aving experienced several controversial shootings in recent years
(most of which resulted in lawsuits), the Albuquerque PD. (New Mexi-

H

co) put several new techniques in place.
Things like Crisis Intervention Teams
and beanbag shotgun rounds.
Albuquerque also decided to equip its
patrol officers with the M26 Advanced
Taser. a less-lethal weapon. and set up a
program at the Albuquerque Police
Academy to present the four-hour training course 10 all officers. Sergeant Cornel
Heitzman. a 19-year veteran of the APD.
stated that the Taser M26 has already
reduced lhe number of shootings by incapacitating suspects without permanenl

officers if they were familiar with the
effects o( the Taser.
Munsey stated that over 800 North
American agencies use the M26, and he
showed some videotapes of officers
using the device to subdue combative
suspects. One tape, taken in Toronto by
City TV. showed Toronto Emergency
Task Force taking down an armed suspect with the Taser. Another showed a
similar incident involving the Phoenill:
(Arizona) Police Departmenl. Another
agency that uses the M26 is the US
Marine Embassy Guards. There have also
been instances of usc by correctional
officers carrying out cell extractions. One
inmate, high on crystal

inJury:

"We've used the Advanced Taser at
least 20 times, and three of them were
'suicide by cop' Silu:uions. We've avoid·
ed many lawsuits by using Tasers. as 99
percent of shootings result in a lawsuit:'
Officer Thomas Munsey. a nine-year
veteran, conducted one class for about 35
officers. Munsey is a Taser-certified Master I nstructor. authorized to "train the
trainers," and is certified by the New
Mexico Department of Public Safety. He
began with having officers experience the
Taser, to familiarize themselves with its
effects. He and his assistants taped the
darts to officers' clothing and administered the high-frequency current. All who
volunteered found themselves immediately incapacitated by the Taser. According to Munsey, this experience would be
useful in coun if an attorney asked the
26 NovemberlDecember 2001

meth. resisted
all efforts umB
Chandler
the
(Arizona) extraction team used the
Taser on him - this
quelled resistance
immediately.

.,he M26
Munsey demonstrated the Taser to the
class. pointing out that it comes with
color-coded labels to identify it as a Jesslethal weapon. because its black polymer
construction resembles an auto pistol.
The M26 uses either eight rechargeable
Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) baneries
or eight "AA" Duracell Ultra baneries.
and the removable battery carrier is in the
grip. The on-off switch is located at the
top rear. and resembles the ambidextroUs
safety used on Berena auto pistols. A
flashing red light confinns that the unit is
on and that the batteries have enough
power. Alkaline batteries are enough (or
about 25 discharges, and
rechargeable
NiHM batteries last
(or over
100 discharges.
The
M26 has
molded pistoltype sights and a built-in laser
sight that projects a red dot
onto the targe!. A cartridge fits into the
front of the Taser and compressed nitrogen propels two darts connected to the
unit by wires. Because the Taser uses
nitrogen, and not gunpowder, ATF does
not classify it as a firearm. and it is not
subject to the same restrictions as
fireanns. Only Washington. DC, Hawaii.
Massachusetts. Michigan. New Jersey.
(Continl/etl on page 30)
THE POLICE MARKS~lAN

New York. Rhode Island. and
Wisconsin, ban the carry of
the Taser off-duty.
Muzzle velocity is 180 fps,
and the unit develops 26 watts
at 50.000 volts. Power is 162
milliamperes, III 00 of the
danger level. Unlike the stun
gun. which depends upon pain
compliance. the Taser uses
EleclrO Mechanical Disruption (EM D) to jam the nervous system and stop volun-

tary movement. Munsey
Sialed thai animal tests had

shown no effect on heart

•••compared to "'e .38
Special revolver, "'e 1'aser
has no long-term Injuries.
HOnly SO percent 01 "'ose
shot wi'" a .38 Special
survived, and of "'ose,
• 00 percent had permanent

Injuries. "

rhythm and no damage to
pacemakers. There are also no
long-term effects, unlike some
aerosols. However, he warned
against using the Taser on
pregnant women, because the

strong muscular contractions
could present adverse complications in late-term pregnan-

cies, such as falling to the
ground.
The darts have 1/4' barbs
made from small #8 straightened fish hooks, which

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implant themsel\'el\ in the ",u",pect's
clothing and sometimes in the skin. The
50,000 volts can jump the gap to the suspeCl'S skin if heavy clothing is in the
way, and the Taser's current can penetrale up to 2 1/4" of clothing. The result
is to reduce officer and suspect injuries
by stopping threats from a safe distance.
Munsey brought out statistics 10 show
the safety of the Taser. To date, there
have been only two deaths indirectly
resulting from the Tasenron's use, one
because of a fall. and another when the
suspect drowned in a swimming pool. He
warned against using the Taser when
flammable substances are present - one
gasoline+soaked suspect in California
was set afire, though not falally.
One study cited by Taser International
showed Ihat. compared to the .38 Special
revolver, the Taser has no long-term
injuries." Only 50 percent of those shot
with a .38 Special survived. and of those.
100 percent had permanent injuries:'
The M26 used by the Albuquerque
Police Department uses cartridges with
21 fOOl wires, although less e:tpcnsive 15foot models are available for training. The
lower dart travels out at a downward
angle of eight degrecs to provide onc foot

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THE PoUCE MARKsMAN

of separation for e\'ery seven feet lraveled. Grealer separation is desirable for
enhanced effect. The M26 also has electrodes in front to allow touch-stun use
after firing, or if the M26 is unloaded.
- Pressing the trigger fires the darts and
provides a timed, five-second discharge.
Munsey stated that it's best to give the
suspect the full five seconds without
interruption for maximum effect. Earlier
models did not have five-second timers,
and there were failures because the officers released the triggers too early. A
shorter time may not be effective. However, if the officer wants to stop after a
couple of seconds, he need only press
down the safety to stop the current.

Use of Force
Munsey explained the M26's place in
the use-of-force continuum, as the Albuquerque Police Department's policy
places it at the level of the baton. Many
other agencies rate it at the level of chemical agents. Unlike chemical agents, the
Taser is useful in closed environments.
and willl\Ql affect others in the room.
Field tests of the 7-Walt Taser by the
Los Angeles Police Department have
shown that fewer officer and suspect
injuries are associated with it than with
other less-lethal techniques. Using a
flashlight as an impact weapon has
resulted in almost 80 percent injuries to
the suspect. similar in occurrence to
punching the suspect or using a baton.
Chemical sprays ha\'e produced five percent injuries to suspects, and 29 percent
of the time the officer was also affected
because of the spray's dispersal. Other
uses of force studied were miscellaneous
body force, "swarming," and kicking,
and all had much higher rates of injuries
than did the Taser.
One effect of the Taser, as Munsey
delIl()nstrated on volunteer officers is that
it incapacitates immediately, and Munsey
pointed out that gunshots do not necessarily stop a suspect at once. Another is
that the target area is much larger.
Aerosols work only if the spray is in the
face. and gunfire is effective mainly if
the points of impact are in the head.
neck. and central torso. The Taser works
as long as the darts hit anywhere on the
body, because the current travels between
the darts.

Warnings
What Can Go Wrong
Nothing is 100 percent perfect, and
experience has shown that the Taser can
32 NovemberlDecember 2001

the M26's data port, located at the rear of
Ihe device. This helps document the
M26's use, and helps protect against
excessive force claims.

malfunction. One possible problem
explained by Munsey is low batteries,
which won't allow the unit to develop
full power. A NiMH battery recharger
will be available in late November. It
will recharge by plugging the recharger
in the M26 data port. located at the rear
of the M26.
Another problem is thick clothing. If
Ihe darts are more than 2 114"' inches
from the skin. the current won't jump the
gap. Yet anOlher is when one dart misses,
because it's necessary to have twO points
of contact to complete the circuit. Munsey s!ressed the importance of holding
the Taser M26 upright, without tilting,
because this is a common cause of missing. A secondary cartridge is available
that allows immediate access to a rapid
second shot if the probes miss.
Officer Munsey laid out some warnings
and precautions when using the M26:
"Do not usc it for coercion. Use it only to
StOP a threat. Don't 'taser' a guy at the top
of a night of stairs or a freeway overpass.
The suspect could be injured by the fall."

There have been several lawsuits
involving the Taser, and Munsey discussed them briefly. Mateyko v. felix
(1997 CA), awarded $19,680 for inadequate training. Alford et al v. 05EIKWASI ct al (1992 GA) resulted from a
corrections officer using the Taser on a
pregnant woman (Alford) and the appellate court granted summary judgment to
the correctional officer defendants.
Michcnrelder v. Sumner el al (1988
NV) resulted from the Taser being used
to enforce a strip search. The officer
pointed the Taser at Michenfelder, but
did nOI fire it. and the plaintiff (Michenfelder) losl. In Hinton v, City of Elwood
(1993 KS) the appeals court found that
using the Taser to subdue the suspect.
who was kicking and biting, was reasonable use of force.

After-EHecfs

New Less-Letha'

The suspect can be dazed for several
minutes after use of the Taser. Solid hits
againsl a suspect wearing light clothing
result in the barbed dans being embedded in the skin. This requires treatment
by emergency room personnel. according
to Munsey:
"Our treatment is to have emergency
room personnel remove the darts, using
gloves. The dans are biohazards because of
the possibility of blood-borne pathogens.
Always carry a sample dart to show the
doctor what it is. You can tape a dart to
your business card, for example."
Sgt. Heitzman explained the way to
remo\'e the dart:
"Place two fingers on either side of the
dart and pull it out quickly. You have to
hold the surrounding skin in place to prevent drag effect and minimize injury."

Follow-up
All use of the M26 requires a report,
and the Albuquerque Police Department's field investigators will come to
the scene to document the site. Each cartridge is serially numbered, and signed
out to a particular officer.
Taser cartridges carry Anti Felon Identification (AFJD) tags with the cartridge's serial number stamped on them
and these arc released with the firing of
the darts. A chip in the M26 records each
firing of the Taser. along with the time
and date. This information can be downloaded by plugging a computer cable into

Case Law

Weapon

The Albuquerque Police Department is
equipping all patrol officers with the new
Advanced Taser M26 to reduce injuries
10 both suspects and officers. Taserequipped officers are being !rained
before they are allowed 10 carry the
device. To date, use of the Taser has
avoided several shootings and lawsuits.
for more information contact:
Taser International
7860 E. McClain Drive, Suite 2
Scottsdale, AZ 85260-1627
Phone: (480) 991-0797
fa't: (480) 991-0791
Website:~

Albuquerque Police Department
5408 Second Street NW
Albuquerque, NM 87107
Phone: (505) 761-8800
Fax: (505) 761-8896
AU: Sgt. Cornel Heitzman

-:r

'-""Amh«

Tony Lesce is a fru-fanct' law
enforcement journalist who has been
working for The Police Marksman for
two decades. Based in New Mexico,
TOllY pro1'ides anicles all police-reJaud
products and other law enforcement
topics.

THE PoLlCE MARKSMAN