The inner workings of a TASER XREP shell

Yesterday, TASER announced the new handheld multi-shot electronic control device (ECD) called TASER X3™, which will be officially released at the annual TASER Conference on July 27 in Fountain Hills, Ariz. This is the first new handheld ECD since the introduction of the TASER X26 in 2003.

We will be providing 27 features/technological advancements of the TASER X3 over the next 27 days. To follow the X3’s daily technology releases, go to:  www.TASERX3.com or follow on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TASERX3 and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/TASERX3.

Tuesday, TASER International announced that the TASER® eXtended Range Electronic Projectile (XREP™) shotgun rounds and TASER® X12™ less-lethal shotgun by Mossberg® are now available.

The TASER X12 less-lethal shotgun by Mossberg

The X3 is the culmination of over four years of intense research and development and offers exponentially increased capabilities, including vastly enhanced data, networking, and communication functionality as well as enhanced safety features. TASER has made major investments over the past 24 months to bring a host of new products to market — including the AXON™ Tactical Computer, EVIDENCE.COM™, and the long awaited wireless TASER® XREP™. Our R&D Team has secretly worked on a parallel path to bring the X3 to reality. These innovative developments create an ecosystem of technologies that interface together to provide law enforcement never-before-possible, breakthrough capabilities.

The TASER® product family will provide our customers smarter, safer capabilities to better protect our officers and our communities.

Today, TASER brand electronic control devices (ECDs) are used by more than 14,000 law enforcement agencies in more than 45 countries worldwide. During the past decade, more than 1.5 million people have been hit with a TASER brand ECD, including an estimated 760,000 people in actual arrest proceedings by law enforcement. While a completely accurate number is hard to come by, it further is estimated that more than 50,000 people have avoided injury or had their lives saved because a TASER brand ECD was available and used by law enforcement.  

Despite the broad acceptance and amazing success of the TASER ECDs in reducing injuries and violence, there are still a number of critics and skeptics who are willing to ignore the data, ignore the scientific studies and ignore anecdotal evidence while calling for a moratorium on the use of TASER devices by law enforcement. Most commonly, these naysayers inaccurately site a “lack of independent” scientific and medical studies into the safety of TASER technology and TASER ECDs.

I have to believe that those making such a claim are just uninformed. Arguably, TASER brand ECDs and TASER technology is the most studied law enforcement tool ever. To date, and to the best of our knowledge, there have been more than 275 scientific, medical or governmental studies on ECDs. This includes a growing body of more than 120 scientific and medical studies involving human subjects. In all, approximately 70 percent of these studies are “independent” — having been performed without funding from TASER International.  

Some of the most recent studies to be presented at major medical conferences such as CardioRythm 2009 and in leading medical journals such as the American Journal of Emergency Medicine and the Annals of Emergency Medicine include groundbreaking work on the effects of prolonged or multiple exposures to a TASER device. The following is a sample of recent studies:

Can Prolonged TASER X26 Exposure or Continued Exertion Contribute to Sudden Cardiac Death Through Worsening Acidosis?

Ho, J.D., et al CardioRhythm, Hong Kong: Dept. of Emergency Medicine, Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN Dept. of Emergency Medicine, Lompoc Valley Medical Center, Lompoc, CA.

Conclusion: Acidosis is worse from continued exertion when compared to an ECD application. This does not support an association between TASER device applications and sudden death due to worsening acidosis. It does support a worsening acidosis from continued exertion.

Multiple Simultaneous Exposures of the TASER X26 in Human Volunteers

Ho, J.D., D.M. Dawes, and J.R. Miner 2009, CardioRhythm, Hong Kong: Dept. of Emergency Medicine, Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN Dept. of Emergency Medicine, Lompoc Valley Medical Center, Lompoc, CA.

Conclusions: Five second multiple (2-3), simultaneous exposures to an ECD device do not appear to have significant deleterious effects on the heart.

Presenting Rhythm in Sudden Deaths Temporally Proximate to Discharge of TASER Conducted Electrical Weapons (CEW)

Swerdlow C, Fishbein M, Chaman L, Lakkireddy D, Tchou P. Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. May 2009;16:1‐13.

Conclusions: In sudden deaths proximate to CEW discharge, immediate collapse is unusual, and ventricular fibrillation (VF) is an uncommon VF presenting rhythm. Within study limitations, including selection bias and the possibility that VF terminated before the presenting rhythm was recorded, these data do not support electrically induced VF as a common mechanism of these sudden deaths.

Prolonged TASER Use on Exhausted Humans Does Not Worsen Markers of Acidosis

Ho J, Dawes D, Bultman L, Moscati R, Janchar T, Miner J. American Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2009;27(4):413‐418.

Conclusion: Prolonged CEW application on exhausted humans was not associated with worsening change in pH or troponin. Decreases in pCO2 and potassium and a small increase in lactate were found. Worsening acidosis theories due to CEW use in this population are not supported by these data.

Safety and Injury Profile of Conducted Electrical Weapons Used by Law Enforcement Officers Against Criminal Suspects

William P. Bozeman, MD Annals of Emergency Medicine Jan 2009

Conclusion: To our knowledge, these findings represent the first large, independent, multicenter study of conducted electrical weapon injury epidemiology and suggest that more than 99 percent of subjects do not experience significant injuries after conducted electrical weapon use.

The Neuroendocrine Effects of the TASER X26®: A Brief Report 

Forensic Science International , Volume 183 , Issue 1 – 3 , Pages 14 – 19 D . Dawes , J . Ho , J . Miner

Conclusions: Our preliminary data suggests that physical exertion during custodial arrest may be the most activating of the human stress response, particularly the sympathetic–adrenal–medulla axis. This may suggest that techniques to limit the duration of this exertion may be the safest means to apprehend subjects, particularly those at high-risk for in-custody death. Conducted electrical weapons were not more activating of the human stress response than other uses of force.

A complete index of all known medical, scientific and governmental studies is available on the TASER International web site here.

I understand that there will probably always be some debate over the need and proper use of TASER electronic control devices. I believe such a debate to be healthy and valuable, but only if there is an acknowledgement of the vast body of scientific data and evidence that has been produced regarding the TASER technology.

Arriving at the West Virginia Penitentiary, site of the Mock Prison Riots

Throughout the four day event, men and women who keep our nation safe are able to deploy emerging technologies during best practice tactical training scenarios. Some of these scenarios include: cell extractions, riot control, hostage rescue, conflict resolution, and both lethal and non-lethal situations.  

On Sunday, I joined more than a half dozen other TASER representatives for a day filled with setting up our trade show booth, painting targets and preparing for the upcoming scenarios. I was even able to attend a portion of the skills competition.  

Coming down the cargo net ladder on the skills course

I was doing a self-guided tour with other co-workers when we heard a lot of hollering and yelling coming from the obstacle course in the south yard. Our curiosity had us, so ventured over to see what was going on. We found a five-man emergency response team midway through the obstacle course. These guys were physically exhausted from crawling through tunnels, climbing up a cargo net ladder, dragging and carrying a dummy and climbing up a wall. They were pushing their exhaustion levels to the extreme — one guy looked like he was going to hurl. His face was beat red, his buddies where trying to encourage him to keep going and no one in the group was going to leave this fellow officer behind.  

The dedication and drive these individuals exhibit is remarkable. They choose to work in jails where offenders resist authority and where they always have to watch their backs and their partner’s every movement. It amazed me, that as I was leaving, I discovered I have a whole new level of respect for these individuals.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@TASERHilary) for up-to-the-minute updates from the 2009 Mock Prison Riots. I’ll be sharing hard hitting videos of inmate take downs, results of the skills competition (the Singapore team is looking strong), and exciting new facts that you might not have known about our prison system.

This two day workshop will bring together key thought-leadership from the law enforcement community to explore how rapidly evolving Web 3.0 technologies can be applied to the challenges of secure digital evidence management, analytics, and inter-agency collaboration.

EVIDENCE.com, along with the previously announced TASER® AXON™ on-officer tactical computer, form a major platform computing initiative utilizing advanced Web 3.0 technology to create an integrated end-to-end solution that seamlessly captures, stores securely, and analyzes digital evidence and information in ways never before possible, preserving a pristine evidentiary chain of custody from the time the evidence was captured all the way through the judicial process. In effect, EVIDENCE.com is bringing Software as a Service (SaaS) for the first time to main street, public safety and law enforcement.

In March, during an historic webcast, TASER® International CEO Rick Smith introduced the world to EVIDENCE.com and the idea of using advanced Web 3.0 technology and concepts to solve some of law enforcements most challenging problems. The 2009 EVIDENCE.com Technology Summit will expand that well-received webcast to a true two-way exchange of information and insight — designed not only to showcase the latest technology, but also to improve that technology — based on real-world knowledge and experience. It will be nothing short of law enforcement leadership and technology professionals creating the future for secure interactive digital evidence collection and management solutions.

For those not able to attend the two day EVIDENCE.com Technology Summit, you will be able to follow all the action on Twitter. Peter Holran, Vice President Public Relations and Government Affairs (@TASERPeter), Steve Tuttle, Vice President Communications (@SteveTASER), and I (@TASERHilary) will be live-tweeting the presentations and various speakers as well as instant feedback from the participants. We might even throw in some interesting anecdotal comments just to keep things interesting. Be sure to follow any or all three of us on Twitter. 

Also, be sure to check back here later this week for updates on what occurred at this landmark technology summit.

Yesterday, TASER International reported earnings for first quarter 2009. While I’m proud of many accomplishments this past quarter, the announcement of EVIDENCE.com stands out as a significant milestone in the evolution of the company. TASER International is now primed to provide a complete solution set to law enforcement’s most challenging problems.   

Out in the streets, when lives are at stake, our family of TASER® ECDs provides the safest, most effective option for officers to respond to resistance. The TASER® AXON™ Tactical Computer, which was announced last summer, will streamline the collection and analysis of evidence, preserving an audio/video record from the officer’s perspective of what really happened during all incidents — from traffic stops to the most contentious and dangerous confrontations.

EVIDENCE.com will provide secure storage and groundbreaking analytic capability for digital information and evidence while preserving a pristine evidentiary chain of custody from time the evidence was captured all the way through the judicial process, until the last gavel drops. We are building this capability, through EVIDENCE.com, in a way that lays the foundation for a global, secure network for the law enforcement community.

This integrated set of hardware and software tools has the potential to revolutionize law enforcement in the same way that real-time tactical situational awareness technologies have revolutionized military capabilities. If we think about how GPS, and autonomous systems like the cruise missiles or GPS guided munitions that revolutionized our military capabilities in recent conflicts, we see a similar prospect for bringing advanced information technology to law enforcement to modernize their capabilities and allow them to more effectively and safely execute their mission.

Our TASER ECDs are reducing violence, reducing injuries, and protecting lives every day. AXON and EVIDENCE.com will protect truth through an end-to-end integrated solution to capture, store securely, and analyze digital evidence and information in ways that enable tactical and strategic decision making by law enforcement, as well as for legal evidentiary use.  

Through EVIDENCE.com, we will create a network that can tie together the eyes and ears of hundreds of thousands of law enforcement officers into a global, secure law enforcement collaboration network of digital information. This capability runs to the core of how to keep our communities safe and how to address the modern threats facing society. In fact, the mission of uniting the 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies in the United States was one of the core reasons that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was formed. However, it has proven extremely difficult to unite these 18,000 autonomous agencies with directives from the top down. We believe our bottom up approach will be successful. We believe that the revolutionary capabilities of AXON and EVIDENCE.com will create a unified collaborative network among our current 14,000 law enforcement agency customers.  

The future is digital information. Our breakthrough hardware — AXON — accelerates the need for massive digital data storage and management. EVIDENCE.com creates both the method and the network through which to handle this data. Using a Software as a Service (“SaaS”) approach removes the burden, capital investment, and implementation risk from local agencies who are all struggling with how to handle the complexities and volume of digital evidence and video. We are also designing the EVIDENCE.com infrastructure to enable next generation video analytics and to handle future law enforcement collaborative needs.

EVIDENCE.com will bring Software as a Service to main street, public safety and law enforcement for the first time.

In effect, we are taking elements from a variety of fast moving technology trends and combining them together to empower our law enforcement customers. The AXON Tactical Computer grew from the miniaturization of video recording devices and wearable computers, such as the iPhone™ or Blackberry® many of us now use every day. EVIDENCE.com is a world class, Web 3.0 Cloud Computing solution perfectly fit to address a highly complex, capital intensive technology need of the law enforcement community. We’ve also combined existing Web 2.0 social networking technology to enable secure grassroots collaboration across the law enforcement community.

It is a bold vision that is becoming reality. We are set to create the technology tool set of hardware and software products and solutions that will help us realize the vision of safer communities and a secure homeland, while making law enforcement significantly more effective and more accountable. Our technology will transform law enforcement. It will also transform TASER International — from a world-class product manufacturer, to a cross-technology platform solutions provider.  

Over the past two months, the senior leadership of TASER International has met with more than 60 senior command staff from the top 150 law enforcement agencies to share our vision of the TASER-AXON-EVIDENCE.com solutions. The results have been extremely promising. The significant majority of the agencies we met with have validated the pain points that we are solving, and interest in our solution set is very high. We have even received very favorable feedback from agencies who were not significant customers for our core TASER products.

Next week, TASER International is hosting a technology summit, with more than 130 participants from leading law enforcement agencies across the country who are joining us to learn more about EVIDENCE.com, and to provide further vital customer input into our final product development phase. In fact, more than 400 officers have already participated in prior focus groups and surveys that have helped us to develop this breakthrough solution set.

At TASER International, we are keenly aware of the challenges which exist as a result of a troubled global economy. But, as I’ve said before, now is the time to invest from a position of strength to extend our lead, enter into new markets, and provide solutions to the most complex problems.  

Challenging times favor the strong and bold. Our company’s financial condition is, indeed, strong. Our ideas and our people are innovative, and our thinking is bold.

Generally, each Chiefs Course includes the following components, although the presenters vary depending on region and availability: an update on legal issues pertaining to the use of TASER devices, an update on the latest medical research on TASER technology, a session on media relations and data tracking, a discussion on the potential civil rights issues surrounding the deployment of TASER devices, and an update on suggested training requirement for TASER devices.  

As Vice President of Communications at TASER for 15 years, I know a thing or two about TASER and TASER devices, but each time I present at one of these courses, I am humbled by my co-presenters and honored to be speaking from the same podium.  

Why are the presenters so impressive?  Let’s take, as an example, the person who gave the medical research update today.  Dr. Jeffrey Ho, is a board-certified emergency medicine physician, a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine. He is a licensed deputy sheriff in the state of Minnesota and currently serves with the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office.  He also is an independent, expert medical consultant to TASER, where he leads a cadre of research in studying human physiologic effects of electronic control devices (ECDs).  

And he’s a nice guy to boot.

My presentation today covered media relations and data tracking, including a look at media messaging, and more importantly, net field results for TASER device usage in agencies big and small around the United States.  The agency field results statistics always generate a lot of interest.  They provide the quantitative proof that TASER devices are reducing injuries and saving lives in every community where they are deployed.  I believe it’s so powerful to see a graphical representation of the benefits TASER devices provide to agencies — such as a reduction in officer and suspect injuries, a reduction in suspect shootings, and a reduction in lawsuits and worker’s comp claims — and today’s audience seemed to agree.

It’s been a busy day, getting up early, flying in and out of Minneapolis, but it’s completely worth it.  I make every effort to be present at these meetings because I believe that they are the lifeblood of sustaining good TASER programs in law enforcement agencies around the country.