I’d never tried getting shot before ““ until I wrote
this column. Imagine 50,000 volts of electricity zapping your body
for about five seconds. That’s what you could be feeling
should you find yourself locked in a death-charged confrontation
with a UCLA police officer, who in the future will be equipped with
a state-of-the-art, less-than-lethal stun gun.
If you think it would hurt like hell, you’re probably
right. The bigger question that might be bubbling, though, is
whether it can kill you. This question is at the heart of a growing
controversy about the Taser guns now being used nation-wide by law
enforcement agencies and soon to be used here on campus.
As my editor loomed over me with her finger on the trigger (with
an evil grin, I might add), and as I braced for the epiphany of my
quest for truth, what shot through my mind was that since 2001, 76
people have been killed in “Taser-associated” deaths in
the United States and Canada, according to the American Civil
Liberties Union.
I was a bit worried. The last reported incident happened at a
showdown in Texas just after Election Day. The suspect was Tasered
by police and handcuffed, but then proceeded to stop breathing and
promptly died.
Police and Taser gun advocates claim the fatalities have nothing
to do with the electricity. The coroner’s reports of many of
the zapped deceased conclude that drug use or a sudden cardiac
arrest was the cause of the death. In fact, many of those who
suffered stun gun fatalities reported in the news were either being
medicated for mental illness ““ or just plain old high on
drugs ““ upon being zapped.
But critics and the families of the people who died after being
zapped by “less-than-lethal” force claim the stun guns
can trigger heart attacks and death. No serious research has yet
been conducted on the issue, but several organizations are
beginning to undertake such research, and Amnesty International
plans to release an extensive report next Tuesday.
Back in the office, there was growing controversy of sorts in
the newsroom as more people discovered that I was going to do some
serious “research” of my own. At first there was just a
freak-show element of “can I watch the guy zap
himself?”
But as the day progressed, and I finally got a hold of a zapper
identical in power to the UCLA police-issue guns (compliments of a
generous UCLA student with a very protective military boyfriend), I
began to sense some genuine concern for my life. As the legalities
were worked out ““ a legal disclaimer drafted, securing a
legally neutral environment (not on school property) ““ for
the experiment, I started getting freaked out a little too.
Before I died, I thought I should talk to the UCLA police to see
if they were worried about this growing death toll.
UCPD Lt. John Adams, who will be training the stun-gun squad,
said critics alleged the same thing about pepper spray, but it
wasn’t true. Adams, who was just on his way to Fresno for the
training conference, said he’d have to examine every case to
come to an informed decision. But he didn’t sound too worried
when he told me he himself was actually going to get “zapped
tomorrow.”
Adams said he was in favor of the Taser because it gave the
police an added option when “entering into situations where
people are acting crazy ““ usually because they’re on
drugs ““ and being combative and aggressive. Fighting a person
on PCP is not an easy thing to do and having more than one option
is nice.”
And there is perhaps a link between many people who died from
getting zapped and just happened to all be on drugs.
So, armed with this information, I decided not to smoke any
angel dust before letting someone shoot me with two electrically
charged hooks flying at 160 feet per second. But at the moment of
truth, guess what ““ the gun didn’t work.
After buying $20 worth of batteries, slamming three shots of
Christian Brothers, having eight highly educated UCLA students
fiddle with it, talking to two highway patrol officers, the campus
police and the manufacturer, nothing happened.
What can I say? I tried.
Even without being a research participant, I can state as an
outside observer that it’s obvious more research needs to be
done on this gun before the technology and its effects are
perfected. In the meantime, I think cops should use them.
At least with a stun gun there is still a chance you’ll
live and remain relatively unharmed after getting shot in a
situation that requires it. After my conversation with Lt. Adams,
anything that helps cops in their heroic fight against deranged
crackheads is a good thing, I suppose.
But if you’re still curious about its potentially deadly
effects, you’re just going to have to shoot yourself. Let me
know how it turns out.
Lukacs is a third-year history student. E-mail him at
olukacs@media.ucla.edu if you know how many UCLA students it takes
to work a Taser gun.