Shotgun Taser

Just beautiful. Taser International is marketing a newly developed taser shotgun that's capable of hitting people up to 65 feet away to police departments (hat tip to Tasered While Black):

PHOENIX—Stun gun maker Taser International said Friday it will offer police a pump-action Taser shotgun that will allow officers to knock out people from as far as 65 feet away.

The Taser/Mossberg X12 LLS almost doubles the range of the company's X26 model pistol. It uses a special pump-action shotgun developed by O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc. and a wireless stunning device folded into the shell. ...

The Taser shotgun shell will pack the same electrical punch as the Taser X26 pistol that's currently used by thousands of police agencies around the country.

But unlike the X26, it won't be attached to wires. When someone is hit with a shell, a 3-volt battery will send electrical pulses into the person's body for 20 to 30 seconds.

Note that last bit. After the shotgun is fired, a person will no longer be deciding how to discharge the taser. No officer will be there to decide that compliance has occurred (not that they're great at that); it will be a 20-30 second pulse for everyone.

Amenesty International's response to the device:

NEW YORK, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA, released the below statement today in response to the introduction of the TASER X12 LLS Mossberg(r) shotgun, which fires an eXtended Range Electronic Projectile (XREP) that can deliver an electrical shock to a target. The XREP, which is not tethered to the gun, can be fired at a distance of up to 65 feet -- approximately double the range of traditional TASERs.

"The electroshock shotgun raises similar unresolved safety questions as traditional TASERs, but introduces new concerns, as well. This weapon should not be introduced into the field before comprehensive, independent medical research on its safety has been completed. Using this shotgun

before there is adequate research is putting the cart before the horse --with public safety the potential loser.

"More than 290 people have died in the United States after being shocked with TASERs. This should be a time to examine why these deaths are happening, not to experiment with newfangled ways to use the technology.

"The XREP's 20-second default shock time -- four times longer than that of the traditional device -- is worrying. Most people who have died after being stunned with regular TASERs were subject to multiple or prolonged shocks.

"This new technology also raises medical questions about how electroshock interacts with the blunt impact of a powerful projectile."

For more information on TASERs, please visit [here].