Examining fatal and nonfatal incidents involving the TASER

Research Summary According to TASER International, nearly 10,000 police departments in the United States have deployed the TASER as a less lethal force alternative in some capacity. Despite the TASER's increasing popularity, serious questions have been raised about the device's physiological side effects; in particular, Amnesty International has reported that more than 300 people have died after being subjected to the TASER. Although a growing body of research has examined the physiological effects of the TASER on animals and healthy human volunteers in laboratory settings, there has been virtually no empirical analysis of “real‐world” fatal and nonfatal TASER cases simultaneously. This article examines all media reports of TASER incidents from 2002 to 2006 through a comprehensive review of LexisNexis and New York Times archives. We compare TASER incidents in which a fatality occurred to TASER incidents in which a fatality did not occur and then employ multivariate analyses to identify the incident and suspect characteristics that are predictive of articles describing TASER‐proximate deaths. Policy Implications Several suspect factors were significantly associated with the reporting of a fatal TASER incident, including drug use (but not alcohol), mental illness, and continued resistance. Multiple deployments of the TASER against a suspect was also associated with the likelihood of the article describing a fatality—especially if the suspect was emotionally disturbed—which raises the possibility that the risk of multiple shocks might not be uniform for all suspects. More research is needed to explore the relationship between mental illness, drug use (illicit or therapeutic), continued resistance, and increased risk of death. In the meantime, police departments should develop specific policies and training governing the use of multiple TASER shocks against individuals who could be in these vulnerable physiological and psychological states.     

Homicide by unusual‐edged weapons: Forensic considerations of two cases

Homicide by stab wound is common worldwide. However, the use of unusual edged weapons is rarely reported in the forensic literature. Here, we report two cases of homicide involving a Japanese sword, or katana, and a sickle. Both of these weapons can create either stab or incised wounds with some particularities. In our cases, characteristics of the external wounds, internal injuries, and the depth of penetration raised the possibility of an unusual weapon. Meticulous forensic examination of these injuries (morphological characteristics, depth of penetration, trajectories, and cut marks in the bone) may allow the forensic expert to determine the type of weapon used.     

中美不对称核稳定与美国战略机会主义论析

中美两国安全关系在两国总体关系中扮演着重要的角色,研究中美之间的战略稳定关系,对于维护两国安全关系的稳定具有重要意义。中国的核威慑实力弱于美国,中美之间呈现出不同于传统战略稳定关系的不对称核稳定态势。中国对美国存在一定的核威慑能力,但有效性仍有差距和不足。这一差距容易使美国产生压制和削弱中国核报复能力的机会主义思想。实施限制损伤战略、发展导弹防御能力、进行战略反潜是美国对中国实施战略机会主义的主要行动。美国谋求削弱中国核报复能力、打破中美不对称核稳定的企图,与中国努力维持核威慑能力、维持中美不对称核稳定的行为形成了两股力量相持的态势。中国应重点提升核武器的质量,提高威慑信号的传递效能,以可信可靠的核威慑和核反击能力打消美国战略机会主义心态,维持两国间的战略稳定,特别是危机稳定性,筑牢遏制战争爆发的基础。     

Utilizing a magnetic locator to search for buried firearms and miscellaneous weapons at a controlled research site

Forensic personnel generally use basic all-metal detectors for weapon searches because of their ease of use and cost efficiency. For ferromagnetic targets, an alternative easy to use and low-cost geophysical tool is a magnetic locator. The following study was designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of a common, commercially available magnetic locator in forensic weapon searches by determining the maximum depth of detection for 32 metallic forensic targets and testing the effects of metallic composition on detection. Maximum depth of detection was determined for 16 decommissioned street-level firearms, six pieces of assorted scrap metals, and 10 blunt or bladed weapons by burying each target at 5-cm intervals until the weapons were no longer detected. As expected, only ferromagnetic items were detected; weapons containing both ferromagnetic and nonferromagnetic components were generally detected to shallower depths. Overall, the magnetic locator can be a useful addition to weapon searches involving buried ferromagnetic weapons.     

Functioning and Effectiveness of Electronic Control Devices Such as the TASER® M‐ and X‐Series: A Review of the Current Literature

Abstract: Conducted electrical weapons (CEWs) such as the TASER^® M‐ and X‐series deliver short high‐voltage, low‐current energy pulses to temporarily paralyze a person by causing electrical interruption of the body’s normal energy pulses. Despite many scientific publications, which classify the health risks of an appropriate use of the TASER device as minor, there still is a continuous uncertainty about possible side effects with human application. Based on a literature search of the National Library of Medicine’s MEDLINE database’s PubMed system of current publications, the following article describes the mechanisms by which the device operates and discusses possible pathophysiological consequences. The majority of current human literature has not found evidence of clinical relevant pathophysiological effects during and after an exposure of professionally applied CEWs. However, to be able to exclude possible health risks, a medical checkup of people who have been exposed to CEWs is essential.     

新加坡与美国的军事合作关系

在军事战略方面,新加坡已成为美国亚太安全岛链中的重要角色,成为美国防范恐怖主义和围堵中国的棋局中的一个棋子.本文通过军事合作与地缘战略两项因素,分析新加坡与美国的军事合作关系.本文研究发现:第一,新加坡正在取代此前菲律宾的地位,成为美国在亚太地区前沿部署的关键性角色;第二,美国对于新加坡的武器输出,已经超出"防御武器"的限制;第三,在"9·11"事件之后,新加坡宣布与美国站在同一阵线,共同对抗恐怖主义.也就是说,由于地缘战略的重要性,美国正借与新加坡的军事合作,使其成为美国亚太安全岛链的一环.     

对无过错违法使用警械、武器的民警刑事追偿质疑——一例国家赔偿案引发的刑事追偿条件反思

现行国家赔偿法对违法使用警械、武器职权行为的刑事追偿条件失之于宽,缺乏主观过错要件。国家赔偿法中的违法与通常所称的违法不同,并不包含有主观过错条件。而追偿是对主观过错的惩戒,对无过错违法使用警械、武器的公安民警进行刑事追偿,则违背了立法的初衷,也与行政追偿的主观过错要件相矛盾,显然是一种立法疏漏。国家赔偿法应增设主观过错要件,将此情形排除在刑事追偿范围之外。     

The Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty in Jeopardy? Internal Divisions and the Impact of World Politics

The frustration of non-nuclear weapon states about the lack of progress in nuclear disarmament has reached boiling point: a vast majority of them have supported a resolution in the UN General Assembly that establishes a negotiation forum for concluding a prohibition of nuclear weapons in 2017. Rising tension among the nuclear powers and populist movements feeding nationalist emotions make it unlikely that the situation will change for the better in the near future. It is thus possible that the NPT might be eroded or, in the worst case scenario, simply collapse because of diminishing support.     

Perception and Politics in Intelligence Assessment: U.S. Estimates of the Soviet and "Rogue-State" Nuclear Threats

United States estimates of Soviet nuclear goals and capabilities and the current "rogue-state" nuclear threat reflected prevailing beliefs about threat within the U.S. government and the relative influence of agencies charged with threat assessment. This article establishes that the patterns in formal Soviet threat assessment: (i) did not reflect a uniform response to "external threat," (ii) were inevitably tied to underlying assumptions about adversary intent, and (iii) were susceptible then to perceptual, organizational, and/or political influences within government. Thus, threat assessments reflected the optimism and pessimism—and political interests and ideologies—of those who participated in the estimating process. The article concludes by examining these lessons in light of the experiences and challenges of assessing threat from small states harboring nuclear ambitions.     

Historical reconstruction of the community response,and related epidemiology,of a suspected biological weapon attack in Ningbo,China (1940)

During World War II, members of the Imperial Japanese Army biological warfare Unit 731 conducted a live test deployment of plague-infected fleas in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China. The deployment triggered an outbreak involving 165 cases in downtown Ningbo, 112 of which were fatal (68% case fatality rate). Despite lack of access to effective medical countermeasures, the Ningbo community exhibited a high degree of social cohesion and resilience in the context of effective public health response. These findings support the value of community preparedness and strong public health infrastructure to mitigate the impact of biological weapons.