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Abstract
Since currents can be conducted by electrical arcs, effective contact with the body of the person targeted at can be made even if the darts (electrodes) that carry the electrical charge land on thick clothing or if one lands on the ground and the other on the person. Involuntary urination and defaecation has been mentioned as a possible side-effect of stun belts (devices with a remotely controlled stun gun used in prisons and court rooms).5 There has also been a case-report of miscarriage in a woman who received a taser injury at 8–10 weeks of pregnancy when she was in custody for drug abuse.6 In one study 218 patients seen at an emergency department after being shot by a police taser for violent or criminal behaviour were compared with 22 patients who had been shot by police with 0·38 calibre guns.4 The two groups were similar in age, sex, and misuse of drugs. [...]the mechanisms of injury by tasers should be compared with those of physical and chemical methods of restraint, so that the safest method can be used for any specific situation.
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1 Department of Bioengineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and College of Medicine, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; and School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana