Chaska Police Sgt. Mike Duzan knows the value of tasers. When he was an officer in St. Paul, he broke his hand in an altercation. Today he suffers from arthritis as a result of that break.

“I wish I would have had one of these then,” he said of his taser.

Though Duzan admits to initially being skeptical about tasers when he first began researching them for the department, today he is one of their biggest cheerleaders.

“Quite honestly, these things save lives,” he said, adding that he believes they are the “most remarkable” addition to their belts for their ability to defuse dangerous situations and prevent injuries.

Not everyone is a taser fan, however. The small weapons, designed to deliver an electric shock, have been under scrutiny from human rights advocacy group Amnesty International for allegedly contributing to more than 100 deaths. Amnesty International has called for law enforcement agencies to reduce or cease use of tasers until more studies can be done.

Earlier this month, former Chaska High School graduate Joe Kubat, 21, died in St. Paul after being involved in an altercation with police [0] that involved the use of a taser. To date, there is no clear indication what, if any, role the taser may have had in Kubat’s death.

According to the St. Paul Police Department, the case is still under investigation. (Kubat’s family did not return the Herald’s calls for comment.)

More research

In a public statement issued last fall, Amnesty International “expressed concern that tasers are being widely deployed in the U.S.A. before the results of rigorous, independent and comprehensive testing of potential health risks.

“While existing research has found the risk of adverse effects from tasers in healthy adults generally low, studies have also pointed to the need for more understanding of the effects of such devices on those compromised by poor health, substance abuse or other factors,” Amnesty International stated.

The taser works by delivering an electric shock to the body that interferes with the nervous system.

“The muscles are taken over,” explained Duzan, adding that the pulsing current will cause muscles to contract 19 times per second.

Officers have the option of using the taser from a distance of up to 25 feet, shooting two probes with hooks into the body that deliver the charge. Officers can also press the taser directly against the skin. Both methods deliver about 1,200 volts of electricity and 0.0021 amps into a person’s body. By contrast, a Christmas tree light bulb is about 1 amp.

The result is a window of time for law enforcement officials to subdue a person while the electricity takes over their nervous system.

Duzan, who has been tased with the probes twice during training sessions, described the sensation as “being hit by a soft sledgehammer over and over.”

But once the electric current is cut, the pain disappears. “Once this is done, that’s it,” said Duzan. “It doesn’t have an aftereffect like pepper spray.”

Reduced injuries

Duzan said that they have found subject injuries and officer injuries to be reduced since they introduced tasers in 2003. “It’s a lower level use of force,” he said.

That doesn’t mean that people are warming up to the taser, though. Duzan said he hasn’t had one taser incident that didn’t involve someone threatening to sue the department.

“We haven’t had to rush anyone to the hospital yet,” Duzan noted. He maintained that tasers have “never been shown as a factor in why someone died.”

But Amnesty International argues that more research is needed to determine the effects of electro-shocks on people who are agitated and under the influence of drugs; who had heart disease; who were subjected to other restraints; or who were subjected to prolonged or multiple shocks.

Duzan said his research shows that there is no effect to the cardiovascular or respiratory system when tasers are used. He did note that the physical exertion of tangling with law enforcement could certainly lead to additional health issues.

“That’s always going to be a concern,” he said.

-Mollee Francisco, staff writer

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