New Documentary Exposes the Negligence of Taser International

After Nick Berardini saw the dash cam footage of Stanley Harlan’s death, he spent the next 6 years documenting the facts surrounding the case. What he didn’t realize at the time, was that his investigation would eventually lead him to Taser International. Harlan was killed by the members of the Moberly police department in 2008, after he was stopped for drunk driving (or speeding depending on who you ask). The officers tased him for 31 seconds, which ended up killing him in front of his Missouri home.

Berardini originally intended to make a documentary about Harlan’s tragic death, but it quickly turned into an exposé on the negligence of Taser International titled, Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle. Their marketing of this “less than lethal” weapon has convinced nearly every police department in America to adopt the taser, and it has since been praised for reducing suspect injuries. However, the taser has been suspected in the deaths of over 500 people since 2001, and their manufacturer refuses to admit any culpability. They claim that tasers cannot cause death, and that their potential lethality has never been proven. This is despite the fact that Taser International has since advised police officers to not aim for the chest when they use their weapon.

Taser International also tried to stop the film’s release in 2014 by placing a subpoena on it, but the courts refused to recognize it. Is there something about their world-famous device that they don’t want the public to know?