Tinnitus: Taser

Disclaimer: Law enforcement officers that may be reading this post shouldn't be offended. I'm pointing out the potential flaws of the taser not law enforcement or the legal system.

As we are recently learning, electromagnetic radiation can remap the hippocampus and basal ganglia of the brain and cause health issues (including tinnitus). The electricity administered by a taser may change the shelf life of cells in the body and cause acute and latent effects (including tinnitus).

The biological effects of taser shock should be reconsidered and restudied and stricter regulations should be considered. It may be possible for a person who has experienced taser shock to begin to experience tinnitus or other health issues from 1-20 years after the taser event.

In police officer training, some cadets volunteer to experience taser shock in order to experience what suspects feel (and perhaps a little cadet bravado is involved). That one shock event could change the cadet's cells and even reduce his or her lifespan.

Electric shock can change the timing mechanisms inside of human cells. This includes cochlear cells that are suspended in liquid which conducts the current. The possibility exists that taser shock can kill the cochlear cells and cause damage to the auditory system. Taser clearly has effects on the central nervous system which is a biological effect. The auditory system is very delicate. Why wouldn't the auditory system be affected?

I understand and am sympathetic to the protections that tasers provide for police officers. If a suspect is truly innocent before proven guilty then is it right to administer a weapon that causes biological effects that may not show up until years after the suspect's trial?

Consider that Huxley and Hodkin won a Nobel Peace Prize for determining that electricity is conducted by and also burns brain axons. This, in turn, may cause lymphocyte cells to attack the altered brain cells.

Suspects are often questioned by police officers immediately after the taser event. "Who are you? Where were you going? Am I going to find anything illegal on you or in your vehicle? Is this your vehicle? Why were you resisting?"

The suspect may have lost the ability to reason properly enough to remain silent. In essence, the taser may (I stress the word may) have made the suspect unable to remain silent which is a violation of their constitutional right in the United States. This should be studied further.

Metal objects can create a localized field and so any dental work that the suspect has or jewelry that the suspect is wearing, particularly earrings, may make the electrical current worse in the brain by concentrating the shock in those areas and intensifying the effects. This is why MRI specialists ask for all metal objects to be removed prior to entering the MRI.

The localized field phenomena can affect the mid-brain (which we now know is responsible for Parkinson's disease and some tinnitus). In essence, hyper-electric shock between the dental fillings and the earrings, nose ring, etc. could intensify the power and burn axons inside of the suspects brain. If a suspect is wearing a necklace then the heart may experience the brunt force of the shock.

The people who die from taser shock are often pronounced dead for other reasons and not the taser. That needs to be reviewed because it points to a sacred cow mentality and has more to do with the affinity of some people for the short-term effectiveness of the taser than the actual scientific biological effects on the human being that is being shocked.

When the cells inside the heart are heated they oscillate quicker and within seconds break apart. Inside of the cells are delicate strands of DNA. They break apart. When too many cells break apart the brain and heart give up. It can be likened to being shot in the heart or head, for some people.

In my opinion, taser should never ever be used on a pregnant women. There have been a number of studies that show the effects of electricity on developing mammal babies. None of the results were good. The babies cells are more delicate than an adult's cells, especially baby fat that is highly conductive material. The umbilical chord may even act as a conductive wire. Apart from sending nutrients from the mother to the baby it is also sending electrical stimulation. To shock the mother is to shock the baby. The shocked baby may live but will likely be endowed with a life of chronic health issues and no one would be able to attribute the issues back to when the mother experienced taser shock.

I believe that some people may be more sensitive to electric shock than others due to body composition and individual resonance. In my view everyone has their own unique body resonance and conductivity.

The manufacturers of tasers wrongly point to the idea that the skin acts as a "Faraday Shield." Therefore, in their minds, there are no long-term health effects. That's a good talking point. I mean, it sounds reasonable? Why look any further into it? Penn State University looked into this and you can find the results in the attached link.

The skin is pierced by two metal prongs during a taser event so no, there is no Faraday Shield. Even if there was a Faraday Shield protection, biophysicists that do not work for the electronics industry would tell you that on average 15% of the electricity would still penetrate into deep tissue and travel rapidly to the localized field sources. 85% of the electricity would be fought off by the interaction with the skin but not without cost. This is according to Persinger.

The fighting off of the electricity itself would knock the immune system down and cause all kinds of acute and latent health problems. Researchers and regulators, there's work to be done here. You need to go to Persinger, Curtis, and Sulman. Find their writings and reassess the standards. See the Penn State University's research link below. They pointed out that taser is 13 times more jolting per second than what regulators allow for an electric fence.

If a taser shocked suspect is found innocent but suffers from latent health conditions then that person may be being punished with chronic health issues for life for a crime that he or she did not commit. I know, many people are found innocent that are actually guilty. But dare I ask, does the long-term latent effects of electroshock match the crime? I wouldn't wish chronic severe tinnitus, Parkinson's disease, lupus, leukemia, or Chrones disease, blood disease, heart failure, brain cancer, psychosis, or infertility on anyone but the harshest of criminals. Yet, if I'm right, these are the possible latent effects that may show up 1-20 years after the shock.

It may be time to return to pepper spray as the method of subduing and arresting an uncooperative suspect. Perhaps, at a minimum, physical taser training should no longer be performed on our valuable police officer cadets.

More information:
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.91.2264&rep=rep1&type=pdf