TASER'S AXON FLEX

TASER has designed the AXON system, a tactical networkable computer that combines advanced audio-video record and capture capabilities worn by first responders. Law enforcement officers constantly false allegations that question their integrity and honor. With axon they can now show exactly what occurred from their perspective. This will improve officer efficiency and accountability.

The AXON system is comprised of three hardware components and offers three modes of operation. The HeadCam, Com Hub, and ATC (AXON Tactical Computer) offer simple plug-and-play workflow, with seamless integration into the existing radio communication system through a standard 3.5mm headphone connection. 

The HeadCam comes standard with a head brace similar to the behind the head style of the most popular jogging headphones used with MP3 players today. However, it can be mounted through various accessories to glasses, helmets, or just about anywhere – giving the officer the power to choose the configuration that maximizes his or her comfort and usability.

Features & Benefits:
• Integrates with Radio Earpiece
•  Color and Low Light IR
• Multiple Mounting Options

Com hub

Designed with input from hundreds of leading tactical trainers and operators, the AXON system is designed for simple, easy operation even under extreme stress. The Com Hub has a standard push to talk button for radio controls, and a single AXON event button, requiring the push of a single button to activate the AXON system to initiate event capture.

Features & Benefits:
• Connects HeadCam, Radio, ATC
•  User Controls
•  Push to Talk
•  Start / Stop Event Record
•  Privacy Button

ATC

The 4.3 inch touch screen display enables playback and analysis of incident video, as well as limitless future applications.

Features & Benefits:

• Linux Operating System
• 12-Hour Rechargeable Battery
• LCD Screen
•  Has a video screen that allows officers to watch the video during or after an incident. Officers can take the headcam off and watch the videoscreen to view in attics and around corners instead of using their head.
•   Allows an officer to add markers on the video.
•   Allows add narration tracks so an officer can go back later and articulate what he was feeling at a particular point of the video.
•  Can be configured for pre-event recording. That means the recorder will record a set amount of time before the button is pushed. Rick Smith gave an example of 15 seconds.  

sources: Axon flex

Taser Capable of Shocking three without being reloaded

Taser Capable of Shooting Multi shots in a single Load

A Taser stun gun which is capable of shocking up to three people at a time without being reloaded has been unveiled in the United States.

The device, which can hit people up to 35 feet away, weighs less than two pounds and is only seven inches tall, but is being billed as the most powerful Taser yet.

Police could be equipped with a new wireless Taser 'shotgun(X-12)' with a range of more than three times that of current models

The gun was unveiled yesterday in front of hundreds of police at Taser Internationa's annual conference.

American police, who will use the device from next month, said it would allow for greater accountability because it had sensors that measured each discharge.

Data can also be downloaded and analysed from the device.

Taser International CEO Rick Smith said the gun would become the new standard for police officers who want greater tactical abilities.

Older Taser stun guns which are used by 14,200 law enforcement agencies throughout the United States, have to be reloaded after one shot.

Cartridge(Xrep)

Police say this can be cause problems if a target is missed a target or if an officer has more than one suspect to subdue.

'This is as big a step as when firearms went from a muzzle loader to the revolver,' Mr Smith said . 'If I was a cop I'd want to carry one.'

He added the devices are in line with the costs of other law enforcement tools.

The device is the first new stun gun Taser International has introduced since 2003 and costs £1092 ($1,799), almost £500 more than the older model.

However, human rights groups claim Tasers cause heart attacks and are dangerous.

Amnesty International said 351 people in the U.S. died after they were shocked with Tasers, and that in 50 of those cases, medical examiners cited a link between Taser shocks and death.

TASERS IN SCHOOL

A Taser is an electronic control device that uses electric current to disrupt muscle control to stop an attacker. TASER devices can be used both close and far range.it shoots two metal probe darts which have a range of 15 feet. When these probes come in contact with the target’s body or clothing, they deliver an electrical signal into his neural network. This causes involuntary muscle contractions and impairment of motor skills.

School Resource Officers (certified, sworn police officers) being armed with Tasers in schools is an increasingly debated school safety issue. 

Children are the future of a nation and their safety is the top most priority.

Tasers are useful tools for police officers and that they add a new step in the "use of force continuum" used by police to counter threats against them and others. It is effective and less lethal than a firearm.  A number of police departments have also credited Tasers as a contributing factor to major decreases in suspect and officer injuries, and decreases in police officer firearm shootings.

They have been used to subdue violent assailants in school.

Kenneth Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, a Cleveland-based national consulting firm specializing in school security, said it makes sense for trained police officers to carry Taser devices in school. "When the Taser is used, it is generally used with an escalation of physical assaulted behavior and physical resistance of an arrest," he said. "If you take away the tools those officers otherwise have out on the street, you potentially create a less safe situation, not only for the officer but for the people he or she is there to protect."

The presence of police officers carrying Tasers helps to maintain order, build rapport and educate students about safety and other matters.

Some incidents on the news:

December 4, 2007: Colorado Springs, CO
Students reported a suspicious man in the high school parking lot.  A school resource officer (SRO) attempted to question him but he refused to answer, drove off fast, and hit a tree.  The officer told him to turn off the car and he moved to the glove compartment, at which time the officer used a Taser on him.  A knife was found in the car.

November 20, 2006:  Henderson, NV

The father of a high school student became combative and was escorted off campus by school police and security personnel after coming to the school nurse's office for his daughter.  The male threatened to return with a gun.  He came back with a knife and was arrested after breaking loose, hitting two officers, and being hit by a Taser from city police who also responded.

May 6, 2005:  Middleburg, FL

A school resource officer was treated and released from the hospital for a concussion and bite wound to his hand that resulted from assaulted by an 18-year-old high school student who was trespassing, refused to leave school grounds, and resisted arrest. The suspect reportedly punched the officer in the face and knocked his radio from his hand as he tried to call for help after the officer fell.  The suspect reportedly punched and kicked him while he was on the ground.  The student left the area to go to another office and was subsequently arrested by the officer after the officer used a Taser on him.

August 11, 2005: Orlando, FL
A sheriff's deputy twice stunned a 14-year-old female student with a Taser after the female reportedly went after her boyfriend with an 8-inch chopping knife and then turned on another deputy who directed her to stop.  The student was said to have had a note written on her school notebook reminding her to bring the knife and had reportedly told another student that she was going to kill her boyfriend with the knife.  She went after the boyfriend as soon as exited the school bus and before officials at the school for emotionally challenged students could conduct their weapons search. 

school security

Tasers at Hospitals

                     Use of TASERS at Hospitals

The environment of a hospital is never 100 percent peaceful all the time. Acts of violence do occur against physicians, staff and nurses. In such cases where systematic approaches to control violence do not work, other efficient means of elevated force are employed to control violent behaviour.

It is effective and less lethal than a firearm. According to taser international, 151 hospitals in the U.S are using or testing tasers. Each hospital has its own guidelines for the use of tasers. The only key issue is the risk of injuries. 

William P. Bozeman of Wake Forest University, says receiving a Taser shot is painful “but as soon as the Taser stops sending out electricity, the pain is over and you’re fully functional again in a matter of moments.”  A study published in 2009 of 1201 people , 99.75 percent of study subjects did not experience significant injuries following a TASER deployment.

The top priority is to protect patients, visitors and employees. Therefore only highly trained officers are allowed to carry tasers.

 The hospital will need a security member to become a certified TASER instructor. 

The process for becoming an instructor includes taking an online training course prior to a two-day/16-hour class. This course covers the safe operation of electronic control devices via a lengthy PowerPoint presentation, which includes videos, practical firings and hands on use, scenario-based deployments and a written test. The instructor certification is valid for two years.

Hospital security command staff will need to formulate best practices, policies and training procedures, based on the input of the trained TASER instructor. 

While use of force policies must meet hospital guidelines, in many cases, these policies are also based on community standards and the varying levels of the types of responses available to the security department.

In addition to standard training, specialized training in handling sensitive patient situations may be considered to ensure that when force is necessary, all means to handle the situation have been utilized.

Therefore,depending on the situation the officers can determine the appropriate tool starting from taking to the  individual.  Public safety officers will use TASERs only as the last resort and only in situations where someone was at significant risk of hurting themselves or others around them."