Publicized Uniformity of Training and Safety Guidelines for Stun Gun Use Is Necessary to Hasten Public's Acceptance of Less-Lethal Technology
Organizations that oversee law enforcement policy have released documents to help departments develop guidelines for stun gun use. According to, Robert Siciliano, a security industry expert, steps toward uniformity of protocol need to continue.


/Guns and Firearms News Articles/ - BOSTON, MA, March 04, 2006 - (StunGun.com) Concerns over stun gun deaths have continued, prompting individual police departments nationwide to adopt new rules. Organizations that oversee law enforcement policy have released documents to help departments develop guidelines. According to, Robert Siciliano, a security industry expert, steps toward uniformity of protocol need to continue. As this happens, he says, more publicity will help law enforcement transcend the stigma stun gun use has acquired.

"Legitimate concerns over stun gun use dominate the news," said Siciliano, president of StunGun.com. "Highly publicized deaths nationwide and seemingly evasive actions on the part of this industry's largest player have overshadowed law enforcement organizations' earnest self-regulatory efforts. The result is an inaccurate perception that the police don't care about stun gun safety."

Siciliano delivers presentations on security to Fortune 500 companies across the nation and is author of "The Safety Minute: 01."

People in excited states of delirium precipitated by drug use or psychiatric disorders may be at heightened risk for cardiac arrest following stun gun shocks. The Robertson County Times reported on Feb. 23 that Nashville, Tenn. police have adopted changes to their Taser use policy to account for this suspected danger associated with stun gun use.

A number of police self-oversight organizations have, in fact, developed training and use guidelines in response to the risks that stun guns may pose. Police departments across the country have the opportunity to follow procedures already documented by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Association of Chief Police Officers, and the Police Executive Research Forum.

"Law enforcement's self-regulatory efforts have received relatively little news coverage," said Siciliano. "These efforts must be publicized."

Stinger Systems, Inc., a Tampa, Fla.-based firm, reportedly makes stun guns that may be safer than the largest manufacturer's. A Feb. 14 press release announced that Stinger System's weapon had just completed a five-month study at the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. According to the release, the study's physiological models showed "no serious adverse physiological effects" from use of the company's stun gun.

"Stun guns' effects must mirror the expectations for less-lethal weaponry: a decrease in unnecessary deaths," said Siciliano. "Any adoption of this technology that goes against the expectations undermines the very predication for less-lethal weaponry. A culture of confrontation will never lead to public acceptance of stun gun use."

Little to no competition has threatened the market share of the stun gun industry's largest manufacturer. Stinger Systems and other stun gun players, such as Youngsville, NC-based Law Enforcement Associates Corp. (LEA), have nevertheless vied for attention.

In the fourth quarter of 2005, Taser International, Inc.'s profits fell 98 percent. On Feb. 23, an article in The East Valley Tribune provided context and commentary on from a financial expert. On Feb. 24, Stinger Systems announced the migration of its stock from the Pink Sheets to the Over the Counter Bulletin Board.

"With the largest stun gun manufacturer being characterized in the press as indifferent to the possible dangers of stun gun use," Siciliano concluded, "a vibrant, competitive stun gun market is all the more necessary. Competition may be this industry's best chance for a much-needed change in public perception regarding the safety of less-lethal weaponry."

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Robert Siciliano
StunGun.com
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