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Since they were first issued to police officers in the late 1990s, Taser guns have been involved in dozens of inmate deaths, and more than 50 civilian deaths in the United States.  In 1989, a Canadian study found that Taser guns used on farms as cattle prods induced heart attacks in animals.  Ten years later, an American study concluded that weapons delivering a jolt weaker than Taser guns increased the risk of cardiac arrest in people with heart conditions.  However, according to Taser gun manufacturers, several studies (conducted by the manufacturers) have reportedly found that the high­voltage shock is harmless, and that the deaths associated with Taser gun use are contentious.  For example, in July 2005, a Chicago medical examiner ruled that the death of a man in February 2005 was the result of being shot with a Taser gun by Chicago police.  Media reports said it was the first time a death had been directly linked to a police Taser gun; however, the medical examiner further ruled that the victim tested positive to high levels of methamphetamine in his system.

Taser gun manufacturers also claim that 100,000 police officers have volunteered to take hits from Taser weapons since their induction ­ resulting in no injuries, and no deaths.  Interest groups such as Amnesty International, however, believe that because of the lack of proper data from independent studies, and insufficient research, Taser gun use should be suspended.

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