Bavarian police officers have used so-called tasers more often this year than in 2020. This is evident from figures from the Interior Ministry in Munich. According to this, the stun guns, which cause brief paralysis in the nervous system, were used a total of 45 times by the end of November 2021 – including 28 times only as a threat. In 2020, according to a ministry spokesman, there were 35 missions with 29 threats throughout the year. In 2019, the ministry counted 37 missions with 25 threats. The ministry attributes the increase in the number of operations in 2021 to the fact that “based on the positive experience” it was decided at the end of 2020 to equip all support commands and all closed operations units of the state police with tasers.
According to the ministry, this currently affects around 30 units. In the parliamentary interior committee, the majority of the parliamentary groups voted in favor of expanding stun guns. Criticism, however, came in particular from the Greens: They complained that the health risks had not yet been adequately investigated. It is not enough to point out that tasers should not be used in children, pregnant women and people with a known pre-existing cardiovascular system, as the officials would not be able to recognize this in case of doubt. In Lower Saxony, a 39-year-old man died in hospital in October after the police had overpowered him with a taser.
Tasers are stun guns that cause temporary paralysis in the nervous system. Arrow electrodes fly out of the devices into the attacker’s body. Current pulses are then emitted from the cables attached to it. In Bavaria, according to the ministry, there have been no deaths or serious injuries in the past three years after the use of the so-called distance electro pulse devices (DEIG) by the police. The tasers have been tested in Bavaria since 2019, and they have also been used by special commandos since 2006.