Tom A Swift's electric rifle

One hundred years ago, people would have laughed at the idea of some type of handheld device that could shoot electricity at another person. However, the human mind is very creative and there was at least one person who had written about such a gun as far back as 1911 when the book "Tom A Swift and His Electric Rifle" was published. This book was about Tom Swift's latest invention, the electric rifle that could fire electric bolts at different levels of range and shoot through walls without leaving a hole. This book was complete fantasy when it was written, and I have my doubts that author Victor Appleton thought his book would inspire the real thing. But it was in 1969 that Jack Cover, a NASA researcher, began developing what is now called the TASER. Jack Cover completed the device in 1974, and named it after his favorite book "Tom A Swift and His Electric Rifle" (TASER).

Although the TASER is not strong enough to kill a "rampaging whale" as the electric rifle did in Appleton's book, the TASER can incapacitate someone instantly. The TASER fires probes from the cartridge and the probes are connected to the cartridge by wire. The TASER incapacitates the neuromuscular system of the body. Although the TASER technology had been around since 1974, it was not until 1993, when Rick Smith and his brother Thomas began to investigate what they called a "safer use of force option for citizens and law enforcement" that the TASER began to be used. TASER International CEO Patrick Smith also testified in a TASER-related lawsuit that the catalyst for the development of the device was the "shooting death of two of his high school acquaintances" by a "guy with a legally licensed gun who lost his temper." The two brothers began working with Jack Cover to develop the pistol form of the TASER that we have today.

The TASER primarily functions by creating neuromuscular incapacitation; the device interrupts the ability of the brain to control the muscles in the body. Once the electricity stops flowing, the subject immediately regains control of his or her body. TASERs also provide a safety benefit to police officers as they have a greater deployment range than batons, pepper spray, or empty hand techniques. This allows police to maintain a safe distance. A study of use-of-force incidents by the Calgary Police Service conducted by the Canadian Police Research Centre found that the use of TASERs resulted in fewer injuries than the use of batons or empty hand techniques. There are arguments on both sides about law enforcement's use of TASERs, but I have found it is the department's policies on how the TASERs are used that make the difference; because just like a firearm, it is the decision of the person holding the weapon to fire it, and that is what can make the TASER a good tool or a bad one.