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LAPD Kept Buying Tasers Its Own Data Showed Are Less Effective
Taser Firing Darts; Illustration by Dan Carino for KPCC/LAist
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LAPD Kept Buying Tasers Its Own Data Showed Are Less Effective
Three years ago, LAPD officials made a disturbing discovery: The department’s new Tasers were increasingly ineffective at subduing suspects in the field.
A KPCC/AMP Reports investigation found that the decline correlated with a decision by the manufacturer, Axon Enterprise, Inc., to reduce the power amid a wave of product liability lawsuits.
LAPD leaders, at the time, said they were looking into it but they apparently never did. Instead, they kept buying thousands more Tasers.When Tasers work, they can stop a suspect in his tracks. He'll fall to the ground. And an officer can safely put him in handcuffs.
Read the full investigation: Why Does LAPD Keep Buying Tasers That Don't Work Like They Should?
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