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Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology
Published in: Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology 3/2022

24-01-2022 | Confusion | Original Article

Confusion between firearms and electrical weapons as a factor in police shootings

Authors: Mark W. Kroll, Judy Melinek, Jeffrey A. Martin, Michael A. Brave, Howard E. Williams

Published in: Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology | Issue 3/2022

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Abstract

Conducted electrical weapons (CEW) have risks including trauma associated with uncontrolled falls, probes penetrating the eye, and fume ignition. A lesser-known risk is weapon-confusion error with officers mistakenly discharging their firearm when they intended to deploy their electrical weapon. We searched for incidents of possible weapon confusion with the TASER® brand CEWs via open-source media, litigation filings, and a survey of CEW law enforcement master instructors. We found 19 incidents of possible CEW weapon confusion in law enforcement field uses from January 2001 to April 2021. We eliminated a case as not meeting our criteria for probable weapons confusion leaving 18 cases, thus giving a demonstrated CEW discharge risk of 3.9 per million with confidence limits (2.4–6.2 per million) by Wilson score interval. Ipsilateral carry of the weapons was historically correlated with increased risk vs. contralateral carry. Officer gender was not a predictor of weapon confusion. The psychological issues behind weapon confusion under stress are discussed. The concurrent carry of electrical weapons and firearms presents a very small but real risk of injury and death from confusion between an electrical weapon and a firearm.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Confusion between firearms and electrical weapons as a factor in police shootings
Authors
Mark W. Kroll
Judy Melinek
Jeffrey A. Martin
Michael A. Brave
Howard E. Williams
Publication date
24-01-2022
Publisher
Springer US
Keyword
Confusion
Published in
Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology / Issue 3/2022
Print ISSN: 1547-769X
Electronic ISSN: 1556-2891
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-022-00457-6

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