The co-creator of the Taser hinted that law enforcement could trade Glocks in for nonlethal weapons within a decade as technology continues to advance.
Rick Smith, co-creator of the Taser and CEO of its manufacturer, Axon, believes the company will be able to create an electric stun gun in 10 years that could offer a replacement to police pistols, he said.
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“We’ve got to outperform the police pistol … I think we’ll get there, where, by 2030, we’re going to have nonlethal weapons so good, it will actually be a faster time to incapacitation more reliably than a police pistol,” Smith told Forbes.
Improving Tasers would mean giving them better delivery rather than making them more injurious or powerful, he said.
The company is working on figuring out a way to get the Taser’s barbs to latch on to a target and deliver the shock charge through thick clothing, or be better able to reach someone moving quickly or erratically.
“For us, it’s a delivery question, how do we engineer so that with 100% certainty, we can get the effect on the target where we want it in fast-moving situations in the field. We don’t have to go create phasers, or any new really sci-fi stuff. All the science is pretty clear. This is an engineering problem,” Smith said.
National tensions regarding excessive use of police force are rising again following the Sunday death of Daunte Wright, a black man who was shot by a white police officer who allegedly mistook her pistol for her Taser.
A spokesman for Axon didn’t comment on Wright’s death, but defended their product, saying there are numerous safeguards in place to distinguish a stun gun from a lethal weapon.
“A Taser device has a different grip and feel and is lighter than a firearm; is offered in yellow to contrast a black firearm; a LED control panel lights up when the safety is taken off; and it is contained in a holster that is different and separate from the officer’s firearm,” the spokesperson said.
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Kim Potter, the Minnesota officer who shot Wright, was charged with second-degree manslaughter and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Potter, who resigned from the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Tuesday, had her first court appearance Thursday. No plea has been entered.
