Description

The Background
Electronic control with a conducted electrical weapon (CEW) has broad acceptance with law-enforcement as the preferred less-lethal force option due to its proven injury reduction compared to other control tools. Large prospective studies find subject injury rate reductions of about 65%.1,2 This is consistent with a 2/3 reduction in fatal police shootings where CEW usage is not overly restricted.3 A prospective study found that 5.4% of CEW uses clearly prevented the use of lethal force by police.4
The Research
To obtain significant motor-nerve mediated neuromuscular incapacitation there must be a probe separation of at least 30 cm (12 in) on the front of the body with present CEWs.5 CEWs with weaker outputs require a greater probe spread which may not be attainable in a sudden frontal attack. A weaker-output CEW could fail to stop a violent attack thus forcing a law-enforcement officer to transition to a firearm which often has fatal outcomes. Thus, minimum output limits are required for effectiveness. While generally not appreciated by the public, the primary safety risk is that of low outputs leading to a firearm fatality.
Most authorities agree that electrocution is a theoretical possibility with an extremely thin individual and a fully penetrating CEW probe directly over the heart.6,7 Based on the distribution of probe landings and body habitus, this risk has been estimated at about 1:2.5 million – 1: 3 million uses.6-8 A debate centers on whether this rare possibility has yet been demonstrated in an actual case. 9-11 Swine are 3 times as sensitive to electrical current as humans.12 The largest swine electrocuted by a CEW weighed 36 kg (79 lbs).13 The levels of dangerous electrical current scale with body mass just like any drug dosage and conservatively with the square root of body mass.14 Thus, the best evidence suggests that the risk of CEW electrocution is limited to humans with a body mass under 46 lbs. Nevertheless, it behooves us to establish output maximum limits that allow for effectiveness yet stay far away from allowing an electrocution risk.
The majority of published research has focused on the dominant manufacturer but that is now changing as competitors emerge.15-18 This increases the need for a standard that encapsulates the known effects and determinacies of CEWs.
The Standard
This standard incorporates the known bioelectrical science on the effects of pulse durations and charge for nerve and cardiac stimulation.19,20 This is then incorporated with the pulse rate to set upper and lower limits for aggregate currents among other critical factors.

The References:

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3. Ferdik FV, Kaminski RJ, Cooney MD, Sevigny EL. The Influence of Agency Policies on Conducted Energy Device Use and Police Use of Lethal Force. Police Quarterly. 2014:1098611114548098.
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20. Irnich W. Georges Weiss’ fundamental law of electrostimulation is 100 years old. Pacing and clinical electrophysiology : PACE. 2002;25(2):245-248.