Final Findings From the Expert Panel on the Safety of Conducted Energy Devices | National Institute of Justice

Final Findings From the Expert Panel on the Safety of Conducted Energy Devices | National Institute of Justice

At first glance, no surprises, just another study concluding that experiencing EMD is better than experiencing a beat-down.

"...The panel reviewed 300 subdual cases in which a CED was used and later the person died.

In the vast majority of these cases, the original medicolegal investigations concluded that CED exposure was not the cause of death. The panel conducted in-depth reviews of 22 of those 300 cases and reviewed approximately 175 peer-reviewed articles on the physiological effects of CEDs. The panel's report provides findings concerning death investigation, CED use, CED-related health effects and medical response to the use of CEDs. The panel determined that there is no conclusive medical evidence in the current body of research literature that indicates a high risk of serious injury or death to humans from the direct or indirect cardiovascular or metabolic effects of short-term CED exposure in healthy, non-stressed, non-intoxicated persons.

Field experience with CED use indicates that short-term exposure is safe in the vast majority of cases. According to the final report, the risk of death in a CED-related use-of-force incident in the general population is less than 0.25 percent (one in 400)."