Taser Side Effects During Training

Tasers, which stands for Thomas A. Smith Electric Rifle, have gained wide usage and popularity with law enforcement agencies since 1998. Many police officers advocate Taser use because they lessen the risk of injuries to both officers and suspects. Deploying a Taser causes a suspect to experience severe muscle contractions, becoming incapacitated long enough for police to use handcuffs. At first, Taser International required that all law enforcement personnel receiving Tasers have eight hours of training, including getting shocked themselves with the stun gun. Since then, getting shocked during training has become optional for many law enforcement agencies. In most cases, officers receive the training and the shock with no permanent physical problems. Some officers, however, do experience side effects of the training.

Neck, Back, Shoulder Injuries

• The most reported side effects during Taser training are neck, back and shoulder injuries. Many officers fall and hit their heads, shoulders or arms after a shock. However, in some officers, the effect of the severe muscle contraction cause by the shock fractures neck and back vertebrae. Police officers have reported compression fractures of the neck, rotator cuff injuries and dislocated shoulders. Some officers have sued Taser International, stating that the company did not sufficiently warn police agencies of the potential dangers in Taser training. Many of these cases have been dismissed, although Taser settled some of the dismissed cases out of court.

Arm Injuries

• Roosevelt County Chief Deputy Jason Frederick had both arms broken, his shoulders dislocated and shoulder sockets fractured during his Taser training, according to the Billings (Montana) Gazette. While severely injured, this officer expects to return to work in a few months. Other officers also claim serious side effects such as arm and should injuries, dislocated shoulders, severe bruising of the arms, deep vein thrombosis, and nerve damage. Some of these injuries are permanent.

Heart Damage/Stroke

• While most of the officers with injuries sustained during Taser training heal quickly, some officers experience severe and permanent damage, according to the Arizona Republic. Pete Herring , a Missouri police chief, claims he suffered heart damage and two strokes when he "took the ride," which is what officers call a Taser shock. Herring hooked himself up to a cardiac monitor at the time of the shock to demonstrate the safety of Taser use. He also claims permanent and progressive loss of vision and hearing and neurological damage. Officers in other parts of the country have experienced severe chest pains, but not heart damage.

Minor Injuries

• Minor side effects of Taser training include concussions, burns and abrasions, chipped teeth from falling after a shock, various muscle strains and sprains, contusions and painful bruising. However, many of these types of injuries can often happen in other police training, such as hand-to-hand combat, that does not involve a Taser shock.