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Oh yeah, he's done.

nitrogen wrote:it takes about 60mA, but you have to get that shock across a specific set of nerves in the heart or neck. I cant remember the names, as my Anatomy fails me now.

anything above 200mA muscle contractions can be so strng that the heart can't do anything at all.

The Taser is designed to be 5,000v@ 3mA, so under most circumstances it should not stop the heart.

Now I'm not a doctor, I'm just a guy who at one time was a trained EMT, so I'm sure there's more information than what I just gave.

Except during the isoelectric period, the re-polarization of the ventricles as indicate by the ST segment on an ECG. You can completely depolarize (induce asystole) by a thump on the chest or just about any charge. Some people, due to cation imbalances, nerve blockage, drug use or genetics have a longer isoelectric period than others making them more vulnerable. A shock or a little league baseball to the sternum and presto, dead person. Asystole, unlike in the movies does not typically respond to defibrillation and has to be paced or in some cases a precordial thump (a second, well placed blow).

What would be telling to me is the number of uses versus the number of fatalities. A Taser is using considerable force but I am not sure I'm ready to remove that option from their arsenal. Maybe just move it a notch or two up the escalation meter.

+1 on the one try, 9' versus the 14 tries at a hundred yards though.