TASER International, the company which manufacturers the stun guns used by Strathclyde Police, yesterday reported a steep plunge in profits amid continuing uncertainty over the weapon's safety.
Scotland's largest police force earlier this year became the first force north of the border to introduce the gun, which temporarily paralyses people with a 50,000-volt jolt.
But sales slumped in the third-quarterwith the US company's earnings plummeting to GBP152,000 for the three months to the end of September, compared with GBP3.4m for the same period a year earlier.
Sales fell 38-per cent to GBP6.2 amid the ongoing controversy, in which Tasers have been blamed for a growing number of accidental deaths, prompting North American police to reconsider the necessity of the devices and lawmakers to push for legislation restricting their use.
Amnesty International has alleged that more than 120 deaths in the US and Canada have been caused by Tasers since 2001. In at least 15 cases, coroners said the guns played a role in the death.
The company has consistently denied that its products are to blame in the deaths, arguing that none have been directly linked to the stun guns.
Taser, which is also under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission into the company's claims about the safety of the weapons, contends the guns have saved the lives of thousands of suspects who might otherwise have been fatally shot by police.
More than 7300 law enforcement agencies and military organisations now use Tasers worldwide, along with about 100,000 private customers.
Strathclyde Police have said the Tasers were approved for use after careful consideration of all the issues raised in the US, and widermedical and scientific research.
The majority of UK police forces are now in the process of using Tasers - which are effective at a range of up to 21ft.
Their use has caused much debate south of the border, with the Police Federation claiming about 80-per cent of its delegates were in favour of rolling out the weapon because officers often required more than "handcuffs and a truncheon".
Despite sluggish sales compared to recent years, Taser executives said they were optimistic that the safety controversy was subsiding.
Meanwhile, the company said yesterday that plaintiffs in Indiana have withdrawn a wrongful-death lawsuit against the stun-gun maker.
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