Why does it take 50,000 volts to bring a person down with a Taser; why not shoot for the legs?

Answer 1

Why 50,000 volts? Ask the manufacturer. But in testing, it was probably seen as the lowest voltage that would bring down the "average" perpetrator. Just look at the fact that if a target has a lot of adrenaline, the taser may not cause the target to react.

Why not aim for the legs? It is impractical. You have a low probability of hitting your target, and have the probes penetrate. And if you think you can always aim for the legs and hit -- you've been watching too much TV. Contrary to the previous respondent, police are not taught to shoot to kill. They are trained to aim for the torso. It is the largest target. If you miss the torso, you might hit an arm of leg. If you aim for the arm of leg -- a smaller moving target, you'll probably miss.

Answer 2

Sometimes, 50,000 isn't enough! Some people are resistant to Tasers (even WITHOUT drugs in their system)! The developers of the system figured that was good "middle ground" so as to immobilize the majority without doing too much damage to the rest of us.

We don't aim for the legs because the chances of getting the darts to stick are not good (the legs are usually running). And the chances of hitting him in the balls are to scary to think about (yikes!). I've seen pictures in training and that's gotta hurt :-o

Assuming we're standing up (holding the Taser upright) and the target is also upright, we aim for the upper torso; because the darts will drop in flight a little -- depending on distance to target. The top dart will hit pretty much around the red dot from the laser and the bottom dart will hit below that. The distance between the darts will depend on our distance to the target. It could be several inches if we're 15-20 feet away. And if you aim too low, you're going to risk hitting something in the nether regions that will make him a soprano or neuter him altogether :-) (or maybe leave a scar on Mr. Happy that his girlfriend may find objectionable.)

If the officer is grounded and the subject is standing, he'll have to adjust his point of aim, taking into account these factors to avoid hitting sensitive areas (eyes included). If both are in contact, we'll "drive-stun" wherever possible and then once the darts are in that spot, drive-stun at the other end of the body to achieve maximum effect across the entire body! Drive-stunning leaves the darts so close together when they come out of the barrels that the electricity will only affect that small portion of the body. In a situation where I'm grappling, I'll try to pop 'em in the upper torso, knock them down, drape the wires across their body while they are down -- thus delivering more contact points for the electricity to enter the body -- then drive-stun down near their ankle. This usually completely incapacitates even the most resistant subject and they QUITE WILLINGLY cooperate with me as I give commands to "lie spread eagle", "don't try to touch the wires or the darts", "allow me to cuff you and I'll stop pulling the trigger on this Tazer!" It'll usually make a believer out of you.

But I've actually "Tazed" relatively few in my career. In my experience, simply putting the red dot on them, making certain they're aware of the red dot, warning them what it's going to do to them and feel like if they don't comply, etc. convinces them to submit to the arrest.

Tazers are a Godsend to Police and Criminals alike! In the old days, officers just had a knock-down drag-out until they'd fought to exhaustion and then shot them dead.

I'm not letting anyone deprive my babies of their daddy! Not when I'm upholding the law and they're breaking it -- NO WAY.

To seaport and possum: I've heard it both ways from different trainers. The public of course wouldn't like to hear the term "shoot to kill" but WHAT ELSE are guns made for? We all know they will most likely kill someone if used properly.

Deadly force is an UGLY thing! That's why we only use it to prevent the loss of life or limb. We're trained to shoot center-mass so as to increase the likelihood of instantly stopping a LAWLESS aggressor from killing us (or another) while we are doing our LAWFUL duty.

Answer 3

Bullets cause permanent damage. Tasers don't.

Answer 4

When a police officer fires his/her gun, they are taught to shoot to kill, not injure.

Answer 5

to seaport...I have been told by a cop that they DO shoot to kill