Tasers

MttStrn said:

Does anyone know if a taser will work if only one of the barbs makes contact with someone and the other misses or doesn't stick? The internet has not been that helpful on this.

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Taser, no. No circuit. Stun gun, maybe.

The taser works by running current between the barbs - it's actually a pretty big problem, because someone wearing a particularly puffy jacket, etc. can effectively avoid being tasered. The barbs actually have to get in (or very near) the skin for the electric current to be flowing through the body enough to actually have any effect.

As Wendy and Neuro have said, both probes have to make contact with the skin -- not just the clothes, but the skin -- to have an effect. It's like a battery or any other electrical circuit: the electricity runs between the two probes. And if someone has been shot with a taser and you put your hand between those probes while the current is still running, then you'll feel it, too. (Got this from a presentation at our local Citizens Police Academy last fall.)

MttStrn said:

I now have another question related to the first. Say someone is hit with a taser but only one barb sticks so the person does not receive a shock. If that person is running away, will the barb be ripped from the persons' skin or would the barb hold fast and the wire disconnect from the taser? Or is either possible?

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Tasers have smooth barbs to prevent secondary injury on removal of the barbs.

BTW, technically it's TASER[SUP]®[/SUP]. It's supposed to stand for Thomas A Swift's Electric Rifle.

MttStrn said:

I now have another question related to the first. Say someone is hit with a taser but only one barb sticks so the person does not receive a shock. If that person is running away, will the barb be ripped from the persons' skin or would the barb hold fast and the wire disconnect from the taser? Or is either possible?

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I think either is possible. A struggle or evasion situation is pretty chaotic, so who knows what can happen in that "fog of war" moment?

I can see all kinds of possible issues. I think there are municipalities where paramedics have to be called for proper removal. And that, I think, is why.

Shot with barbs. Persons spins around, not sure what what just hit him/her, takes off, now the wire (maybe wrapped around the suspect) could undergo a lot of tension and cut the suspect.

Copper isn't an especially strong metal, but in a yanking movement like reaching the end of the reel (or however it's held inside the gun), I can see a chance of injury.

MttStrn said:

I now have another question related to the first. Say someone is hit with a taser but only one barb sticks so the person does not receive a shock. If that person is running away, will the barb be ripped from the persons' skin or would the barb hold fast and the wire disconnect from the taser? Or is either possible?

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Taser probes are barbed kind of like a fish hook, so they don't just slide right back out. I haven't removed many Taser darts since they're not commonly carried around here, but those I did pull out came out relatively easily (somewhat unpleasant for the tasee, but a lot less than actually getting shot with the thing.) So while either is possible I'd say it's more likely the probe will be ripped out of the person's skin.