Quote:
Originally Posted by DrPhil
Researchers and law enforcement experts continue to debate and research the lasting impact of tasing. Based on the ongoing debate and research findings on both sides of the issue, it is not absolute certain that the average person is "good to go" and with no lasting impact. Police departments often do not conduct cohort studies in which people tased in a given year are studied over periods of time. Taser studies are coming from elsewhere and there are few studies on the physical and/or mental effects on people who have been tasered and the span of time through which to examine lasting effects is still being understood. This ongoing debate and research are regarding adults. The debate is stronger for children and there is little to any research on the impact of tasering on children. The research on adults is assumed to be applicable to all humans but that is not definite.
I know that you were giving a general response about tasers to christiangirl's post but baton and pepper spray are not deemed a necessary comparison unless the research question is how tasering compares to other methods--batons and pepper spray. Instead, the research questions in this instance would be (1) is tasing appropriate for people of a young age--children (or the elderly if we were talking about older age); (2) (in line with what you were talking about in your post) does tasering have any lasting impact on the body regardless of whether the person feels pain; and (3) can the impact of tasing be different for children (or the elderly) than adults.
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I can't speak of any knowledge on the long term effects of tasering, other then the claims of taser manufactures that there are none. I did do some light online research into that before I was tased myself. There have been incidents where people have gone into cardiac arrest following being tased, but I read nothing about long term/short term muscle or nerve damage. I think the best focus group for any sort of study on the long term effects would be law enforcement officers since so many of them have been tased ( I'm also willing to put money down that more cops have been tased overall than civilians). Speaking from personal experience, neither I nor anyone I know of who's been tased in my region (about 600 officers) has had any issues stemming from being tased.
As for the discussion of children being tased, I have to say that children shouldn't be tased and official policies typically state that tasers shouldn't be deployed on children, the elderly, and the mentally disturbed. I must stress the fact that shouldn't be used doesn't always mean can't be used. Every situation and set of circumstances is different.
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