As was previously posted, on the horizon there's a new alternative to the sometimes-deadly, randomly-ineffective Taser.
The DAZER LASER is supposed to temporarily (?) blind and disorient the subject using moderately-powerful laser flashes.
I think it's obvious that this technology has to be inherently safer than blasting the subjects with 50,000 volts and "2 mA average" (150+ mA RMS, probably 30-50 mA Effective). Other than secondary effects such as falling, eye injury is probably the major concern. Although inducing fatal seizures in some populations should be carefully considered, and such explicitly-quantified risks disclosed in a prominent manner.
Another huge advantage of a DAZER would be that if someone actually is blinded at the exact time that they were DAZER'ed, nobody but nobody would be so gullible, naive and stupid to accept that the explanation was "Sudden Blindness During Restraint".
"Excited Blindness", anyone?
NOTE - This does not constitute endorsement of the DAZER LASER product / concept. But I'm open minded.
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When I first saw this technology (several months ago on one of those new tech shows) I could have sworn it was presented as a way to stop runaway drivers. Although it probably is a legitimate alternative to firing a weapon at a moving car, I assumed it was being sold because things like spike strips are notoriously unreliable, dangerous, and difficult to deploy. You have to more or less run in front of a car during a high speed chase at the last moment.
In the current Dazer videos they show people just standing still, head up, facing the laser. In real life, that would NEVER happen...except in a car where you can't turn away and you have to keep your head and eyes focused forward to continue driving. You simply can't halt a fleeing suspect with a dazzling laser to the back of the head.
So the cops will now need to carry around three pistol-shaped devices: the gun to save their life, the taser to prevent running, and the dazer to do whatever the dazer supposedly does. Even if you are pro-LE, does this sound like it will make the police safer? Or does it sound like a recipe for disaster?
I suppose if the officer himself is being attacked, the Dazer would force the attacker to look/turn/run away, which would be good, but is an officer really going to pull out the dazer if he is threatened with immediate physical harm? Isn't that what the pistol is for?
If it's going to be used in high speed pursuits, that seems legitimate. Of course it increases the likelihood of a wreck, but high speed chases end in wrecks already. But as far as I can tell, the media (or the company) is hyping this as a Taser replacement, which seems incredibly unrealistic. I suppose the police have already proved gullible when it comes to "less than lethal" manufacturers. I can't blame some company for wanting to make a quick buck, except when it is my (tax) buck they will be asking for.
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