The taser's C.A.T. - purrs like a kitten, bites like a lion

The taser's Curious Temporal Asymmetry [LINK], Curieux Asymétrie Temporelle (C.A.T.) en français, is based on the many news reports, the ideas of calculus (changes in the observed variable over small units of time), and simple inductive logic.

The news reports have told us that some 434+ people have been 'tasered' and then died.

The news reports have also told us that tasers are often drawn, and then put away without being fired. This sequence should be happening all the time due to people dying of "excited delirium" (sic) while the taser is still getting unloaded and spark tested and reloaded. And there are many cases where the taser was fired, but both darts missed. And there's always some period of time after the taser is drawn, and before it is fired, which provides plenty of time for the near-death folks to die all by themselves before the taser is fired.

All of these provide a form of experimental control assumed to be lacking in The Great X26 Taser Experiment that's been running since 2003.

The death rate per unit time during ALL taser incidents can be divided into those time slices BEFORE the taser darts hit the subject, and those time slices AFTER the taser darts started doing their thing.

According to Taser International, the death rate per unit time should be either unchanged on either side of the taser hit, or should actually be lower post taser hit since they promise that it helps.

My guess, and it's just a gut feeling at this point, is that there are MANY MORE deaths per unit time AFTER the taser hits than BEFORE the taser hits.

I asked this same basic question many months ago when I asked about the death rate for the "Taser! Taser! Taser!" warning often yelled just before firing the taser. I would have expected [not really...] to see many hundreds of reports of people dropping dead at the warning.

There are some potential rebuttals already addressed on the linked special-purpose one-post blog. So if you feel a rebuttal coming on, then please avail yourself of the whole pre-packaged debate before wasting your time.

Taser International is left in the difficult position of finding many hundreds or even thousands of taser incident reports where people died at the mere sight of a taser. I wish them the best of luck in their quest.

The taser critics already have our list of 434+ names and dates. It's Taser International's turn to dig.

The taser's Curious Temporal Asymmetry may be the end of the line for the debate, at least the rational debate, about the taser's purported inherent safety.

Comments welcome.