Effects of a Taser on a victim

Good question. I would think the same thing. That for a big guy the first shot would annoy him but then the 2nd would put him down. I did a little bit of research on tazers and stun guns, since I have a scene where I have a character using a stun gun on somebody. I know that some stun guns have settings you can use to control how much juice is used on somebody. As far as I know, a tazer and stun gun shouldn't be set for a killing setting, just used to stop somebody by making them lose control of their body functions for a short time. So it would be possible that if the man taken down isn't removed or tied up or something, he would regain control over his body and steal something. But I'm not a professional at t his and I've never used one or even had one used on me. But just from the little bit of research I've done that is what I've come up with.

Depends on the subjects physical and mental state. A taser can put anyone down..........keeping 'em down is the key.

Unless your dealing with a drughead, the average tough guy will give up after two 5 seconds jolts. Some tough guys will jerk the barbs out and try for another round.

Fine, let 'em ride the wire a second time and usually they'll cool their jets right quick. Recovery time is reasonably quick. More so for someone in good shape.

Last time I had to get zapped I was stunned for about 20 seconds and back on my feet after 30.

So, your bad guy either keeps juicing the guy or gets his stuff and goes quickly.

This radio guy actually volunteered to be tasered so he could tell what it was like. Here's the radio station's page on him:
http://wsbradio.com/inside/chris_krok.html
The link "Chris Krok gets tasered! See the video!" goes here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4939742168827598325
I watched, he really didn't want a second jolt.

Speaking just as a reader (since I've never zapped anyone, nor been zapped, though I've seen videos of it a few times), I like your intruder keeping using the taser (or restraining the victim after zapping) rather than relying on a bonk on the head. I've been tired of headbonks being used as a way to keep someone temporarily off the scene ever since I realized that one of the Hardy boys got knocked over the head in every single book. Heads are hard (except when they aren't), and knocks on heads have unpredictable results -- tasers are more reliable. And, like I said, as a reader, I groan now every time someone gets conveniently knocked out in a book by thumping something with their head.

Taser

You just never know. I've seen big men go to their knees, screaming in pain, from a single Taser. I've seen other men, not as big, take several shots and keep coming.

We had one right here in town just a few weeks back who was Tasered by four officers, and he still didn't go down. They finally had to put him down the old-fashioned way. All four tackled him, and managed to cuff him.

Taser blasts really do not multiply, it's just a mater of how much pain a man can stand, and for long long he can endure that pain. As an example, ten volts is not a hundred volts, even if you receive it ten times. It's still ten volts. And 50,000 volts is still 50,000 volts, even if you receive it ten times.

Generally speaking (and this doesn't not include people on drugs which makes the effects very unpredictable)...1. Men take being "tazed" worse than women because they have more muscle mass so it takes them down quicker but of course they don't always stay down. 2. I've watched a lot of taser video and never seen someone go down and strike their head. They normally go down quickly but because of the effects on the muscles they go down more controlled than you would think. They don't just stiffen up and fall over. 3. As soon as you stop the electricity they recover almost immediately, if they start to get up, they get hit again (5 second blasts if they were shot with the taser prongs), getting hit twice is usually enough to make someone stay down. But like I said, people on drugs can do anything.

Bottom line: I would have a hard time believing someone got "tazed", went down and hit their head. But because I'm familiar with how they work, the scenerio wouldn't work for me...it may for someone who's not as familiar.

~Kristie, who wouldn't let them Taser me again for all the money in the world.

I've been trying to get my brother, who is a cop, to taze me, but he won't do it.

Youtube is your friend. Check it out.

Well...........when these things first came out one of our guys was checking it out. I asked what was it like to get zapped with it. He didn't know. So..........in my moment of wisdom, I said. "Zap me."

He used the prongs instead of the darts. I tell ya........while I stunned, all he had to do was walk up and slug me once or twice. Same with the bad guy. Have him stun your hero, bad guy walks up and wacks him upside the head and drops him for a few minutes.

Vandal said:

I wrote the scene so that Goodguy gets zapped with a Taser from Badguy but won't give up what he's holding.

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Um..he's letting go of whatever he's holding on the first try. Search youtube and google videos for some taser videos and watch what happens to peoples' hand.

I've never tased anyone or been tased, so there's a chance I am mistaken, but from what I have watched, hands tend to lock into neutral position when the entire body seizes up.

Vanatru said:

Well...........when these things first came out one of our guys was checking it out. I asked what was it like to get zapped with it. He didn't know. So..........in my moment of wisdom, I said. "Zap me."

He used the prongs instead of the darts. I tell ya........while I stunned, all he had to do was walk up and slug me once or twice. Same with the bad guy. Have him stun your hero, bad guy walks up and wacks him upside the head and drops him for a few minutes.

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Alternatively, badguy is also carrying ropes, handcuffs or the plastic wire-tie-like things (?) police now use as cuffs. He tasers the guy, then quickly ties up his wrists and ankles so when the victim does recover, he won't go anywhere. This might be the "more humane" badguy.

The Grift said:

Um..he's letting go of whatever he's holding on the first try. Search youtube and google videos for some taser videos and watch what happens to peoples' hand.

I've never tased anyone or been tased, so there's a chance I am mistaken, but from what I have watched, hands tend to lock into neutral position when the entire body seizes up.

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The two times I was hit with the Tazer, my hands curled into tight fists as the sensory/motor nervous system was locked up due to the hit of the Tazer.

When I was hit with the stun belt, that was much more bearable and less incapacitating than the Tazer - it was merely annoying. Except for how much of my foreign language "naughty" words I recalled in those eight seconds.

I agree with Kristie 911, people don't just fall over, they go down and the pain isn't really 'pain' but more a discontinuaty of the nervous system. As soon as the Tazer was over, the 'pain' went with it and I was laughing within a second of the juice ending. But then again, how effective it is will also depend on the muscle groups used. A large guy would be affected by the Tazer like just about anyone else, but muscular guys feel it more because they have more muscle mass that is affected.

There are danger factors associated with the Tazer that could cause your heavy guy to pass out - including increased heartrate due to the stress on your body. (it's also not unknown for a subject to lose control of bladder and/or bowels when hit with the Tazer - fortunately when this became more than just classroom warning and actual fact, the officer was kind enough to let me know).

Rabe...
...who is rather more fond of the 'Tazer and tie up' scenario.

If the guy had a weak heart, maybe it would keep him out longer?

Sandi LeFaucheur said:

If the guy had a weak heart, maybe it would keep him out longer?

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Not generally...tasers have been tested extensively and are considered safe even for people with bad hearts and pregnant women. However, if I'm not mistaken they have had problems when using them on people that are high on drugs (if I remember correctly, there were some deaths in Florida?). I'd have to look into that...my memory isn't what it used to be!

We were finding that people on certain drugs could have a skip in their heart rythem when zapped. What was that called..........heart mummer?

Vanatru said:

We were finding that people on certain drugs could have a skip in their heart rythem when zapped. What was that called..........heart mummer?

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Heart murmur

Thanks....I new someone would know. There was a lot of hue and cry when these law breakers where having heart attacks or similar problems. Seems like it was cruel to zap 'em.

No problem. Instead of juicing 'em, just stop with a 9mm........we can fix that heart murmur problem real quick.

K, I was wrong. I spent some time watching taser videos. Sometimes the hands freeze open, mostly they clench up. I remembered incorrectly.

kristie911 said:

Not generally...tasers have been tested extensively and are considered safe even for people with bad hearts and pregnant women. However, if I'm not mistaken they have had problems when using them on people that are high on drugs (if I remember correctly, there were some deaths in Florida?). I'd have to look into that...my memory isn't what it used to be!

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Independant autopsy reviews of those cases were showing examiners who were A> either incorrectly listing the Taser as a cause of death or B> listing it as a factor along with drug use and confrontations with police. So far every case of a Taser involved death has been refuted.

Though training does say that if you know the person has a high risk factor (such as a known heart condition, pacemaker, pregnant, etc) then it shouldn't be used. It's been shown to be safely and (mostly) effectively used on intoxicated persons. However, as has been pointed out, getting "zapped" will have some metabolic effects on the body so somebody already prone to a condition if hit with a Taser are already prone to "in custody death" because of those conditions.

Rabe...