USA: Stun weapons: Recommendations to the US authorities on their use

Index Number: AMR 51/111/2009
Date Published: 31 October 2009
Categories: USA

More than 360 people have died in the USA since 2001 after being shocked by police Tasers. Medical examiners have listed Tasers as a cause or contributing factor in more than 50 deaths. Amnesty International is concerned that Tasers and similar Conducted Energy Devices (CEDs) are being widely deployed despite concerns about the health risks involved. Amnesty International is therefore calling on governments and law enforcement agencies to suspend using CEDs or to limit their use to situations where they are necessary to avoid the resort to firearms.