The Ministry of Justice has submitted a bill to Parliament legalising the use of tasers by authorities.
Under the bill, the police, the army, the game service and the prison department will be allowed to use tasers.
According to Phileleftheros, the Justice Ministry has conducted a study on the use and purchase of the weapon.
The taser fires two small barbed darts intended to puncture the skin and remain attached to the target. The darts are connected to the main unit by thin insulated copper wire and deliver electric current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles, causing “neuromuscular incapacitation.” The effects of a taser may only be localised pain or strong involuntary long muscle contractions, based on the mode of use and connectivity of the darts.
The taser was introduced as a less-lethal force option for police to use to subdue fleeing, belligerent, or potentially dangerous people, who would have otherwise been subjected to more lethal force options such as firearms.
However, the use of tasers has been a subject of controversy as they can cause cardiac arrhythmia in healthy subjects. Subjects with elevated heart rates associated with drug use and extreme exertion are especially likely to suffer from cardiac arrest and, if not treated immediately, sudden death.
Children, pregnant women, the elderly, very thin individuals, persons with known medical problems, such as heart disease, history of seizure, or have a pacemaker are considered at a higher risk of death.
