TASER® Blog

The 2009 ASIS conference held in southern California for the professional security industry kicked off this week with a press conference held by Rick Smith, CEO and Founder of TASER International, announcing the debut partner of our “TASER Certified” program.  The president of the world’s largest security firm, Wackenhut/G4S, joined Rick in explaining the value of the designation to the corporate community.  Uniformed security officers of Wackenhut displayed their TASER® X26™ devices proudly on their belts after having volunteered to experience its effect the night before. 

Key issues such as executive protection, plant security, and responses to workplace violence are better served by security companies with the TASER Certified status because they subscribe to a time-tested training curriculum, expert deployment support, and the assurance that the supplier – TASER International – will extend its legal dominance to the civilian community if needed.

When walking the massive 800,000 square feet of exhibit area, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the extensive and elaborate booth displays from vendors offering video technologies, security services, and a variety of high-end detection equipment.  The TASER booth was one of the largest in recent years and was packed with new technologies now available to professional security firms and corporate security teams.  We’ve met with representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, fertilizer plant operators, hospital staff, military branches, and security firms from dozens of foreign countries; the furthest hailed from Nigeria.  TASER International has clearly been embraced by the security industry and we stand ready to serve…again.

C2 Colors

Hey TASER® Blog fans- we have a very special opportunity for you! It’s our way of saying thank-you for your continuing interest in our product, company, and the people behind it all.

Starting a blog has been a new and exciting project for TASER International, a foray into the world of social media- and it’s been the dedicated blog fans like you that have made it so rewarding. So, we would like to give you a little something extra for your support.

By using this link , you will receive an extra two-pack of cartridges and a free target with your purchase of a TASER C2.

Happy Shopping!

Back in June we told you about three new studies and reports that were crucial to understanding issues surrounding the use of TASER devices. One of those reports was by the American Medical Association (AMA) and was announced at its annual meeting that month.

As we said then, the report is generally positive. It recognizes that TASER devices, when used appropriately, can save lives during interventions that would otherwise involve deadly force.

However, since we first told you about the report, some others have looked at it and drawn additional interpretations and conclusions.

Greg Meyer — a retired Captain from the Los Angeles Police Academy — has done some of  the heavy lifting over at PoliceOne.com in taking a closer look at the AMA report. Capt. Meyers offers an excellent point-by-point breakdown and analysis.

Take a look at the column by Capt. Meyers. I think you will find it interesting.

What a great way to end the week — today I am able to share an account of an incident where one woman’s savvy self-defense skills saved her from what could have been a very dangerous situation. In this woman’s story, her awareness of personal safety and willingness to act resulted in a positive outcome and not another tragedy being reported on the evening news. 

The following story was sent to us this week by a Sergeant at a California law enforcement agency. The wife of one of his colleagues used her TASER® C2™ to ward off a potential attacker. The woman had obviously thought about her own personal safety beforehand, which is why she was carrying a C2 and was prepared to act in her own defense.  

We often find, as in this case, that just taking out your C2 is enough to scare off an attacker. However, if you do choose to carry some form of weapon to defend yourself, you also need to be prepared to use it. Check out the story after the jump, as it reinforces the fact that we constantly need to maintain an awareness of our surroundings: Read more…

Friday, May 15, 2009– today is the 28th Annual National Peace Officers Memorial Day.

As I lowered my flag to half mast this morning, I reflected on all the sights, people, inspirational speakers and courageous survivors I experienced in Washington, DC during the past week– National Police Week 2009.

This year, I had the opportunity…no, the privilege to attend events during the entire National Police Week thanks to TASER International  and the TASER Foundation for Fallen Officers .  The whole experience was overwhelming.  I have lots of great memories of what I saw and experienced.  A few of my most vivid memories include:

• Police everywhere; from everywhere– tens of thousands of law enforcement officers descended on Washington, DC this week.  They appeared to have come from every corner of the nation; from big cities and small towns; many of the countries and towns I read on shoulder patches were unknown to me. 
• 1200 bike riders took part in the Police Unity Tour arriving at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC on Tuesday, having ridden hundreds of miles to raise awareness of fallen officers.  They raised much more than awareness; they also raised $1.3 million for the National Law Enforcement Museum.
• Joseph Perischini, Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office, FBI addressing the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF)  Chairman’s Dinner Tuesday night.  His message was direct- we need to do better in the inner cities.  He then introduced a 17-year old student from one of the tougher neighborhoods in Washington, DC. She will be interning this summer at the FBI as part of its mentoring program; oh, and she applied for and has been granted top secret clearance for use during the internship.
• Sharing time with country music star Mark Wills, former Dallas Cowboy Steve Coles, American Gladiators Don” Wolf” Yates, and Valerie “Siren” Waugamanand watching each genuinely care about the officers with whom they spoke and treating the officers as the celebrities. 
• Seeing the reaction of officers and survivors to the TASER Foundation Drive to Remember Guardian One…and then thanking Sgt. Steve Gibson and Craig Prystay, the drivers, for all they have done. 
• The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Candelelight Vigil- 10,000 candles illuminating the evening sky.
• Feeling a sense of global unity as two British police officers at the Candlelight Vigil saluted during our national anthem.
• Quietly watching a good friend and colleague stoically, yet obviously painfully, remembering and honoring a college friend, FBI Agent Sam Hicks who was killed in the line of duty November 2008.
• Listening to 22-year old Florida police officer Eric Strzalkowski, who swore his oath just three months ago, proudly address the Concerns of Police Survivors  (C.O.P.S.) Gala Thursday night on what C.O.P.S. has meant to him as a surviving son.  His father was a police officer; killed when Eric was two. 
• Realizing that C.O.P.S. Gala lasted more than five hours and ended after 11:00 p.m. but no one seemed to mind; most all of the 1000 attendees were still there at the end.

While all these memories will remain with me for a long time, there is one memory and feeling that I may never forget….

I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend with the TASER Foundation, the NLEOMF reception prior to the Candlelight Vigil.  Much to my amazement, as we walked the two blocks from the reception to the National Law Enforcement Memorial, law enforcement officers from hundreds of agencies, in uniforms of every color imaginable, stood shoulder to shoulder, at attention, on both sides of the street.  As we approached the Memorial, the officers saluted.  They did not know who we were or why we were there, yet they saluted.  I was there to honor and pay tribute to them and their fallen comrades, yet they saluted.  I was humbled as my eyes welled with tears.

Those salutes are what I will always remember most about National Police Week 2009.  Heartfelt gestures, ones that I do not feel I deserved, which clearly exemplifies that law enforcement truly is a fraternity of men and women who, no matter what, will always think of others before themselves.

It is also why today is the 28th Annual National Police Officers Memorial Day.  This is the one day that we ask the men and women of law enforcement to allow us to think of them first….and to say THANK YOU!

As you know from my earlier post, this week is National Police Week in Washington, DC and a time to remember the brave men and women of law enforcement who have given their lives in the line of duty.  Law enforcement officers by the thousands, their families, and their friends have descended on our nation’s capital coming together to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. 

National Police Week is a special and necessary opportunity for officers and surviving family members to mourn their partners, colleaugues, husbands, wives, mothers and fathers.  It is also a time to heal. 

The mental stress and toll on law enforcement is also very apparent this week.  During this time we should also remember and recognize the officers who struggle with thoughts of suicide.  Law enforcement can be a difficult and lonely profession and unfortunately, officers committing suicide is a sad, but real issue confronting many agencies today.

Lt. Kristen Ziman of the Aurora (Illinois) Police Department wrote a poignant and insightful piece (”Cops trained to help, but struggle to help selves “) discussing this very issue.  The column appeared over the weekend in The Beacon News.  I believe it is worth reading.

More than 100 bikes line up for the TASER Foundation charity ride

Events like these are important to the TASER Foundation not only by raising money for the families of fallen officers, but also bring awareness to the community.  A few months ago, a close friend of mine from college, Sam Hicks, died in the line of duty while doing a drug raid in Indiana Township, PA, on November 19, 2008.  He was an FBI agent that loved not only his job, but protecting the streets and neighborhoods he served.  Ever since that incident when Sam was killed, the TASER Foundation has been an inspiration to me, to help memebers like the Hicks family during tragedy.

The TASER Foundation is a non-profit organization which provides financial and educational support to the families of law enforcement officers in the Unitd States and Canada who have lost their lives in the line of duty.  It was started in November 2004 by the Smith family and the TASER International staff.  To learn more about the TASER Foundation and upcoming events, visit the TASER Foundation.

The sale of TASER electronic control devices (ECDs) to the public is perhaps one of the most often misunderstood aspects of TASER International’s sales. Because of our success and visibility in the law enforcement market, many people believe that we hadn’t started selling TASER devices to the public until the launch of the TASER C2 in 2007. The truth is that our company was founded selling ECDs to the public.  

Back in the beginning (1994), our very first sales were to consumers via direct orders, gun stores, catalogs and the Sharper Image. What you got back then was our first model, called the AIR TASER™ Model 34000. It looked something like this (again, back in 1994).

Read more…

There’s been a lot of buzz out there lately about some of the new technology that TASER International is introducing this year. Our CEO and founder, Rick Smith, recently introduced the world to the TASER® AXON™ and EVIDENCE.com™ in a series of webcasts (found here).

But that’s not all we’ve got going on. In addition to AXON and EVIDENCE.com, we’ve been hard at work finding new ways to employ the NueroMuscular Incapacitation technology that TASER is best associated with. We’ve been in the process of preparing products like the TASER® Shockwave™ and TASER® XREP™ for market. Even though these products won’t be available until the third or fourth quarter of this year, the buzz is building. Here are few of the highlights:

Don’t Tape Me, Bro! — Aaron Rowe from Wired.com covered AXON and EVIDENCE.com on the day of the announcement. 

TASER enters the data (business) – Lindsey J. Bertomen from PoliceOne gives his perspective on AXON and EVIDENCE.com.

Engadget imagines the effect AXON could have on the television show COPS. 

Scott over at Spartan Cops put together a fantastic breakdown of AXON and EVIDENCE.com.

Mark Wilson from Gizmodo and commenters muse about the possibility of an AXON for consumers.

The New Scientist (a U.K.-based technology publication) caught wind of the XREP and wrote this post.

TASER International is the market leader in advanced electronic control devices (aka ECDs).  In the United States and Canada alone there are approximately 19,000 state/provincial, local and federal law enforcement agencies. And as of December 31, 2008, TASER International has sold approximately 390,000 TASER brand ECDs to more than 13,900 of those law enforcement agencies.  

Perhaps the most telling statistic: more than 5,200 agencies of the 13,900 deploying TASER devices have made the decision to fully deploy these ECDs.  This full deployment means that 5,200 agencies have provided TASER ECDs to all of their patrol officers.

This sea change in law enforcement is not unique to North America, as TASER devices are sold in more than 40 countries.

Read more…