- PHOENIX (AP) -- There were
103 Taser stun gun-related deaths in the United States and Canada between
June 2001 and March 2005, according to an Amnesty International report
released Friday.
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- In the first three months of this year, there were 13
Taser-related deaths รณ compared with six during the same period
last year, the report said.
-
- The stun guns have been touted as less lethal than other
ways of subduing combative people in high-risk situations, but Tasers have
come under increasing scrutiny as a number of deaths have been blamed,
at least partially, on the devices.
-
- "No confrontation is risk free. The Taser is the
safest way to end violent confrontations for law enforcement," Taser
International Inc. President Tom Smith said Thursday.
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- The report challenged Taser's claims that the stun guns
have saved more than 6,000 lives.
-
- "Taser International wildly exaggerates the number
of incidents in which the use of a Taser resulted in a life saved,"
the report says.
-
- Smith contended that the company's statistics are conservative
and based on fact.
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- "This is just a further example of how out of touch
this organization (Amnesty International) is with the law enforcement community,"
Smith said.
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- Stun guns produced by Scottsdale-based Taser are used
by more than 6,000 law enforcement agencies worldwide.
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