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This Wednesday Bogotá woke up with news that has caused outrage among citizens. The police procedure was recorded on video in which the lawyer Javier Ordóñez, a 46-year-old man, was immobilized by two soldiers who, repeatedly, applied several electric shocks to him with a taser.
(In context: A man died in the middle of a police procedure with ‘taser’)
“Please, no more,” said the citizen each time a uniformed man triggered the electric pistol on his body. Despite the man asking them to stop and some neighbors trying to intervene, the two agents continued.
After the attack, Ordóñez was transferred to the Santa María del Lago Clinic, where he died.
What are the effects of taser shocks on the body?
To answer this question, we reproduce a text by Dr. Carlos Francisco Fernández, editor of the El Tiempo Health Unit, which was written in 2014 when it was announced that the police quadrants in Bogotá would have 100 of these electric guns:
If it is about uses such as the one that the authorities seek to give to Tasers (or electric guns), it is necessary to start by understanding that the effect of the electric current depends on its intensity, and not on the voltage. A shock is considered to have serious effects on the body when it is above 50 milliamps.
When low currents of 1 milliamp are applied to the human body, they will produce a slight tingling in the contact area. Applying currents between 1 and 10 milliamps can cause muscle contractions (even in large, supportive structures such as the leg or arm muscles), which are seen as involuntary movements. If the contact is maintained, the permanent contraction is identified as a paralysis. With these currents, there would be no harmful effects on health in short exposures.
(We recommend you read: The story of relatives and friends of a victim of police procedure)
Starting at intensities of 50 milliamps, contractions can affect all muscles, including the respiratory muscles. If the contact is prolonged, suffocation can occur due to sustained contraction of the muscles of respiration which, consequently, can lead to cardiac arrest.
Alternating current discharges are definitely lethal, and with contact of at least one second, with intensities between 75 and 100 milliamps. They make the heart alter its rhythm and produce what is known as ventricular fibrillation (the heart is unable to pump blood), which is incompatible with life, even if the contact is for a minimum time.
In this sense, the important thing is to know the intensity of the current that a Taser applies to the human body. It is a figure that never appears when talking about this instrument.
(Also: Prosecutor’s Office prioritized investigation for the death of a lawyer in Bogotá)
It is worth noting that intensities of between 2 and 5 milliamps (which is what this gun is believed to discharge), would not be lethal in theory; However, in susceptible people (such as those with cardiac risk factors, arrhythmias or who use pacemakers) can cause serious alterations.
It must be taken into account that if the current, even of low intensity, is applied directly and at a short distance to structures such as the eyes, neck, ears and even some mucous membranes, such as the mouth, or fragile structures, such as the genitals. , the damage can be severe.
In this regard, it should be remembered that in August 2013, the 18-year-old Colombian graffiti artist Israel Hernández-Llach died after receiving, during an arrest attempt, a shot from a Taser pistol fired by a member of the Miami Beach Police Force , Florida (United States).
‘Reefa’, as he was known, died of cardiac arrest following the “discharge of the energy device”, according to forensic reports. The controversial case that was presented at that time and now with the one that happened in Bogotá this Wednesday reopens the debate on the excessive use of force by the authorities for the carrying of this type of weapon.
(You might be interested in: The short circuit between the mayor and the Police)
CARLOS FRANCISCO FERNÁNDEZ
Health Unit Editor
