifically probe Dziekanski's death in a second report, which isn't expected for months.

Details coming next month
Arizona-based Taser was quick to dismiss Thursday's report. The company said after its release that it appears that "politics has trumped science."

The recommendations in the report are based largely on speculation and ignored key facts, Taser said.

Taser unveiled its new device on Monday to hundreds of law enforcement officers and distributors at its annual conference. It costs $1,799 US, compared with $799 US for the older model, though Taser spokesman Steve Tuttle said there will be "very generous" trade-in programs for law enforcement agencies.

Like the older models, the new stun gun shoots two barbed wires that deliver electrical current for several seconds, temporarily immobilizing people from a distance.

Details on when the new device will be made available will likely come next month, said Tuttle.

Taser being marketed via Twitter, Facebook

July 22, 2009
UPI.com

LAS VEGAS, July 22 (UPI) -- The new Taser X3 stun gun is being marketed to U.S. young adults through the social networking offerings Facebook and Twitter, a company spokesman says.

Taser spokesman Steve Tuttle said his company is using the social networking service Twitter to offer a personality to the new Taser model that may appeal to young customers, the Las Vegas Sun reported Wednesday.

"Never thought I'd get so excited about the feel of a safety switch," the model's imaginary X3 personality said via Twitter. "But wait until you feel it -- smooooooth."

Media consultant Dan Zarella said humanizing a Taser product can be risky given the dangerous nature of the stun gun.

"There's some risk involved," Zarella told the Sun, "that somebody is going to take them to task for making light of such a serious thing, but no good social media is without risk."

Tuttle maintains any marketing risks are worth the potential of attracting younger consumers.

"We want to get that generation. This keeps Taser from being a dinosaur," he said.

Taser Int'l to unveil new Taser X3

July 1, 2009
by Andrew Johnson, The Arizona Republic

Taser International Inc.'s newest law-enforcement stun gun will be able to aim at and shoot multiple targets at once, but the company is staying tight-lipped about the technology until later this month.

Scottsdale-based Taser said Wednesday that it will unveil the Taser X3 at its annual tactical conference July 27 at the Radisson Fort McDowell Resort in Fountain Hills.

Taser is trying to build buzz around the product by revealing new details about the technology at its Web site daily and on Facebook and Twitter social-networking sites.

The X3's capabilities will be "quite a leap forward" from the Taser X26, the stun gun the company began selling to law enforcement in 2003, spokesman Steve Tuttle said.

The X26 device shoots two metal probes attached to conductive wires that can reach a target as far as 35 feet. They incapacitate a target by emitting up to 50,000 volts of electricity.

Tuttle would not say what the price for the X3 is but said it will be "cost competitive in terms of what it can do." The company currently sells the X26 for about $800 per unit.

The X3 is one of several new products Taser has ramped up research-and-development spending on during the last two years.

The company, which has been the subject of numerous product-liability and wrongful-death lawsuits over the use of its stun guns, has been trying to diversify its product line to battle lower sales.

Taser's shares closed up 2.2 percent at $4.66 on Wednesday.