Stun gun video competition heats up, along with safety controversy

Taser is the best known stun gun used by police. Stinger, Taser's new rival, appears poised to surpass the market leader in the race to equip weapons with built-in video recording. Taser announced sketchy plans to introduce a built-in video camera by the middle of 2005. Stinger said it will ship its "TruVu" video-equipped units in the first quarter.

While Taser's design has not been finalized, Stinger has released specifications on how its video recording system will work.

The video capture announcements, made within weeks of each other, come as stun gun technology is under increasing scrutiny. Several press outlets recently covered an Amnesty International report criticizing the widespread use of stun guns by U.S. police. The group alleged that police stun guns have been linked to over 70 deaths since 2001.

Fighting back, Taser released a Florida Gulf Coast University study, which the company said shows the weapon save lives and reduces the cost of law enforcement.

Stinger is a four-year-old company whose products include a contact (non-projected) stun device and an electronic prisoner control system. The Stinger Handheld Projectile Stun Gun is the first rival to Taser, a dart-firing electro-shock weapon, according to Robert Gruder, CEO of Stinger Systems.

Stinger's new video module records MPEG-4 files at 30 frames per second with QVGA resolution (320 x 240). It stores up to four hours of video and audio, depending on selected recording quality. The 2-megapixel image sensor can also record digital photos.

"We haven't disclosed who makes the components for competitive reasons," Gruder said. "We're not manufacturing it ourselves. We're sourcing this at a manufacturer of these types of components; we gave them our specs."

Stinger costs $599, and the TruVu video module will initially sell for an additional $150. The price will increase to $225 in March.

Video recording starts whenever an officer flips Stinger's safety switch. Usually, Gruder said, this occurs whenever an officer removes the weapon from its holster.

Taser's video camera lens is located at the bottom of the weapon's hand grip. Stinger's camera is mounted on the side of the weapon.

"I don't think you want to have something where your hand can accidentally go on a grip and overlap the lens," Gruder said. "Our camera is so slim that it's negligible on the side of the gun in terms of weight and size. It's as thick as a Compact Flash."

Stinger shoots multiple probes into the skin, then feeds pulsed bursts of high voltage (50-kV) between them. While Taser shoots two probes, both of which must hit the target for the weapon to work, Stinger's patent-pending "Quadrashock" design shoots four probes, creating a high-voltage circuit if just two probes — one positive, one negative — hit the target.

Several people have died after being stunned, sometimes repeatedly. The stun gun industry argues that it "nonlethal" technology actually protects suspects who might otherwise be shot with bullets. Opponents respond that the weapons encourage police to use them in situations where they might not consider using lethal force. Last month, for example, a stun-gun incident in Florida involved a six-year old.

Video recordings could become crucial evidence in the ongoing debate over stun guns, and in lawsuits against police. The video feature also reflects the industry's desire to bring accountability to the use of stun guns.

Stinger's announcement noted that its audio and video files are encrypted "to preserve the integrity of evidence." Only police department PCs, equipped with special software, can play the files.

"We also have a patent pending on making the download tamper proof. If [police] have to go to court, an officer cannot tamper with the video," Gruder said.