NCJ Number
192465
Journal
Police: The Law Enforcement Magazine Volume: 25 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2001 Pages: 14-17
Date Published
2001
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the effectiveness of the M26 Advanced TASER, a weapon designed to offer law enforcement a less lethal incapacitation capability.
Abstract
In law enforcement today, some of the most challenging situations involve circumstances in which life and death scenarios are not the ones that officers have the most difficulty resolving. The armed bank robber or an active shooting incident require immediate police action, the use of deadly force, to stop the offender. Situations become more complicated when officers face potentially deadly situations that involve armed, non-assaultive, and non-compliant subjects. Examples of these types of situations involve mentally deranged or suicidal subjects or a young girl armed with an knife. In such cases where death or serious injury would not be necessary, officers use a variety of tools designed to incapacitate individuals. OC (pepper) spray and impact projectiles such as “bean bags” and “plastic bullets” have been effective in stopping suspects. These are “pain compliance” devices that employ physical pain to stop suspects. But what should officers do in situations in which the suspect is too dangerous to approach but not acting in a manner that justifies the use of impact projectile injury? The M26 Advanced TASER offers a way of debilitating subjects without causing physical harm. The M26 is a black plastic conducted energy weapon that looks like a semi-automatic pistol. In order to use the M26 the following procedure is used: ensure the safety is down and point the weapon in a safe direction; squeeze the release buttons on each side of the cartridge with thumb and index finder and place it firmly into the open, muzzle end; moving the safety into the “up” position arms the weapon. Immediately, a red laser dot is projected from the front and a flashing red “battery indicator” is visible in the rear. The laser dot is placed on the intended target and the trigger/switch is pulled. Two small probes are propelled at 175 feet per second at distances up to 15 or 21 feet by non-pyrotechnic compressed nitrogen. The top probe is designed to strike within an inch if the laser dot. The bottom probe is designed to strike directly below at an 8-degree trajectory. When contact occurs, electrical pulses are transmitted into the suspects body. When the current is applied it interferes with and overrides the body’s neuromuscular system and voluntary muscle control is lost between the two dart points. As a result, the subject will usually fall to a grounded position or freeze in place. While there are some problems associated with the use of the M26 Advanced TASER, several thousand U.S. and Canadian field tests and 200 documented street encounters appear to show that the M26 offers a less lethal incapacitation capability.