PHOENIX: Taser guns’ impact on cognition and reasoning has been found to potentially interfere with police questioning.
A comprehensive study from the US discovered participants showed short-term decline in brain functioning equivalent to dementia after being shocked by the stun guns.
Lead author of the study, which is the first of its kind, Robert J Kane argued the findings challenge the long accepted legitimacy of police interrogation directly following Taser shocks.
“The findings of this study have considerable implications for how the police administer Miranda [the right to remain silent] warnings.
“If suspects are cognitively impaired after being Tased, when should police begin asking them questions? There are plenty of people in prison who were Tased and then immediately questioned.”
The report carried out by Arizona State University and Drexel University in Philadelphia found that Taser stuns significantly compromised a person’s mental state, with participants reporting problems concentrating…