The Taser is a non-lethal, hand-held conducted energy weapon that is used by law enforcement and personal self-defense to incapacitate a target by delivering an electric shock that interrupts superficial muscle functions.
While some consider the Taser controversial due to potential misuse, it has also been credited with reducing injuries and deaths in police encounters. But when was this now ubiquitous device first invented? Let’s take a look at when the Taser was invented.
The First Taser
The original Taser was invented in 1974 by NASA researcher Jack Cover. Development started in 1969 and was completed in 1974. He named it the Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle (TASER) after Tom Swift, a fictional young inventor hero famous in a book series during the early 20th century.
Cover’s Taser worked by firing two small barbed darts attached to thin insulated copper wires. When the darts struck a target, they created an open circuit, allowing voltage to flow between them and delivering an incapacitating electric shock. This allowed it to immobilize targets from a distance without physical confrontation.
The Taser introduced by Cover was quite bulky, shaped like a large flashlight and powered by compressed nitrogen cartridges similar to air guns. It had an effective range of only 15 feet. While Cover intended for it to be used by law enforcement, the early Taser found minimal adoption by police departments.
Refinement and Wider Adoption
In the early 1990s, brothers Rick and Tom Smith acquired the rights to Cover’s Taser and formed a company called Air Taser Inc. (later renamed Taser International Inc.). So, in the story of when the Taser was invented, they re-engineered the device to make it more compact, effective, and easier to use in the field. The Smith brothers replaced the pneumatics with a small gunpowder charge to fire the darts. They also increased the electrical output while decreasing the unit size to make it pistol-shaped and easily holstered. These enhancements led to the steadily growing adoption of the Taser by police forces in the 1990s.
In 1998, the advanced Taser M26 model was introduced. It used a shaped pulse technology that improved electrical output and allowed it to penetrate thick clothing better. As safety concerns around Tasers were addressed and research demonstrated their effectiveness in subduing violent individuals without lethal force, adoption rates soared in the 2000s.
Widespread Use and Controversy
Many authorities have deemed Tasers safe; by the early 2000s, over 7,000 police departments had already incorporated the tool. Its use also came as a tendency from being a weapon of last resort when firearms cannot be sourced to the general control of any rebellious or rowdy persons. This led to some highly publicized incidents involving alleged Taser misuse and overutilization by law enforcement. However, Tasers have become more accepted as less lethal weapons than guns. Other models in Taser’s offerings, such as the Taser X26, are more compact in size and were launched in the market in 2003. According to Taser statistics, more than 16000 law enforcement agencies had purchased Tasers by 2009.
Conclusion
The Taser has evolved a long way since it was created nearly 50 years ago by a researcher who worked for NASA. It remains a topic of debate in the current society. Still, it serves as one of the crucial tools in policing to manage violently inclined incidents by offering an option that is slightly more physical than the mere use of tear gas. These and other advancements in the operation of Taser usage and the effectiveness of accountability will help prevent misuse of the tool as a method of safe enforcement. Taser’s evolution is an example of how a new idea can be transformed to revolutionize an entire field over the years.
