Electroshock Weapon Taser

The Taser X26 is the handgun-shaped electroshoek weapon most widely sold in the United States. Two dart eleetrodes are driven by compressed nitrogen and connected to the gun by wires. One of the eleetrodes is coupled to a laser aiming device. The other electrode is 

The dart electrodes have a length of 9—14 mm. The shock is given by a constant current generator with a voltage limitation of 50 kV. This is sufficient to form an arc if the dart tip does not reach the skin. The output is pulsed with pulse duration about 0.1 ms, delivered pulse charge 0.1 mC, current 1 A, and repetition frequency 19 Hz for duration 5 s. 

The Taser X26 is sold as a nonlethal weapon. The shock should therefore be delivered to electrode sites so that the heart is not directly included in the current path but perhaps so that maximum muscle mass or motor nerve tissue is included. On the other hand, the two electrodes can both hit near the heart so that heart pumping action is impaired and blood pressure falls so that the person loses consciousness and may go into ventricular fibrillation and die. Zipes (2014) claims that the Taser X26 can cause cardiac arrest in humans. 

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