According to the author, Gary Vilke (2007), MD, Professor of Clinical Medicine, Director,

Clinical Research for Emergency Medicine, University of California, San Diego Medical Center,

“Evaluating in-custody deaths following use of a Taser is a process that requires looking at the

totality of the event. It is like putting a puzzle together. The data from this study help shape

another piece of the puzzle by looking at the physiological effects of a single Taser activation in

human subjects.”

While there is no question that the incorporation of a technology like the Taser into law

enforcement leaves open the potential for harmful misuse, this study appears to back up what

proponents have claimed all along - that the Taser is extremely effective, and apart from extreme

and incapacitating pain at the instant of use, there appear to be few prolonged side-effects.