Taser

Error creating thumbnail: File missing

The dart fired from a TASER cartridge. This dart came from an X2 training cartridge and is slightly shorter than the standard length. There is also a even longer XP Extra Penetration dart for use against targets wearing thick clothing.

The Taser (Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle) is a less-lethal weapon manufactured by Taser International. It is used by many law enforcement agencies around the world as a way to subdue potentially dangerous targets where normally a lethal weapon would have been used. The Taser works by firing small canisters of nitrogen gas to propel two electrode darts up to 160 fps that can pierce clothing and will stick into your skin. Each dart has conductive wires trailing behind them to carry the electric charge from the main unit. The electric shock lasts for 5 seconds (10/30 for civilian models) and will deliver 0.02-0.04 amps which will cause neuromuscular incapacitation, in which the target's nervous system would have no control of the muscles causing instant and unavoidable incapacitation. The Taser can double as a standard stun gun by removing the cartridges, or in the case of the X2 and X3, by holding the button on the side and pressing the Taser to the intended target.

The Taser and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Air Taser Model 34000

The predecessor to the more well-known Taser M26, the Air Taser Model 34000 is the first Taser product that pioneered many features in later Taser models.

Introduced in 1994, the Model 34000 is a refinement of the earlier TASER TF-76, using compressed air instead of gunpowder to propel its darts, thereby bypassing classification as a firearm and the accompanying restrictions on who could buy and use them. It was also the first model to introduce the AFID (Anti-Felon Identification) tags that emerged whenever a Taser cartridge was fired, as a means of providing evidence of use and identifying the weapon used, because conventional ballistic fingerprinting cannot be used with Tasers. Like the later models, the Air Taser 34000 can also be used as a conventional stun gun if cartridges are not loaded.

When first introduced, this model did not come with any sights at all, but an external laser sight accessory eventually became commercially available. Its power source, fitting its early-1990s origins, was a 9-volt alkaline battery, and in practice this meant it occasionally had trouble at incapacitating targets, or delivering as many shocks, compared to later models.

Error creating thumbnail: File missing

The Air Taser 34000 with cartridges loaded and a laser sight on the yellow "power handle" (actually the base unit that both looked and worked like a conventional stun gun).

Specifications

Range: 15'

Pulse Cycle: 30 seconds

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Notation	Date
Looper	Noah Segan	Kid Blue	With external laser sight	2012

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Release Date
Syphon Filter series	Air Taser	Completely black, needles emerge from the top edge of the weapon	Cannot be used in "Drive Stun" mode, has unlimited ammunition and battery power, and in several games possesses enough charge to set targets that are shocked for long enough on fire	1999 - 2007

Advanced Taser M26

Released in 1999, the M26 was the first widely-adopted Taser model that is still being manufactured to this day and used by different law enforcement agencies and military personnel for less-lethal take-downs. Refinements over the Model 34000 include an ergonomic pistol-like shape, basic iron sights, and an integral laser sight. The power source is an array of 8 AA batteries stored in the pistol grip, much like the ammunition magazine of many semiautomatic pistols.

Error creating thumbnail: File missing

Advanced Taser M26

Specifications

Range(All are LE only unless otherwise noted): 15'(Civilian), 21', 25', 35'

Pulse Cycle(All are LE only unless otherwise noted): 5 seconds, 30 seconds(civilian)

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Notation	Date
Exit Wounds	Matthew G. Taylor	Useldinger	Used only in Drive Stun mode, and depicted with a fictional voltage selector	2001
Hannibal	Ivano Marescotti	Carlo		2001
Collateral Damage		FBI Agent		2002
Paycheck	Joe Morton	Agent Dodge	All-black colour scheme	2003
National Treasure		Henchman		2004
The Cutter	Aaron Norris	Anthony Maylam		2005
Death Race	Jason Clarke	Ulrich	Had a scope attached	2008
Nine Dead	John Terry	Shooter		2010
The Sweeney	Ray Winstone	Jack Regan		2012
Fruitvale Station	Alejandra Nolasco	BART Officer Salazar		2013

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Notation	Air Date
24 - Season 2	Peter Outerbridge	Ronnie Stark		04/15/03
My Name is Earl	George Frangides	Officer Bob Smiley	S1E09 & S1E17	2005
Burn Notice	Gabrielle Anwar	Fiona Glenanne		2007
Heroes	Jack Coleman	Noah Bennett		2007
NCIS	Pauley Perrette	Abby		2007
My Name is Earl	Randy Brenner	Cop	S4E21	2009
Sanctuary/ "Hero II"			Used without cartridge in contact mode	2010

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Release Date
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness	"K2 Impactor"	fully black finish, no blast doors		2003
S.W.A.T. 4	"Taser"		Cannot be used in "Drive-stun" mode	2005
Secret Service	"Taser"			2008
Mirror's Edge			not usable	2008
Bloody Good Time	"Taser"		Slightly modified	2010
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive	Zeus X27			2012

Anime

Title	Character	Note	Date
Full Metal Panic?: Fumoffu			2003
Aria the Scarlet Ammo			2011

X26

The X26 is the smaller but upgraded version of the M26. The X26 is 60% smaller in size than the M26 but produces greater incapacitating effects due to its Shaped Pulse Technologies. The cartridges are interchangeable with the M26.

Error creating thumbnail: File missing

X26 Taser with safety cap on

X26 Taser fitted with an XDPM (Extended Digital Power Magazine), a battery pack with a grip extension that can accept a spare cartridge

Specifications

Range(All are LE only unless otherwise noted): 15'(Civilian), 21', 25', 35'

Pulse Cycle(All are LE only unless otherwise noted): 5 seconds, 10 seconds(civilian)

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Notation	Date
Ninja Assassin		Various Europol agents	Modified and Changed to fire taser darts	2009
District 13: Ultimatum	Cyril Raffaelli	Damien		2009
Salt	Angelina Jolie	Evelyn Salt		2010
Piranha	Elisabeth Shue	Sheriff Julie Forester		2010
Thor	Kat Dennings	Darcy Lewis		2011
Courageous		Police		2011
Cosmopolis	Patricia McKenzie	Kendra Hays	With XDPM and spare cartridge	2012
21 Jump Street	Channing Tatum	Jenko	holstered	2012
21 Jump Street	Jonah Hill	Schmidt	holstered	2012
Fruitvale Station	Chad Michael Murray	BART Officer Ingram		2013
Fruitvale Station	Kevin Durand	BART Officer Caruso		2013

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Notation/Episode	Air Date
CSI: NY		NYPD Officer	"Uncertainty Rules" (S06E16)	2004-Present
Future Weapons			Less-Than Lethal	11/29/07
Prison Break - Season 2	Wade Williams	Brad Bellick	with yellow finish and XDPM	2006 - 2007
My Name is Earl	Ethan Suplee	Randy		11/08/07
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	George Eads	Nick Stokes		05/01/08
FlashForward		NCAP Guard		05/27/10
Law & Order: Los Angeles	Skeet Ulrich	Det. Rex Winters	"Harbor City"
Deadliest Warrior				04/20/10

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Notation	Release Date
James Bond 007: Blood Stone	"Stun Gun"	Used by Bangkok police	2010
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier	"UB Stun Gun"	can be mounted on ACR, 5.56A-91, AK-200, AKM, AN-94, HK417, Mk 14 Mod 0 and TAR-21	2012

Taser X12 LLS

The Taser X12 LLS (for Less Lethal Shotgun) was the result of a collaboration between Taser International and Mossberg that took a standard Mossberg 500-series shotgun and modified it by giving it ghost ring iron sights, a rifled barrel set to a custom 1:18 twist rate, yellow furniture to indicate that it was a dedicated less-lethal weapon, a Picatinny rail, and the Radial Ammunition Key to prevent the firing of lethal 12-gauge shells. Its associated ammunition, the Taser XREP (EXtended Range Electro-Muscular Projectile) shell, on the other hand, can be fired out of any 12-gauge shotgun. The XREP ammunition was released in 2007, with the LLS released in 2009, and both were available to Law Enforcement only.

Given the high cost of the ammunition (the shells were essentially flying, self-contained stun guns good only for a single hit, and may or may not have been recyclable after use), issues with effectiveness in the field, and concerns about its ability to cause inadvertent lethalities, TASER International discontinued sales of the Taser X12 and the Taser XREP ammunition in April 2012. It is therefore unlikely that either will appear in live-action productions after that date.

Taser X12

Mossberg 590 XREP with an underbarrel X26 and XREP shells held in the stock. The underslung X26 was to allow the user of the weapon to engage a target at very close range with less of risk inadvertent lethalities, since less-lethal shotgun ammunition can possess enough force at close range to kill via blunt trauma. The picture here implies that a user would have to put his/her off hand between the shotgun's foreend and the top side of the X26 to work the pump-action.

Error creating thumbnail: File missing

The XREP ammunition in its deployed state. When fired, 4 barbs extend forward and spring-loaded fins extend to spin-stabilize the projectile even if deployed from a smoothbore shotgun. The shell even had the ability to electrify its upper body in case a target were to attempt extracting an embedded round by hand.

Specifications

Range: Max of 100'

Pulse Cycle: 20 seconds

Fire Mode: Pump-action

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Notation/Episode	Air Date
Hawaii Five-0 (2010) - Season 1	Alex O'Loughlin	Lt. Cmdr. Steve McGarrett	"Powa Maka Moani" (S1E17)
Hawaii Five-0 (2010) - Season 1	Daniel Dae Kim	Chin Ho Kelly	"Powa Maka Moani" (S1E17)
Future Weapons			"Less-Than Lethal"	11/29/07
Strike Back	Philip Winchester	Sergeant Michael Stonebridge	S03E08	2012

Taser X3/X2 Defender

Error creating thumbnail: File missing

TASER X3 Render

Error creating thumbnail: File missing

TASER X2 Defender with one cartridge partially ejected

The Taser X2 and X3 are the newest tasers on the market. They use "Smart Cartridges" which differ from those used by the M26 and the X26 by virtue of being slimmer and having the ability to emit a "warning arc" of electricity to intimidate a potential target or otherwise allow the X2 or X3 to be used in "Drive Stun" mode without needing to be fired or unloaded.

The weapon themselves have a more detailed LCD screen than the X26, dual visible aiming lasers, and a new button on the side of the gun to trigger the "warning arc," engage "Drive Stun" mode, or to keep applying electricity to any target(s) previously hit. The difference between the X2, and X3, as their names state, are the amount of cartridges they hold.

The Taser X3 was introduced in 2009 and discontinued around 2013, most likely due to its higher weight, bulk, and comparatively low sales. The Taser X2 was introduced in 2011 and currently remains in production.

Specifications

Range: 15'(Training and Civilian versions), 25', 30'

Pulse Cycle: 5 seconds

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Notation/Episode	Air Date
The Day of the Triffids (2009)	Eddie Izzard	Torrence	Episode 1	2009

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Notation	Release Date
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier	"Stun Gun"	Black finish, incorrectly shown to be single-shot	2012