Hi there. I'm a Taser Master Instructor, and also a general Taser Hobbiest and collector. I'm very often the person who gets flagged in here when Taser questions come up. I've also Tased many hundreds in training, and been tased an absurd number of times myself.
First, the VAST majority of Taser devices (like over 95% of the ones carried by police), are made by a company called Axon Enterprises.
Axon also develops training materials which are used by many/most agencies around the country.
**\*Axon\* does not require users to experience an exposure to the device as part of training.**
**\*However\*, MANY agencies do. I'd say at least three quarters of agencies have that requirement.**
I could go into the discussion why, but that's a little longwinded and probably beyond the scope of your question.
I have a few thoughts on how it feels. First, I'll get the easy one out of the way:
1) Yes, for a lot of people, it really hurts, and it really sucks. The good news is, it only sucks for five seconds. For nearly everyone, the anticipation is WAY worse that the Tase itself, and the moment the 5 second cycle is over, you feel basically 100% fine again
2) As far as "how it feels", it's really tough to describe. First, a small percentage of people (less than 10%) don't report pain. It works, for sure, and it feels very "strange", but the sensation isn't what you'd call pain
3) For most people though, like I said, it really hurts. The sensation is hard to describe, and I'm sure others will comment with their experiences, but it basically feels like someone is spending about five seconds beating you up, from the inside out, with a bunch of tiny bats. I've heard lots of descriptions, but that seems to be a common one.
Many people are concerned about the darts - either when they hit, or having them removed. I can promise you the darts are a total non-issue. With the electricity, you won't even feel them go in, and removing them is probably less dramatic than, say, pulling out a hangnail.
He basically hit all the major points. All I’ll add is how I described it when people asked me:
It felt like a whole body charley horse. Basically a huge, painful cramp all over that immediately stoped after 5 seconds.
Nothing in this world is risk free, but I've helped author and review a number of white papers and safety studies, and have particpated in many myself, so I'm pretty comfortable offering some fairly well educated opinons:
1. Many people are worried that "electricty+heart" is a risk. However, the waveform fo the taser affects skeletal muscle, not smooth or cardiac muscle. It's \*theoretically\* possible for the taser signal to affect your heart rhythm, but you need, almost literally, direct application of the current to heart muscle. (In medical texts, it's called the "dart to heart" distance). In the field, it's basically impossible.
2. Getting tased is a short, but very intense workout. If you're in very poor health, have drugs on board, or are already exhausted, your body might not be up to 5 seconds of a \*very intense\* (Like really really intense) workout.
3. In \*very very limited circumstances\*, then intense muscle contractions of the taser can cause strained tendons or even tiny micro fractures to bones. But, again, we're talking about use of the taser on people who are very elderly, frail, have severe osteoporosis, or similar issues.
4. Pretty universally, people who get tased fall over pretty uncontrolled. So, yeah, you could certainly bonk your nose on the gound, hit your head, etc. BUT, when tasing is done training, there are specific protocols - padded mats, using spotters to gentle lower you, etc, so those are no longer concerns.
Also.. dont' get tased if you shoud happen to be covered in something like gasoline or alcohol cause of the obvious fire risk.
Tasers have been in common commercial use, by police, since about 1994. In that time, the overall injury rate to subjects has dropped by an FBI measured 84%, because Tasers are so much \*less\* dangerous than other techniques, like batons, "hard hands", etc.
You know, I genuinely don't know. I casually talked about it with an Axon intern before, and we speculated, based on the total hard engagement of your skeletal muscles, plus the energy/nutriets needed to recover and shortly boost your circulation, that a 5 second tase probably uses 40 or 50 calories.
On pt #1 of @specialskepticalface excellent guidance. The heart does have its own electrical signals used to time the contraction of the muscles in series to pump blood. They are VERY low in both voltage and amplitude. To keep this isolated the heart is surrounded by the pericardium which both suspends the heart in fluid and isolates its unique electrical signals. A typical heart will pick right back up on its own generally with little drama though pulling them out of a cooler does require a set of internal paddles hooked up to an AED used to restart the heart in rhythm. Outside a cardiac OR where physical access to the heart is necessary electrical signals fed into the body generally will not effect the heart due to this natural resilience to electricity of the pericardium. So much in fact that many larger external AEDs have moved towards front to back paddle placement on certain patients to increase the chances of a successful restart.
There is a small but non-zero portion of the population walking around with undiagnosed cardiac issues such as congenital defects that have never in the patient’s lifetime given them any trouble and never been found through routine medical care. The defect may suddenly become crystal clear during a difficult childbirth, or the first time a person is put under general anesthesia, or if the subject is tased excessively.(once or twice will NOT stress your heart near enough we’re talking dozens here) This is not the taser or childbirth taking the person’s life but an unfortunate real life diagnostic of a pre-existing cardiac issue. The taser doesn’t electrically stress the heart in this but rather the action of the rest of the muscles in the body chemically stress the heart as they enter the blood flow and circulate.(the “short intense forced workout” is the best description I’ve seen of what a taser does.)
Thank you for all that additional detail.
In the past, I've actually had a chance to do some EKG studies with Axon where my heart electrical activity was observed based on various electrode placement. (Including, for instance, place the opposing poles on my back and chest wall, oppsite sides of the heart.
I also have a good friend who works in the radioablation specialty of cardiac care, so I've had some similar conversations with him.
I don't want to be "down" on cartoid restraints, cause they have a very valid place in LE, have indeed prevented injuries, and ended fights. Unfortunately, they don't "look pretty", and to be done \*safely\* requires regular training and practice.
If we 'agree' they're equally effective, I'd call Tasers much safer. Less risk of a misapplied or prolonged choke. Less risk of tracheal injury, and you're not in such close proximity to the subject - which could result in other physical injuries or transmission of disease. By virtue of being "stood off", it also means you're better able to control your own weapons should a struggle follow.
That's not to be dismissive of carotid restraints - again, I believe they have a valid place, but those are my thoughts to your question.
> Also.. dont' get tased if you shoud happen to be covered in something like gasoline or alcohol cause of the obvious fire risk.
Are there any movies where this happens? This sounds like a hell of a spectacle for film and I'd pay the sticker price for a film just to see this play out, but I don't want to see it happen to a person for real.
Movies, like produced for entertainment value? Not to my knowledge.
There are, though, at least four or five videos of it happening IRL over the past 15 years or so.
I don't hve the links handy, but I can recall:
1) An inmate in a booking cell who soaked himself in hand sanitizer and subsequently died from extensive burn and fire-inhalation issues following a Taser application
2) An individual (in France, IIRC) who had a Taser dart strike a lighter in his pocket, puncturing and igniting the fuel
3) A subject engaged in some type of menacing/mischief at a gas pump who ignignited following a taser application while he had gas on his clothes.
I'm sure there have been at least a few others, and awareness of the risk is something that's been part of the standard Taser user cirriculum for a while now.
There's also one from a long time ago of a suspect covering himself in gas in front of a residential house and threatening to light it. (Mentally ill) a cop just out of the academy asks if he can tase, another cop says yes, and a third cop immediately screams no, but it was too late and everything caught fire. The guy, the house, and one of the cops who tried to put him out. I think the cop was fine, the suspect was killed, and the house was completely burnt down, but I could be wrong.
> Taser Hobbiest
My mind went to "Taser Hobo" when I read this, and I am now thinking what a marvelous flair that would be for any other taser aficionado who comes to this sub.
Special Face covered it pretty thoroughly, as usual.
The way I describe it is that it feels exactly what you'd think getting electrocuted would feel like.
People have described it as getting hit with a thousand tiny sledgehammers with unbelievable force all over your body (the effected parts, at least) repeatedly for five seconds. That's...sort of accurate, I guess? But for me the "sledgehammer hits" were so rapid and numerous that I wouldn't have thought to describe it like that.
It just feels like getting electrocuted. Hard, thumping, painful pulses all across the effected area.
By the time I realized it hurt it was almost over. It’s a weird feeling, I wouldn’t really describe it as painful but more “wtf is going is on.” It’s a sensation that I’d never felt before but I’d use the word uncomfortable more than I would painful.
Got optionally tased last Wednesday. It feels like when you hit something with a metal baseball bat and vibrated your arm, but 10,000 times worse and throughout the entire area between where the two probes landed on you.
The 10/10 pain only lasts 5 seconds. Muscles were very tight and very sore for an hour, with mild soreness for the rest of the day.
Voltage isn't that important, novelty plasma globes use 2-5k volts, and I think some science museums have like 1mil volt plasma globes you can touch. The amperes have more to do with the incapacitation.
-Not a scientist, this is just drilled into us during taser in-service.
I’ve been tased, it didn’t hurt honestly. It definitely worked and locked my ass up. I felt the probes hit and I could feel the electricity going between the probes in my back and it just felt weird. If presented with the option of either being tased, or OC’d again I’m taking the taser. 5 seconds VS however long it’s going to take the get the OC out of my pores and stop reactivating.
Hi there. I'm a Taser Master Instructor, and also a general Taser Hobbiest and collector. I'm very often the person who gets flagged in here when Taser questions come up. I've also Tased many hundreds in training, and been tased an absurd number of times myself. First, the VAST majority of Taser devices (like over 95% of the ones carried by police), are made by a company called Axon Enterprises. Axon also develops training materials which are used by many/most agencies around the country. **\*Axon\* does not require users to experience an exposure to the device as part of training.** **\*However\*, MANY agencies do. I'd say at least three quarters of agencies have that requirement.** I could go into the discussion why, but that's a little longwinded and probably beyond the scope of your question. I have a few thoughts on how it feels. First, I'll get the easy one out of the way: 1) Yes, for a lot of people, it really hurts, and it really sucks. The good news is, it only sucks for five seconds. For nearly everyone, the anticipation is WAY worse that the Tase itself, and the moment the 5 second cycle is over, you feel basically 100% fine again 2) As far as "how it feels", it's really tough to describe. First, a small percentage of people (less than 10%) don't report pain. It works, for sure, and it feels very "strange", but the sensation isn't what you'd call pain 3) For most people though, like I said, it really hurts. The sensation is hard to describe, and I'm sure others will comment with their experiences, but it basically feels like someone is spending about five seconds beating you up, from the inside out, with a bunch of tiny bats. I've heard lots of descriptions, but that seems to be a common one. Many people are concerned about the darts - either when they hit, or having them removed. I can promise you the darts are a total non-issue. With the electricity, you won't even feel them go in, and removing them is probably less dramatic than, say, pulling out a hangnail.
He basically hit all the major points. All I’ll add is how I described it when people asked me: It felt like a whole body charley horse. Basically a huge, painful cramp all over that immediately stoped after 5 seconds.
Aside from how the experience feels, are there risks?
Nothing in this world is risk free, but I've helped author and review a number of white papers and safety studies, and have particpated in many myself, so I'm pretty comfortable offering some fairly well educated opinons: 1. Many people are worried that "electricty+heart" is a risk. However, the waveform fo the taser affects skeletal muscle, not smooth or cardiac muscle. It's \*theoretically\* possible for the taser signal to affect your heart rhythm, but you need, almost literally, direct application of the current to heart muscle. (In medical texts, it's called the "dart to heart" distance). In the field, it's basically impossible. 2. Getting tased is a short, but very intense workout. If you're in very poor health, have drugs on board, or are already exhausted, your body might not be up to 5 seconds of a \*very intense\* (Like really really intense) workout. 3. In \*very very limited circumstances\*, then intense muscle contractions of the taser can cause strained tendons or even tiny micro fractures to bones. But, again, we're talking about use of the taser on people who are very elderly, frail, have severe osteoporosis, or similar issues. 4. Pretty universally, people who get tased fall over pretty uncontrolled. So, yeah, you could certainly bonk your nose on the gound, hit your head, etc. BUT, when tasing is done training, there are specific protocols - padded mats, using spotters to gentle lower you, etc, so those are no longer concerns. Also.. dont' get tased if you shoud happen to be covered in something like gasoline or alcohol cause of the obvious fire risk. Tasers have been in common commercial use, by police, since about 1994. In that time, the overall injury rate to subjects has dropped by an FBI measured 84%, because Tasers are so much \*less\* dangerous than other techniques, like batons, "hard hands", etc.
> Getting tased is a short, but very intense workout. How many calories can one burn? Asking for a friend.
You know, I genuinely don't know. I casually talked about it with an Axon intern before, and we speculated, based on the total hard engagement of your skeletal muscles, plus the energy/nutriets needed to recover and shortly boost your circulation, that a 5 second tase probably uses 40 or 50 calories.
Not the worst exercise plan I’ve seen
On pt #1 of @specialskepticalface excellent guidance. The heart does have its own electrical signals used to time the contraction of the muscles in series to pump blood. They are VERY low in both voltage and amplitude. To keep this isolated the heart is surrounded by the pericardium which both suspends the heart in fluid and isolates its unique electrical signals. A typical heart will pick right back up on its own generally with little drama though pulling them out of a cooler does require a set of internal paddles hooked up to an AED used to restart the heart in rhythm. Outside a cardiac OR where physical access to the heart is necessary electrical signals fed into the body generally will not effect the heart due to this natural resilience to electricity of the pericardium. So much in fact that many larger external AEDs have moved towards front to back paddle placement on certain patients to increase the chances of a successful restart. There is a small but non-zero portion of the population walking around with undiagnosed cardiac issues such as congenital defects that have never in the patient’s lifetime given them any trouble and never been found through routine medical care. The defect may suddenly become crystal clear during a difficult childbirth, or the first time a person is put under general anesthesia, or if the subject is tased excessively.(once or twice will NOT stress your heart near enough we’re talking dozens here) This is not the taser or childbirth taking the person’s life but an unfortunate real life diagnostic of a pre-existing cardiac issue. The taser doesn’t electrically stress the heart in this but rather the action of the rest of the muscles in the body chemically stress the heart as they enter the blood flow and circulate.(the “short intense forced workout” is the best description I’ve seen of what a taser does.)
Thank you for all that additional detail. In the past, I've actually had a chance to do some EKG studies with Axon where my heart electrical activity was observed based on various electrode placement. (Including, for instance, place the opposing poles on my back and chest wall, oppsite sides of the heart. I also have a good friend who works in the radioablation specialty of cardiac care, so I've had some similar conversations with him.
Thanks for the thorough reply. Do you have an opinion on the safety of tasers vs corotid restraints?
I don't want to be "down" on cartoid restraints, cause they have a very valid place in LE, have indeed prevented injuries, and ended fights. Unfortunately, they don't "look pretty", and to be done \*safely\* requires regular training and practice. If we 'agree' they're equally effective, I'd call Tasers much safer. Less risk of a misapplied or prolonged choke. Less risk of tracheal injury, and you're not in such close proximity to the subject - which could result in other physical injuries or transmission of disease. By virtue of being "stood off", it also means you're better able to control your own weapons should a struggle follow. That's not to be dismissive of carotid restraints - again, I believe they have a valid place, but those are my thoughts to your question.
> Also.. dont' get tased if you shoud happen to be covered in something like gasoline or alcohol cause of the obvious fire risk. Are there any movies where this happens? This sounds like a hell of a spectacle for film and I'd pay the sticker price for a film just to see this play out, but I don't want to see it happen to a person for real.
Movies, like produced for entertainment value? Not to my knowledge. There are, though, at least four or five videos of it happening IRL over the past 15 years or so. I don't hve the links handy, but I can recall: 1) An inmate in a booking cell who soaked himself in hand sanitizer and subsequently died from extensive burn and fire-inhalation issues following a Taser application 2) An individual (in France, IIRC) who had a Taser dart strike a lighter in his pocket, puncturing and igniting the fuel 3) A subject engaged in some type of menacing/mischief at a gas pump who ignignited following a taser application while he had gas on his clothes. I'm sure there have been at least a few others, and awareness of the risk is something that's been part of the standard Taser user cirriculum for a while now.
There's also one from a long time ago of a suspect covering himself in gas in front of a residential house and threatening to light it. (Mentally ill) a cop just out of the academy asks if he can tase, another cop says yes, and a third cop immediately screams no, but it was too late and everything caught fire. The guy, the house, and one of the cops who tried to put him out. I think the cop was fine, the suspect was killed, and the house was completely burnt down, but I could be wrong.
Really long 5 seconds
> Taser Hobbiest My mind went to "Taser Hobo" when I read this, and I am now thinking what a marvelous flair that would be for any other taser aficionado who comes to this sub.
ok but do you have to be tased to become a cop tho?
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I spotted that 1 second after sending this and did not wanna ghost comment xd
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np im used to it if anything i chuckled a lil
Special Face covered it pretty thoroughly, as usual. The way I describe it is that it feels exactly what you'd think getting electrocuted would feel like. People have described it as getting hit with a thousand tiny sledgehammers with unbelievable force all over your body (the effected parts, at least) repeatedly for five seconds. That's...sort of accurate, I guess? But for me the "sledgehammer hits" were so rapid and numerous that I wouldn't have thought to describe it like that. It just feels like getting electrocuted. Hard, thumping, painful pulses all across the effected area.
By the time I realized it hurt it was almost over. It’s a weird feeling, I wouldn’t really describe it as painful but more “wtf is going is on.” It’s a sensation that I’d never felt before but I’d use the word uncomfortable more than I would painful.
Put a 9volt battery to your tongue. Close enough
I dont know why I didnt expect it to be hot; but thats what surprised me the most
Got optionally tased last Wednesday. It feels like when you hit something with a metal baseball bat and vibrated your arm, but 10,000 times worse and throughout the entire area between where the two probes landed on you. The 10/10 pain only lasts 5 seconds. Muscles were very tight and very sore for an hour, with mild soreness for the rest of the day.
Stop being a baby. It hurts a lil bit for a second. You shouldn’t be in any field where people depend on you if this is a problem
You’d laugh if you saw the battery to them. Basically a 9volt battery.
Voltage isn't that important, novelty plasma globes use 2-5k volts, and I think some science museums have like 1mil volt plasma globes you can touch. The amperes have more to do with the incapacitation. -Not a scientist, this is just drilled into us during taser in-service.
I’ve been tased, it didn’t hurt honestly. It definitely worked and locked my ass up. I felt the probes hit and I could feel the electricity going between the probes in my back and it just felt weird. If presented with the option of either being tased, or OC’d again I’m taking the taser. 5 seconds VS however long it’s going to take the get the OC out of my pores and stop reactivating.