You’ve probably heard of tasers (or “stun guns”) and you may have even seen some television personalities get shocked by them and live to tell about it. But did you know that the Justice Department is reviewing the deaths of 180 people killed by these “less than lethal” devices in the last four years or so?
The study could take up to two years and the Justice Department is not urging any limits in the deployment of these electro-shock guns, writes Kevin Johnson of USA TODAY. Among the factors being considered by the study are the ages, weight, physical impairment, and drug use of each of the victims.
Taser International, the company that manufactures and distributes the guns to some 7,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide, is named a defendant in at least 49 lawsuits nationwide alleging wrongful death and personal injury.