New Taser Technology Uses Shotgun Shell to Stun Criminals

Acting accordingly as an officer of the law can sometimes be tricky. These are brave men and women who put their lives on the line to protect the rest of them. There are moments in which they are put into situations in which they need to think quickly. This can lead to the possible use of deadly force against a dangerous assailant when there could have been another alternative. The Extended Range Electronic Projectile aims to offer officer's another alternative to deadly force.

An officer usually has one option before having to use his gun. That option is to take out his stun gun and knock the assailant to the ground. However, sometimes the assailant is too far away and the only thing that might be able to reach him is your gun. What if he stops in a dead end alley and starts throwing bottles at you or appears to be reaching for his own gun? You can now see why a police office might reach and use his gun.

The Extended Range Electronic Projectile, or XREP, is basically a shotgun stun gun. This is gone is different from traditional stun guns, known as TASERS, because it does not use tethered probes to connect it from the stun gun to the assailant. The XREP is a 12-gauge shotgun that uses a wireless projectile. Bullets from the gone can be fired up to 100 feet from the shotgun apparatus. Once the bullet connects the assailant, he/she will drop to the ground due to muscle paralysis.

The assailant is temporarily paralyzed because the bullet uses two probes that will pierce the skin. These probes are powerful enough to pierce through multiple layers of clothing as well. Up to 50,000 volts of electricity will be delivered to the assailant once it is connected. Believe it or not, the gun will only use 500 volts of electricity in order to deliver the larger amount. It's the waveform of the electricity is the key to creating higher voltage when connected to the assailant.

Recent tests have actually put the XREP in the line of duty. The researchers were happy to learn that the XREP was fired successfully during basic altercations. They are excited because they feel that the four times in which the XREP was used could of led to four people not dying. This is an interesting new development in TASER technology and offers officers another alternative. We should see every police force using this technology over the next year.