| Tasers have come a long way in the last 4 decades. | | | | agencies. |
| The earliest of projectile firing stun guns was created | | | | As word spread though the law enforcement |
| in the late 1960’s by a NASA scientist named Jack | | | | community, the Air Taser Company was invited by the |
| Cover. Jack created a small hand held tubular device | | | | Czech police to provide a live demonstration in Prague. |
| that used gunpowder to blast 2 projectiles about 15 | | | | The show turned out to be a total failure as repeated |
| feet. These projectiles resembled heavy darts with | | | | police officers were able “fight through the pain” |
| reverse barbs connected to thin insulated wires shot | | | | and take down the person deploying the Air Taser |
| out of a flashlight. The entire unit was dubbed the | | | | 34000. Upon returning home defeated and |
| Taser TF-76. This prototype, and the next few that | | | | embarrassed, the team began to develop a more |
| followed, were simply used to force obedience by | | | | reliable technology. They realized that the stun gun jolts |
| delivering a jolt large enough to achieve “pain | | | | of the model 34000 did not neuromuscularly |
| compliance”. So Jack Cover began a company to | | | | incapacitate an assailant, especially if that assailant |
| manufacture these devices, and it is believed that that | | | | was strong of mind. They worked on a new pattern |
| T.A.S.E.R. was an acronym inspired from the popular | | | | of electrical disbursement, that would deliver |
| kid's novel Tom Swift and his Electric Rifle. This | | | | uncontrollable muscle spasms, to render even the |
| weapon with it’s cylindrical shape was not created | | | | most aggressive, drug crazed attacker completely |
| to look like a pistol, but because it was powered by an | | | | helpless. The Advanced Taser M18 and M26 models |
| explosive gunpowder charge, it had to be classified by | | | | were born. After that, thousands of international law |
| the feds. After much debate, the ATF sadly | | | | enforcement agencies readily accepted this new |
| categorized it in with sawed-off shotguns as a Title 2 | | | | technology,implementing the non-lethal tool as an |
| weapon available only to law enforcement. This made | | | | alternative to using deadly force. In addition to the AFID |
| marketing to the average consumer impossible and | | | | confetti, a computer dataport was added to track |
| the first few models and production soon died out. | | | | usage in the field. The X26 debuted in 2003 and was |
| Then in 1993, two Arizona brothers set out to make a | | | | the first Taser model to feature the patented |
| new type of stun gun, that would be legal to carry. | | | | “shaped pulse technology.” The X26 was |
| They called Jack Cover who had an idea, to use | | | | created 60% smaller and lighter than the M26, but |
| compressed air or nitrogen deploy the darts. They | | | | packed a greater wallop! As popularity of the Taser |
| quickly brought in Jack Cover as an employee, and | | | | grew, demand for more non-intimidating consumer |
| began to design the 2nd generation of Taser. This | | | | friendly models led to the development of the Taser |
| model was called the Air Taser 34000 and was | | | | C2 which looks more like a shaver than a weapon. |
| basically the same as the old TF-76, with 2 new key | | | | Recent developments in Taser technology include a |
| features: it used compressed air to propel the | | | | wireless missile that can be shotgun deployed, up to |
| projectiles, and when deployed, it dispersed Anti Felon | | | | 100 feet away!! |
| ID Tags for easy tracking by law enforcement | | | | |