Gilchrist County Sheriff's Office

Gilchrist County Sheriff's Office

Non-Lethal Weapon of the Future

This weapon is the 26 Advanced Taser, manufactured by Taser International. The Advanced Taser is designed to reduce injuries (both officer and suspect), reduce liability and increase officer safety. The Advanced Taser is more powerful, but still less lethal of a weapon than a chemical agent or nightstick. The Advanced Taser is constructed of a sonic, welded polymer. This weapon is intended to use an Electro-Muscular Disruption (EMD) technology to provide a quantum leap in less-lethal stopping power. The EMD weapon completely overrides the central nervous system and directly controls the skeletal muscles. This will incapacitate the target regardless of pain tolerance or mental focus. The Advanced Taser is designed to stop even the most elite, aggressive, focused combatants. The Advanced Taser EMD system directly tells the muscles what to do: contract until the target is on the ground. The Advanced Taser provides for maximum safety for both the officer and the subject by bringing dangerous situations quickly under control before force escalates to lethal levels. Because these weapons affect the central nervous system by imitating the electrical impulses used to communicate within the human body, a hit anywhere on the body can be effective. The M26 Taser uses 26 Watts and 50,000 Volts of electricity, well within the electrical safety standards. There are no long-term effects by using the M26 Advanced Taser, only minor skin irritations.

The Advanced Taser fires two probes up to a distance of 15, or even 21 feet from a replaceable Air Cartridge. These probes are connected to the weapon by high-voltage insulated wire. When the probes make contact with the target, the Advanced Taser transmits powerful electrical pulses along the wires and into the body of the target through up to two inches of clothing.

The Gilchrist County Sheriff Office has trained and issued the M26 Advanced Taser to all deputies and jail personnel.