Tomorrow's Taser

Behold! The future of Tasers! Just in case you need a stylish leopard-print taser to go with your leopard-print purse or shoes, the developers at Taser International are ready to help.

Also, in the event that wearing your Taser holster has ever kept you from bringing your iPod, or better yet your Creative Labs Zen with you, Taser has you covered with a new holster that features a 1GB mp3 player built-in.

Here is the press release for all of the products the folks down at Taser International have released at the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

"These new product (sic) are a result of listening to our customers. Personal protection can be both fashionable and functionable," said Rick Smith, CEO and founder of TASER International. "The TASER C2 leopard print design provides a personal protection option for women who want fashion with a bite."

In a continuing rash of stories about women having Taser parties, the question must be asked, who is encouraging this? This first article is about independent Taser dealer Dana Shafman. (Shieldher, Inc., note the victimized woman in the logo)

"The worst nightmare for me is, while I'm sleeping, someone coming in my home," Shafman tells the group, drawing a few solemn nods from the gathered women. Shafman, 34, of Phoenix, says she knows how they feel. She used to stash knives under her pillow for protection.

This second, more colorful article describes the problem from what can only be called a Texan mindset. The author feels that tasers are the liberal alternative to the more effective personal firearm.

Ladies, make 2008 the year you cease to be a helpless victim. Whether you’re in your car, classroom, store, your own house or in church, you must get packed, stacked and ready to whack because the fools today are bold and multitudinous. Yes you, girlfriend, must help society send a message to these evolutionary holdovers that we will rock them with a club, a kick, a gun (my favorite) or a taser for attempting to do us harm.

How much is Taser International promoting this? Considering how we have seen them behave in the past, witness the story of the Canadian policeman who worked with Taser to promote the use of their products by Canadian police departments, one must begin to wonder how ethical these parties are. Considering how dangerous these devices are in the hands of trained professionals, their promotion among the general public seems morally bankrupt. Marketing them directly to women, though, is almost misogynistic fear-mongering.

As far as the practical implementation of Tasers go, there have been a couple of more Taser-related injures. One in Jacksonville, after a man didn't stop for a stop sign. Cocaine doesn't exactly enhance one's decision-making faculties, though. In what appears to be an otherwise textbook example of the use of Tasers, a suspect in Nevada died after being restrained by an officer with a taser.

Here is a look at excited delirium, allegedly an acute psychotic episode that is seem in those with mental illness and drug abuse, and what it meant in the death of Briant Parks in Columbus, Ohio. Even though the police had him out numbered three to one and were using a technique known as "drive stunning," which must mean a continuous electrical discharge into someone, the officers in question were cleared of any wrong-doing. I'm not sure what kind of regulations there are in how many times a Taser can be used on an individual subject, but I think up to ten times is kind of excessive. The fact that the police don't appear to have given Mr. Parks adequate medical care after the incident further reinforces in my mind the need for legislation requiring police provide medical attention to everyone who is tased.

As of publication, Taser International, Inc.'s stock is up slightly in mixed trading.