The report describes the M26 and its role in the use of force spectrum. It also addresses acquiring, testing, training, deployment, and lessons learned. The following is a digest of the report.

The Taser is not new. However, with earlier versions, the optimal distance for use was about 6 feet, and they were often unreliable, inaccurate, and less than effective.

The M26 Taser is an advanced Taser that looks similar to a service weapon. It uses a cartridge which is manually attached to the front of the Taser. The "police" cartridge can project two darts with attached copper wires up to 21 feet.

Some folks have added taser pics to their sites or blogs. So I added the text shown on the bottom of two of them that show up here and there on the web.

When the darts hit a subject, a strong electric charge (26 watts at over 50,000 volts), travels through the copper wires and into a subject's body. The shock can penetrate two inches of clothing, and will override the subject's motor and sensory systems. Simply put, it will knock the subject down.

The M26 also can function as a contact stun device.

In either mode, the M26 delivers its electrical charge in a five-second cycle which can be repeated.

Once the cycle ends or is broken, the effect stops.

The M26 Taser was found to be an effective "less than lethal" tool to use to temporarily disable or stop subjects. It has not been found to be harmful to persons who have pacemakers or unusual health conditions.

When used as a touch stun device, it is viewed as a lesser use of force than OC spray, and on a par with pain compliance techniques such as wrist locks and control holds.

When used with the dart projectiles, the M26 is viewed as a greater use of force than pain compliance techniques, but a lesser one than punches, kicks, or the use of other impact weapons.

Officers were cautioned against the use of the Taser, when confronting lethal threats, except when an armed and ready officer was available and in place to provide protection.

The M26 is battery powered. And it should be "sparked" at the beginning of each shift to determine if is at full strength.

In general, to obtain a full effect: both darts must hit the target, the copper wires must remain attached and useable, and heavy clothes, if not completely penetrated, must be near the subject's body. When these conditions are not met, the expected results may not be obtained, and a Taser officer may need to reapply the device either with a new cartridge or in the stun mode.

In conjunction with a series of training classes, a total of 158 M26 Tasers were put into use. And in the 13 months that ended 1/31/02, a Taser was deployed in 106 incidents.

In nearly 60% of those incidents, the Taser officer was among the first officers on the scene.

The Taser was most often used in calls involving mentally ill/suicidal subjects and traffic-related incidents.

Nearly 60% of the subjects were impaired, often severely, by alcohol, drugs, or a mental illness or delusion.

25% of the subjects were armed, most often with knives. And 62% of those subjects (16), were also impaired, usually by mental illness.

94% of the subjects were males, 50% were Caucasian, and 42% were African American.

The Taser was used in the dart projectile mode about 60% of the time; in the stun mode, 27% of the time; and both modes were used 12% of the time.

Verified Taser contact was obtained in 86% of the incidents. Where there was verified contact, the Taser delivered a disabling or partially disabling effect 95% of the time.

In 85% of all of the incidents and in 92% of the incidents where contact was verified, the Taser was credited with resolving the situation.

Both officers and subjects reported low rates of injury during Taser incidents as compared to other use of force situations.

In 68% of the incidents, subjects sustained only puncture abrasions from the darts, or no injury.

Some injuries occurred prior to deployment, and some injuries occurred as subjects fell to the ground after being hit with Taser darts. No subject injuries were major, and no injuries were directly attributable to the Taser.

The low injury rate associated with the Taser is one of its biggest selling points for officers. Taser officers frequently reported to trainers how much they appreciated having a tool at their disposal that can resolve incidents "without anyone getting hurt."

The Taser was found to be an effective "less than lethal" weapon that can be used to temporarily disable or stop suspects/attackers.

Inquires about the report should be directed to the SPD. The 18 page report, is available on the web at http://www.cityofseattle.net/police/Publications/Special/M26Taser.PDF

The SPD report in text form, is available on this site at www.pointshooting.com/taser.htm

Information on the M26 Taser, and on an enhanced Taser that is lighter and smaller than the M26, is available from Taser International at: www.taser.com

I found the grip of the M26 to be bulky for my hand, and I also think that the trigger opening is small.

The Taser is also somewhat pricey. Hopefully, as it gains in popularity, a model with a slimmer grip and a smaller price will be offered.

..........

Here is a note about a possible design change that in my opinion would improve the effectness of the TASER. The same concept could be applied to handgun grips to make them more ergonomic and user friendly, and improve the effectiveness of handguns.

..........

Several months ago, after checking out the grip and frame of the M 26 TASER, I sent some comments to the folks that make the TASER. An edited version of those comments are below.

They said that they may consider modifying the M 26 in the future, but at that time they had their hands full with the launching of their new X 26 model.

As trainers/police, you may find the comments-suggestions below to be of interest and possible value to officers/users if they were implemented. And as such, you may wish to ask the company or your TASER rep, to consider making the changes suggested.

(I offer them for free with no strings.)

I found the grip of the M 26 to be large and a bit blocky like a Glock. To me, a person with a small to medium sized hand, would find gripping it to be less than easy and not that comfortable. That may detract from its effectiveness and appeal to some police agencies, and women for home self defense use.

It also can affect retention.

I believe that the blockyness is due to the design of the grip which has four holes in it (in the form of a square), for inserting batteries. Changing that configuration to a diamond shape would make the TASER easier to grasp and more comfortable to hold.

Here is an explanation for the blockyness, and a solution to it.

Four AA batteries can held together in the form of a square as shown below, with the use of rubber bands placed near the top and bottom of the batteries. The batteries will form a square that is about 1 x 1. To me, it feels large and blocky when grasped as would any gun with a backstrap that was one inch wide.

X X
X X

Now, if two of the batteries that are diagonally opposed, are pressed together, the configuration will change to that of a diamond. The long dimension will be about 1.5 inches, and the cross dimension will be about 1 inch. 

In this configuration, the battery group is easy to grip and does not feel blocky at all. It fits easily and snugly into the web of the hand. Also, I was able to get my little finger around it easily and securely which adds tenacity to the grip. 

(As with the ring finger, the third knuckle of the little finger has a hinge joint, and when you grasp something, it can roll forward and lock onto the object grasped.)

 X
X X
 X

I also found the trigger guard opening to be small. A larger trigger guard would help to prevent ADs by providing extra room inside the trigger guard for a person with large fingers or with gloves on. 

The URL to the Taser site is www.taser.com

Click here to go there.