Video Tasers Interest Police
Stinger Systems and Taser International plan to place small video cameras on their stun-guns, and San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis is eager to consider the new tools. It is unclear how effective the devices will be, but the cameras are expected to begin recording when the stun guns are used to subdue suspects and criminals.
Stinger intends to start selling its TruVu camera add-on, which films MPEG-4 video, next year.
Taser International also plans to roll out an audio/video recorder.
Davis concludes that if the devices are efficient, the videos could become a significant addition to evidence collected by officers currently.
Some advocacy groups contend that Tasers are deadly, but Taser experts argue that the new video capturing feature could dispel that notion.
The San Jose Police Department started employing Tasers this year in order to reduce the number of injuries to officers and others, as well as instances of fatal shootings.
Over 660 Tasers that deliver 50,000-volt electrical pulses to targets are currently distributed throughout San Jose’s police force.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the San Jose Mercury News (12/18/04) P. BOBT; Gonzales, Sandra .
