Are Tasers harmless? Tell that to the dead...

dossier

“In Frankfurt, a 49-year-old man died a few days after a police operation in which he was incapacitated with a Taser in his apartment in Ostend. As Nadja Niesen, spokeswoman for the Frankfurt public prosecutor's office, confirmed to the Frankfurter Rundschau, two police officers are being investigated in the case on suspicion of bodily harm resulting in death while in office..." - from theReport “Man dies after police use Taser” by Pitt v. Bebenburg and Hanning Voigts on May 11, 2019 in the FR online , which is just one of many and increasing... See our dossier on Tasers in Germany also articles about other (death) victims as well as about (fairly old) protests against the introduction and cynical reactions from authorities and those responsible in the state governments:

• After the death of Ibrahima Barry in police custody, the trial begins against 9 police officers - only for grievous bodily harm while in office
  • Duisburg regional court refuses to provide information about the death of Ibrahima Barry - the public prosecutor's office is preparing a carte blanche for the police
    "On September 25th, the Duisburg regional court concluded its evidence in the trial against nine police officers. This was followed by the pleadings from senior public prosecutor Ermisch, from nine of the 18 defense lawyers for the accused police officers and from the co-plaintiff Andrea Groß-Bölting. On Wednesday, September 30th, the remaining pleadings from the defense and the co-prosecution will be held, and the verdict is also expected for the next day of the trial. The nine Police officers are accused by the LG Duisburg of bodily harm in the office of Ibrahima Barry. In the main hearing, there were serious indications that the police operation on January 6, 2024 in the refugee accommodation in Mülheim/Ruhr was unlawful and was the cause of the death of the 23-year-old man from Guinea. However, the Duisburg regional court refused to provide proper information by introducing video processing The court also rejects the assessment of the renowned US forensic scientist Dr. Michael Freeman, who clearly sees this police operation as a homicide. The full videos from the body cameras show a different situation than described in the indictment: When the police arrive, the police escalate the situation by using the electric shock gun (Taser) against him. Later he is hit on the head with the Taser, Tasered again, put in a prone position, his arms and legs tied and a “spit hood” tied over his back.A police officer kneels for minutes on the back of Ibrahima Barry, who is tied up in a “hog tie”. She takes away his breath and only stops after being asked twice by a colleague. Another officer puts pressure on the feet that are tied up behind them. Ibrahima Barry's head is also temporarily pushed down. After 14 minutes in this position, Ibrahima Barry lost consciousness and his resuscitation by paramedics in the ambulance was unsuccessful. Applications for evidence that this type of restraint is known to cause position-related suffocation after a short period of time will not be admitted in the Duisburg Regional Court. (…) In their pleadings, the prosecution and defense then deny the causal connection between Ibrahima Barry’s death and the brutal police operation – this is “political ideology”. They reject the additional complaint's reference to structural racism within the police as an infamous insult. The public prosecutor's office saw no evidence of a conviction in its plea on September 25th. Your blatant assessment that the actions of the nine police officers on January 6, 2024 were the “mildest means” is evidence of the lack of distance between the police and the public prosecutor’s office. It also shows in a shocking way the disregard for the dignity, right to life and physical integrity of the deceased..."Report from September 29, 2026 from the Fundamental Rights Committee 
  • Trial against nine police officers in Düsseldorf over the death of Ibrahima Barry: Report on the death of a refugee Guinean incriminates police officers
    “In the trial against nine police officers in Düsseldorf over the death of Ibrahima Barry, Forensic Architecture provides new evidence for allegations made by the co-plaintiff.
    On Thursday, the trial surrounding the death of refugee Ibrahima Barry continued before the Duisburg regional court. Four police officers and five police officers have been charged with grievous bodily harm while in office. They continually shouted condescendingly at the then 23-year-old Guinean in the so-called refugee village of Saarn in Mülheim an der Ruhr, tasered him twice and forcibly restrained him until his death. The fact that it was this binding that led to Barry's death is now proven by a report that the co-plaintiffs' lawyers Anna Busl and Andrea Groß-Bölting presented at a press conference on Thursday evening. The police officers had fixed the whimpering young man in the so-called “hogtie” position for a long period of time and tied his hands and feet in a prone position and tied them together on his back. (…)
    An alleged self-defense situation no longer existed at the latest when one of the defendants reported by radio to headquarters that the situation was under control. From then on, according to doctrine, Barry should have been placed in a sitting or side position. Instead, the officers stood around him for more than ten minutes, as the bodycam footage shows - without reacting to his hyperventilation, his voice becoming quieter or his defecation. “He shit himself,” officials can be heard grinning. Two of them then pull up Barry's pants. At least the paramedics should have known that such defecation indicates impending suffocation.
    Accepted Barry's death?
    The co-plaintiff argues that the aggressive restraint and the prone position for over ten minutes were the cause of death. »But this also raises the question of whether the defendants at least accepted Barry's death. After all, position-related suffocation is part of the training and the dangers of being tied up in the prone position are therefore known," says co-plaintiff Busl to "nd."…”Article by Matthias Monroy from August 28, 2026 in ND online 
  • After Ibrahima Barry's death: officials remain silent in court. The prosecution accuses them of unlawful and dangerous bondage, but does not see any guilt in the death - an explosive legal contradiction
    "After the death of the refugee Ibrahima Barry during a police operation in Mülheim an der Ruhr, nine police officers have had to answer before the Duisburg regional court since Wednesday. The charge is common grievous bodily harm in office. The five police officers and four policewomen are said to have tied Barry's hands and feet on January 6, 2024 and then connected both restraints with cable ties on his back. According to the prosecution, this additional connection was justified neither under the Police Act nor under the Criminal Code. (…) The prosecution states that the cause of death was a combination of position-related suffocation, a heart attack, the influence of cocaine, a state of excitement and a lung disease. The classification of the case is also controversial because, although the public prosecutor's office considers the restraint to be unlawful, the prosecution states that the death would have occurred even if the defendants had not carried out the additional restraint Responsibility for death is likely to be a central point in the proceedings. It is difficult for the relatives to understand. They reject the claim that Ibrahima Barry had serious previous illnesses. The question also arises from a human rights perspective as to how deaths following police operations are assessed as unlawful, but the death is separated from it under criminal law (…) The parents and sister of the deceased traveled from Guinea to the start of the trial.According to media reports, there were previously problems with the family entering the country; the sister was initially refused a visa. Only after a lawsuit, a petition to the Bundestag and support from the Guinean embassy was she allowed to enter the country for the trial. (…) Such cases have a further meaning for black people, refugees and other minorities. Human rights organizations and advice centers have been pointing out for years that racist attributions, patterns of suspicion and power imbalances can play a role in police contacts. There is currently no evidence of a racist motive for the specific operation in Mülheim. However, studies indicate that police operations are often prepared and carried out differently if those involved are assigned to certain ethnic groups. The 6th Criminal Chamber of the Duisburg Regional Court has scheduled eleven more days of hearings for the trial until September 9th.” Report from June 24, 2026 in MiGAZIN 
  • Nine police officers in court after fatal operation: The trial begins after the death of Ibrahima Barry in police custody. The officers are only accused of causing serious bodily harm while in office
    "The trial in the death of Ibrahima Barry from Mülheim an der Ruhr began on Wednesday morning. Nine police officers have to answer before the Duisburg regional court for the death of the young Guinean almost two and a half years ago. However, the charge is not manslaughter, but only dangerous bodily harm in office. Specifically, the accused are accused of tying up the fugitive's hands and feet in his accommodation at the beginning of 2024, which he allegedly provoked himself, and then tying both of them up The Taser apparently had no effect beforehand, it was said (…) That day he was also said to have been under the influence of cocaine and was suffering from chronic lung problems. The official cause of death is: “Combination of a recent heart attack and position-related suffocation.” Ibrahima Barry died of a heart attack and other complications in the ambulance (…) Police scientist Thomas Feltes told WDR that there was a risk of such a Restraints are not new, but have been known for around 30 years. Nevertheless, the Duisburg public prosecutor's office considers restraining them to the ground without then getting them upright to be unjustified, disproportionate and potentially life-threatening. Nevertheless, according to the prosecution, the officers involved should have been aware that the type of restraint could be life-threatening.For the “Justice 4 Ibrahima” initiative, however, it is clear that Ibrahima Barry would almost certainly still be alive if this police operation had not taken place. The Initiative wonders how it is that the police officers are not on trial for Barry's death. "Ibrahima was tasered twice and tied to the ground in a dehumanizing manner so that he died," it said. Article by David Bieber from June 24, 2026 in New Germany online 
  • Being tied up by the police: Why there is a risk of suffocation when lying on your stomach. A man from Mülheim is dead. One from Cologne is in a coma. Both were handcuffed by the police in a prone position
    "In January 2024, the police are called to a facility for refugees in Mülheim. A man is said to have rioted in his room, 31-year-old Ibrahima Barry. He fought back and fled into the inner courtyard of the facility. He shouted to a security service employee, "I'll kill you," and he bit officers. Finally, the police officers tied Ibrahima Barry's hands behind her back. Then they also connected his feet to the handcuffs with cable ties. When Barry was taken to an ambulance, there was no pulse. According to the Duisburg public prosecutor's office, Ibrahima Barry suffered a combination of a heart attack and position-related suffocation. A trial against nine police officers will begin next Wednesday at the Duisburg regional court. The Duisburg public prosecutor's office accuses the nine defendants of common grievous bodily harm while in office. At the time of the crime they were working at the Mülheim an der Ruhr station. (…) In order to avoid cardiac arrest, a person who has been tied up in a prone position must be stood up after a few minutes, according to police scientist Prof. Thomas Feltes. He has been dealing with so-called position-related suffocation for many years. Back in the 90s he worked on a training video for police training. It explains in detail how the risk of death from suffocation can be minimized. “The topic is not new, it has been known for 30 years,” says Feltes. It is all the more incomprehensible that police operations continue to take place in such a way that people die when they are tied up in a prone position for a long time.During the trial, the Duisburg public prosecutor's office wants to clarify whether the nine defendants caused Ibrahima Barry's death negligently or whether they acted with intent. The public prosecutor's office assumes that the officers involved should have known, based on their training, that the type of restraint was life-threatening for Ibrahima Barry. (…) At the beginning of April 2026, however, a police operation in Cologne also escalated. 30-year-old Pedro Corona has been in a coma ever since. The man, who comes from Venezuela, was apparently delusional. Friends and family had decided that he should be admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Since he was unreasonable, the police were called. In his room, Pedro Corona fought violently. (…) According to eyewitnesses, he is then carried out of the house by the police in a prone position and placed on a lounger with a spit mask over his head. Friends notice that his neck has turned blue. He has to be resuscitated and is taken to hospital and put into an induced coma. According to information from Westpol, his condition is very unlikely to improve. When asked in mid-June, the Cologne public prosecutor's office initially stated that there had been no evidence of excessive police violence that was not covered by the law. (…) But WDR research paints a different picture. (…) Confronted with these research results, the Cologne public prosecutor's office responded. that she would like to re-examine her previous findings and compare them with the new information that was previously unknown to her.For the first time, the investigators now want to look at the hospital report that was prepared when Pedro Corona was admitted…” Contribution by Jonas Helm and Alexa Höber from June 22, 2026 on WDR 
    • The MONITOR report from May 27, 2026 is worth seeing“Secretly hired: How violent police officers were protected from criminal proceedings” 
  • See the backstory here below
• Taser operations in 2024: Police electric weapons on the rise across Germany
  “The number of Taser deployments by German police authorities increased again in 2024 - the reason is probably the introduction into patrol services in other countries.
  Police in Germany used Tasers in at least 1,235 cases in 2024 - a further increase compared to the 1,171 shots fired the previous year. This was the result of a query by the “nd” to the 16 state authorities and the federal police. The figures for 2025 also show an increase, although not all of them are yet available for all federal states. (…)
  Tasers are now also part of the general equipment in Hesse and Berlin. At the beginning of the year, Baden-Württemberg decided on a two-year test phase. In Saxony-Anhalt, the state parliament also agreed in March on the early introduction of Tasers as an additional means of use in patrol work - especially in crowds. Last week, Bavaria also launched a six-month pilot project for nationwide use in three police stations. According to the Interior Ministry, the background is the increase in the number of operational situations with threats of violence and physical attacks. Since 2021, closed units such as the Bavarian Police Support Command have been allowed to use Tasers - they do so often: in 2023, Bavaria already recorded 100 operations.
  The federal police are also about to introduce thousands of Tasers across the board: the Bundestag approved a corresponding federal government project last October. Here, too, there was a multi-year pilot project in individual directorates in Berlin…”Article by Matthias Monroy from June 15, 2026 in ND online and more about it:
  • Statistics on police firearm use: New highs in police shootings and Taser deployments
    "More injuries and many more deaths from police shooting, plus more Taser deployments: Current figures from the federal and state governments show that the use of police distance weapons is increasing significantly. This refutes the arguments of Taser supporters.
    The police in the 16 federal states used iBarrysm firearms more frequently last year. Last year, officers shot people in 77 operations (2024: 74, 2023: 65, 2022: 60). People were injured in 46 cases. In 2024 there were 37 injured, in the previous year 33. Most of the shots fired against people were officially in self-defense situations; in second place is “preventing escape if a crime or an equivalent offense is suspected”. The number of warning shots also continued to rise to 50 cases.
    The number of people killed in police operations, however, fell again - but only to the usual level: according to official counts, a total of 16 people died in 2025. In 2024, police officers shot 21 people, which was the highest number since the nationwide recording of police shots began in 1984. (…)
    Until two years ago, the annual statistics were only accessible through press inquiries or requests under the Freedom of Information Act (IFG). The IMK is now also publishing it on its website; Since last week it has also been available there for 2025.
    Alternative documentation provides additional details
    Since 1976, the magazine “CILIP – Civil Rights & Police” has also kept a chronology of fatal police shootings. A total of 17 deaths will be counted there for 2025. The deviation from the authorities' figures could be due to the fact that a death investigation has not yet been completed. It can happen that a person is hit by a police shot but ultimately dies from other injuries. This can hardly be verified from the outside: unlike CILIP, DhPol does not publish any details about its figures. (…)
    Sharp increase in the use of firearms in exceptional psychological situations
    Many police shots are directed against people in exceptional psychological situations. According to an analysis by CILIP, their share of the total number of people killed by police shots has increased significantly in recent decades. In the five years from 1976 to 1980 this was less than six percent. In the period from 2019 to 2023 it was already 47 percent. (…)
    More and more Taser deployments in Germany
    In addition to the use of firearms, the magazine CILIP also documents fatal Taser operations. Eleven such cases have been registered since 2018. However, according to official reports and autopsy reports, the electric weapon was not the direct cause of death in any of these cases: instead, those affected mostly died of cardiac arrest or circulatory failure. More and more federal states are no longer only using Tasers in special units, but also in regular patrol service. The first included Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen - but only in Bremerhaven - and Saarland. Tasers are now also part of the regular equipment in Hesse and Berlin. (…)
    Tasers are not an alternative
    Interior ministers and police unions justify the widespread use of Tasers in more and more federal states and also in the federal police by saying that they are an alternative to firearms. At the beginning of the year, Baden-Württemberg also decided on a two-year test phase. In Saxony-Anhalt, the state parliament also agreed in March to introduce additional equipment in patrol services - also for operations in crowds. According to research by CILIP and “nd”, Tasers are not such an alternative – on the contrary. Firearms operations with more and more injuries and still many deaths, as well as the increasing use of Tasers, indicate that more and more police officers have an additional and sometimes deadly weapon at their disposal. This particularly affects people in exceptional psychological situations…”Article by Matthias Monroy from June 22, 2026 in Netzpolitik 
• Taser test in Baden-Württemberg: electricity instead of conversation
  “Last week, the Baden-Württemberg police started a two-year test run with a new weapon: the Taser. It should be used on people for whom the health risk is greatest. (…)
  “We are convinced that this tool offers an option to solve many situations that still have to be solved conventionally in a different way,” said Uwe Oldenburg, Police Vice President in Freiburg, about the new weapon in the arsenal. On Friday, January 16th, it was presented to the press at the police training center in nearby Umkirch, with State Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) there. 40 such “distance electrical impulse devices” with the brand name “Taser 7” from Axon were purchased - so far only the special operations command (SEK) in Baden-Württemberg was equipped with them. In addition to the Freiburg police, the evidence preservation and arrest unit in Göppingen and the police officers in Weil am Rhein and Titisee-Neustadt are now also carrying Tasers in a two-year test phase.
  They look like yellow toy guns, but are a lot more dangerous. (…)
  The focus of this exercise is on demonstrating the Taser. What is noticeable, however, is that the officers didn't talk to their counterparts very much.
  Police scientist Rafael Behr certainly sees a problem here: “The Taser is used when the officers have previously spoken or used pepper spray or a baton at most.” The fact that the Taser is not intended to replace firearms is also emphasized by Baden-Württemberg's Interior Minister Strobl, who explains that Tasers are not suitable for warding off attacks with knives or other weapons in dynamic operational situations. The firearm remains the weapon of choice.
  Does the Taser lower the inhibition threshold to use a weapon instead of de-escalating? Oldenburg disagrees: “De-escalation is above all else.” In Great Britain, however, there are opposite experiences, as the criminologist and chief detective Tom Kattenberg describes in his essay. "According to a report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, about a third of Taser deployments analyzed missed the opportunity to take initial de-escalatory action. This suggests that the Taser is often used prematurely, without first resorting to less invasive means - such as communication or simple physical force."
  Free shot against psychiatric patients?
  When asked by context, Kattenberg explains: "There are situations in which the Taser has a de-escalating effect and may prevent more serious events - for example, if the threat alone leads to cooperation. At the same time, it can promote escalations, especially for people in exceptional psychological situations who perceive the use as extremely threatening." Guntram Lottmann, regional head of the police union (GdP), would like Taser to be used, especially against people in psychological crises: He would have liked to have the weapon tested in Winnenden because the large psychiatric hospital there has a particular impact on the number of violence against police officers. Police scientist Behr is horrified by such statements. That sounds like a free shot against psychiatric patients. “I think that’s morally underground.”
  The Freiburg police are not far away from the demands of the police unionists. Thomas Link explicitly names people who are in exceptional psychological situations or who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs as the group against which the Taser should be used. These are precisely the groups in which there is evidence of an increased risk of serious side effects when using the Taser...”Article by Fabian Kienert from January 21st, 2026 in the context weekly newspaper and to that:
  • The police in Freiburg now also have Tasers: “More and more weapons are being purchased to ward off manufactured violence.”
    “In many federal states they are already a reality for the police: Tasers, in which the police use a type of pistol that shoots two arrows so that 50,000 volts hit the body of the person in question. They were already used in Rhineland Palatinate in 2018. They are now also being tested in Baden-Württemberg. Namely at the police headquarters in Göppingen and at the police headquarters in Freiburg. The test at the police headquarters in Göppingen involves equipping an evidence preservation and arrest unit (BFE) with Tasers on a test basis. According to the police, the focus is on support operations at regional police headquarters. (…) We spoke to police scientist Professor Rafael Behr about our experiences with Tasers.”Interview on January 16, 2026 on Radio Dreyeckland 
• “The Taser is an additional means of inflicting pain”: Comprehensive introduction of Tasers planned in North Rhine-Westphalia – directly after the “Bochum case”
  "North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) recently informed the state parliament about the new social scientific and tactical-technical report on the use of Tasers. (...) The results of the researchers from the Berlin School of Economics and Law, the Research Institute for Public and Private Security Berlin and the University of Police in North Rhine-Westphalia were eagerly awaited and are now available. They confirm that the Taser has a very high level of acceptance by the police. (...)
  Rafael Behr, police researcher at the Hamburg Police Academy, has strong concerns about the Taser and says in an interview with "nd": "The report from the Berlin School of Economics and Law does not deal with the Taser itself, but with its effect on the population and within the police." The public's perception is unspectacular. It is not surprising that police officers are in favor of its use, as the Taser suggests increasing superiority and assertiveness from a distance. In short: "He supports the police officers' dominant position in the conflict." They also no longer have to get close to their clientele. It is not the police's "mildest weapon; it is even considered a weapon," says Behr. If people now say that pepper spray and batons should be used less often and that the Taser should be used instead, then police intervention begins with the use of weapons. According to Behr, the police officer's former “strongest weapon,” the word, then gives way to the weapon. "I suspect that if it is introduced across the board, there will also be a nationwide reduction in police communication and more frequent use in situations that are simply 'shortened' verbally."
  The experts also made it clear that the police officers must communicate adequately in appropriate operational situations. According to the researchers, officers often used the Taser in situations where it was not necessary. The rules for use would therefore have to be more specific. But this requires changes to the police law - politics has a role to play here. “The Taser is used when it’s not necessary,” says Behr. It is “not an alternative to a firearm, but rather an independent and additional means of inflicting pain.” And, contrary to the opinion of the unions, the Taser “does not close any gap between the multi-purpose baton and the firearm.” Rather, it gives the police an additional opportunity to use force from a distance. In the case of knife attacks, for example, the Taser is always “protected” by a firearm; if it doesn't work, you'll shoot immediately.
  Behr cites the case from Bochum last weekend, where the police shot a twelve-year-old girl with a Taser and a gun at the same time. "We didn't wait for the Taser to take effect." The reports and police researchers also make it clear to Behr that the successful use of the Taser is subject to certain conditions. “The person affected must appear to be healthy, he must not be on drugs, he must not be wearing clothing that is too thick, he must not turn away - all conditions that the police cannot control,” says Behr. In other words: The Taser only works under “ideal operating conditions.” The experts write that around every fourth shot is a missed or ineffective shot. The NRW report also shows that the Taser lowers the inhibition threshold for using violence. “If you know that you won’t leave any lasting traces, it is much more likely and easier for people to be exposed to violence than if you know that a shot can cause irreversible damage,” says Behr.” Article by David Bieber from November 21, 2025 in New Germany online (“The Taser is an additional means of inflicting pain”: Comprehensive introduction of Tasers planned in North Rhine-Westphalia”)
  • Be sure to also note the dossier:Bochum police injured a deaf twelve-year-old with 2 kitchen knives after forcible entry into the apartment with a Taser and a firearm
• The Federal Cabinet approved the draft law for the nationwide introduction of the more than “controversial” Tasers in the federal police
  • Federal Cabinet: Taser for all federal police officers
    “After a five-year test phase, the Federal Police will be equipped with electrical impulse devices across the board. Minister Dobrindt promises more security.
    In the future, the federal police will receive distance electrical impulse devices nationwide. TheThe Federal Cabinet approved a bill by Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), which enables the nationwide introduction of the devices known colloquially as Tasers. The draft law amending the “Law on the Exercise of Direct Coercion by Federal Law Enforcement Officers” creates the legal basis. Distance electrical impulse devices are now officially included in the list of approved police resources…”Article by Andreas Donath from July 24, 2025 in Golem 
  • Interior Ministry plans: Why the use of Tasers is controversial
    “They cause pain and those hit are temporarily paralyzed: Tasers are controversial in police work. Federal Interior Minister Dobrindt still wants to equip the federal police with it. What is it about? The use of Tasers is controversial. Now federal police officers should be able to use them across the board in the future. The black-red federal cabinet passed a corresponding draft law. The Bundestag still has to vote on it…”FAQ from July 23, 2025 in tagesschau.de 
• Charges against nine police officers after the death of Ibrahima Barry: Essen officers should only go to court because of restraint technology
  “The Duisburg public prosecutor's office accuses five police officers and four policewomen at a station in Mülheim an der Ruhr of common grievous bodily harm while in office. The nine officers were involved in an operation on January 6, 2024, in which 23-year-old Ibrahima Barry died. As a court spokesman confirmed to "nd", the relevant indictment has been before the Duisburg regional court since March. The suspicion of dangerous bodily harm resulting in death initially expressed by the investigators is therefore off the table. The “WAZ” had already reported on this on Wednesday.
  The focus of the indictment is the restraint of the refugee from Guinea during his arrest. The judiciary accuses the police officers of having tied Barry up in a way that was life-threatening. "The public prosecutor's office assumes that this type of restraint was disproportionate and unjustified," said a statement from the Duisburg regional court responsible for Mülheim. Specifically, they are said to have secured Barry's arms behind his back "using the handcuffs provided by the company" and his legs additionally with cable ties. In addition, the police officers tied the two restraints together - which is said to have caused the young man considerable pain. According to the prosecution, they were aware of the potential danger to life of this method of restraint. (…)
  “During the arrest situation, the defendants are said to have attempted twice to influence the injured party using the distance electrical impulse device,” writes the regional court. However, these taser attacks had no effect whatsoever, so the use of the weapon no longer plays a role in the prosecution. The report does not say whether the electrodes attached to arrows also hit the 23-year-old. Detailed investigation results into the Taser shots remain under wraps, reports the “WAZ”. (…)
  The solidarity group “Justice for Ibrahima” sharply criticizes the accusation and sees it as a trivialization of the events. The activists cannot understand why the public prosecutor does not see a direct connection between the police operation and Barry's death. »Without being tased and pinned to the ground, Ibrahima simply would not have died that day. How can one not see a causal connection between the actions of the police and Ibrahima's death?" says the group "nd". She calls for a complete investigation and asks the question why the double use of a Taser with 50,000 volts plays practically no role in the indictment, even though electric shock weapons are known to be able to cause cardiac arrest.
  The defendants actually come from the Essen police headquarters; at the time of the crime they were working at the station in Mülheim. The Duisburg regional court will hear your case before the 6th major criminal chamber. However, the prosecution has not yet been admitted. It is therefore still unclear when the process will begin.”Article by Matthias Monroy from July 17, 2025 in ND online – see the history here below
• Dobrindt's Taser initiative will not only normalize significant police violence: de-escalation instead of stun guns
  “The introduction of Tasers will not only continue to normalize significant police violence in this country, but is also damn dangerous
  The authoritarian turnaround in this country is also progressing gradually but surely. The government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has already turned a number of adjustments towards authoritarianism in a very short space of time and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt is particularly diligent: While the CSU politician himself does not adhere to law and order when it comes to his illegal rejections and even ignores a court ruling, he now wants to equip the federal police responsible for border protection with electric stun guns across the board. Mind you, at the same time that Merz “no longer wants to talk with his nose turned up” about Donald Trump, who is currently using soldiers to put down protests against deportations in L.A. Even if we are not there yet: the introduction of Tasers will not only continue to normalize significant police violence in this country, but is also damn dangerous. Because nothing about the stun guns is harmless - as numerous deaths after operations by four state police have already shown. Actually, Tasers should not be used against older people, people with heart or lung problems, under the influence of drugs or in exceptional psychological situations. In fact, heart and lung diseases cannot be detected from the outside in complex operational situations, and despite the risks, the police have often used electric shockers against people on drugs or in exceptional psychological situations - with devastating consequences, especially for marginalized groups such as homeless people, refugees, addicts and mentally ill people. As research and studies show, the Taser is a risky weapon that creates new problems, not the mild panacea that manufacturers market it as.What is needed, on the other hand: a broader network of psychosocial care, better equipment for crisis services, more de-escalation training for the police - and an interior minister interested in the rule of law. Comment by Gareth Joswig from June 9, 2025 in the taz online (“Dobrindt’s Taser initiative: de-escalation instead of stun guns”)
• Public statistics for the first time: Taser use is increasing significantly. Very often these take place without the willingness of those affected to use violence, often against mentally ill people
  "... The state and federal police forces are triggering Tasers more and more often. From 2021 to 2023, these numbers have more than doubled to a total of 1,171 deployments. This is shown by official statistics that were published for the first time this week by the magazine Civil Rights & Police/Cilip. By no means all deployments of these “distance electrical impulse devices” (DEIG) are carried out to avert a threat to life and limb: According to the documentation, there were 662 of those affected last year cases unarmed. Tasers use high gas pressure to fire two electrodes attached to wires that penetrate the skin. If both arrows hit, an electric pulse of up to 50,000 volts causes muscle spasms in the victim. In “contact mode” the Taser is held directly against the target person’s body without firing the arrows. From a police perspective, the supposedly “non-lethal weapon” is not risk-free: it should not be used on older people, pregnant women and people with health problems. (…) The DHPol also documents injuries to tasered people in its annual statistics - these occur in almost half of all cases. These are usually superficial skin injuries caused by the arrows or burns caused by the electrodes. In a higher double-digit number of cases, people injured themselves by falling after muscle cramps occurred. The statistics also mention whether medical care was subsequently necessary. In 229 cases, people were treated on an outpatient basis in 2023, but several dozen times they were also admitted to inpatient care.Apparently the weapon is often drawn against mentally ill people: a good fifth of all Taser victims (254 people) were taken to psychiatric facilities as a deprivation of liberty in accordance with the federal states' "mentally ill laws". (…) There is no column for deaths after Taser use in the statistics - because according to the official reading, there is no such thing. Cilip has documented eleven Taser deaths since 2018. The official cause of death was given as heart problems, drug or alcohol consumption and exceptional psychological situations. Most of the time - but not always - any connection with the Taser was ruled out. Most recently, on Wednesday, a 67-year-old man who was allegedly “known to the police” was almost fatally tasered by police in Wuppertal. The incident occurred after police were alerted to an argument in the pedestrian zone. The man is said to have been carrying a knife. According to the public prosecutor’s office, “as part of the police operation,” he “required resuscitation.” Contribution by Matthias Monroy from May 9, 2025 at Netzpolitik.org 
• Law enforcement agencies around the world misuse stun guns and electric batons, thereby committing serious human rights violations
  "States and companies produce, advertise and sell electric shock devices that are used for torture and other ill-treatment, Amnesty International says in a new report. The human rights organization is calling for a global legally binding agreement to regulate the uncontrolled production and trade of police equipment. In Germany, a number of companies also sell electric shock devices for the German or European market. In the Federal Republic there have been at least ten deaths in connection with the use of Tasers by police since 2021.
  The report, “I Still Can’t Sleep at Night – The Global Abuse of Electric Shock Equipment,” documents how law enforcement agencies around the world use stun guns and electric batons to commit serious human rights violations. Amnesty International conducted investigations in over 40 countries in all regions of the world between 2014 and 2024. The report documents cases of torture and other ill-treatment using electric shock devices. The weapons are used at demonstrations, in border security, in reception camps for migrants and refugees, in psychiatric clinics, in police patrol services, at police stations and in prisons. Direct-contact electric shock devices, which deliver painful electric shocks at the push of a button, are used worldwide against demonstrators, students, political opponents and human rights defenders. Use can result in death or serious suffering, such as long-term physical disability and psychological distress. Those affected suffer burns, numbness, miscarriages, urinary disorders, insomnia, exhaustion or severe trauma. (��) Mathias John, arms expert at Amnesty International in Germany, says: "Tasers are used against people who are not violent - for example, to force them to follow the instructions of the authorities. They are often used unnecessarily against particularly vulnerable people, for example against people with possible pre-existing somatic illnesses or mental illnesses. This leads to serious injuries and in some cases even death - including here in Germany.At least the surface use of these weapons – the so-called contact mode – should be banned.” (…) In Germany, where more and more federal states are creating legal bases for the use of Tasers through amended police laws, among other things, at least ten deaths have been documented in connection with the use of DEIG since 2021. Most cases affected people in psychological crises or under the influence of drugs, but also people with previous cardiovascular diseases. John says: "The threshold for use of Tasers must be set very high given the high risk of primary and secondary injury. They should only be used when there is a risk of life or serious injury that cannot be averted by less drastic measures." (…) Between 2018 and 2023, at least 197 companies from around the world manufactured or promoted electric shock devices for law enforcement agencies - most of them in countries such as China, India and the USA. According to the US company Axon Enterprise, Inc., the TASER brand models are currently used by over 18,000 law enforcement agencies in more than 80 countries. In Germany, a number of companies also sell electric shock devices - but only to the German and European markets. (…) John says: "Despite the clear human rights risks, there are no global regulations to control the production and trade of stun devices. We urgently need a global legally binding agreement that bans stun devices and strictly controls the trade in stun devices.Companies should take strict measures to respect human rights and limit harm. They must ensure that their products and services are not systematically used for torture and other ill-treatment. Electric shock devices that can only be used in contact mode should no longer be produced.” Amnesty International is working with a global civil society network of over 80 organizations worldwide to negotiate a Torture-Free Trade Agreement that would impose global bans and controls on a wide range of police equipment, including stun guns.” Press release dated March 6, 2025 from Amnesty International (“Global: Law enforcement agencies misuse electric shock devices”) to the English-language study “I Still Can’t Sleep at Night – The Global Abuse of Electric Shock Equipment“
• Thousands of Taser deployments nationwide. Authorities see ten deaths as unrelated, but Ibrahim Barry is still being investigated
  “In Germany, the police have been using so-called “distance electro-impulse devices” since the turn of the millennium. In Baden-Württemberg, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, only special units are equipped with it. In the other federal states, the devices known as Tasers are gradually being introduced into patrol services. This normalizes a comparatively new weapon that the police like to describe as a non-lethal alternative to the pistol.
  Where they are already present in everyday police work, Tasers are being used more and more often, as a dpa survey for 2024 recently showed. However, only figures excluding the fourth quarter are recorded there. The “nd” received more precise data from the federal states via freedom of information requests for 2023. This shows that in over two thirds of all cases the threat of shooting was sufficient.
  In North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous federal state, Tasers were used in 1,348 cases, of which 1,087 were pure threats. There were 393 missions in Rhineland-Palatinate, 335 of which were threats. There were 31 Taser deployments in Saarland, and 15 times the mere sight of it was enough. Bavaria reported a total of 102 missions for 2023, and the threat was usually enough. The police in Brandenburg pulled out their Tasers in 252 cases in 2023. (…)
  The most Tasers are currently in North Rhine-Westphalia. After completing a pilot project and a coalition agreement between the CDU and the Greens, at least 1,360 devices have been procured from 2022; the total cost, including training, is 8.5 million euros. (…)
  From a police perspective, the weapon is not without risk; It can be fatal in the elderly, pregnant women and people with health problems and should therefore be usednot be used . However, the rule turns out to be useless because in most cases the police are not aware of previous illnesses of those affected before the operation.
  One in November in the Düsseldorf state parliamentpresented report For the use of Tasers, consequential health effects are “rare overall and usually less severe than, for example, after the use of firearms, but they can occur.” In most cases, the bombardment is actually only accompanied by injuries, such as superficial skin injuries caused by the electrodes. Injuries also occur from a fall after paralysis. (…)
  Since 2018 The magazine CILIP/Civil Rights and Police registered ten deaths after Taser fire, one each in Bavaria and Lower Saxony, two in Hesse, three in Rhineland-Palatinate and three in North Rhine-Westphalia. Most incidents occurred in residential buildings, often involving people in psychological distress or under the influence of drugs. Unlike the CILIP count, the authorities did not officially attribute the cause of death to the “distance electro-impulse devices” in any of the cases. The victims died of cardiac or circulatory arrest or organ failure.
  The death investigation into Ibrahima Barry, who died in hospital in Mülheim a year ago after a police operation in his refugee accommodation, has not yet been completed. A police officer had fired two arrow shots, allegedly because Barry had "put up a lot of resistance."According to the »WAZ« Here too, the public prosecutor's office is of the opinion that the victim did not die from the Taser…”Article by Matthias Monroy from January 7th, 2025 in ND online and also:
  • Tasers kill
    “…The right-wing police union DPolG is calling for the threshold for use of Tasers to be lowered and for them to no longer be treated like firearms, but rather like pepper spray or a baton. But that would lead to even more deaths. Instead, what would be necessary is official nationwide statistics that document all cases and record the victims' previous illnesses. This could be proven: "Electric impulse devices" are not harmless weapons, but they kill.”Comment by Matthias Monroy from January 7th, 2025 in ND online 
• Police and Taser: A risky means of use with the potential to normalize police use of force
  "More and more state legislatures are introducing the Taser as an additional police tool alongside pepper spray, batons and firearms. Within the police, the Taser is largely met with approval (...) and politicians are also advocating for its widespread use. However, the progressive equipment must be rejected for a number of reasons that are often neglected in the discourse. Shooting a person with an electrical impulse device poses health risks that are difficult to control and in practice always ends in death (...). Because it is known that in a large number of cases the Taser is used as an electric shocker directly against people's bodies in order to bend their will, there is also the fear that officers will use the devices extensively in the future and that a form of considerable police use of force will gradually become normalized - not least because their use has not yet been specifically regulated in most countries, or at least only rudimentarily, in view of the fact that a fourth means of use will now be necessary in addition to the ones mentioned above In view of the risk of mishits and operational and criminal law risks, the electric impulse devices are actually and legally risky for the police officers themselves (…) If we first turn to the topic of “maintaining respect and authority” and operations against mentally ill people, it becomes clear that the gap between the baton and the firearm that the Taser claims to fill does not exist.With regard to respect and authority, these are not legal categories and therefore cannot be demanded by the police - and certainly not under the threat of immediate coercion in the form of armed force. It appears particularly worrying when the Taser is explicitly classified as a tool for dealing with conflict situations with mentally ill people. It can already be observed that police officers use direct coercion more often against mentally ill people than they do against people without psychological problems. The alleged suitability of the Taser for resolving conflicts with mentally ill people reinforces the use of force against this group of people. There is a risk that we will lose sight of the fact that this is a particularly vulnerable group whose need for protection the police must take particular into account for human rights reasons. From a practical point of view, it is also true that a large proportion of police contacts with mentally ill people can be non-violent - as long as officers receive appropriate training and education. (…) There are already practical application problems in the context of resistance crimes. The firing of arrow electrodes is not an option due to the dynamic situation and the Taser cannot demonstrate its supposed strength, namely making the person hit unable to act or move, in these cases. In fact, the Taser is likely to be used primarily as a stun gun in resistance situations.However, the electric shocks do not cause paralysis, but rather cause pain that is intended to bend the person's will. Legally, the use of a Taser in contact mode is subject to considerable concerns because it is intended to bend the will by inflicting pain...”Post by Andreas Ruch from May 29, 2024 on the Constitution Blog 
• Abolish Tasers? State politicians want to examine electric pistols after fatal use in Dortmund
  “After a fatal police operation in Dortmund, in which a Taser was also used, state politicians are discussing the weapon. The electric pistol had already been a controversial topic. (…) The CDU and the Greens ultimately agreed to continue testing the devices until 2024 and to pair them with a body camera. The Green government group in the state parliament has now called for a thorough investigation into the police operation in Dortmund-Dorstfeld. “If the man's death is related to the use of the Taser, it must be examined what consequences this has for the future use of Tasers in police operations,” said domestic policy spokeswoman Julia Höller…”Article by Lukas Wittland from October 19, 2022 in the Ruhr-Nachrichten online , see:
  • Thread by Mr. Penguin on Oct. 19, 2022 with audios : “Today, October 19th, 2022, there was the first fatality from #NRW Interior Minister #Reul #Taser upgrade of the #police in #Dortmund. In July 2020, the Ini @NoCam_Do anticipated what has happened now when introducing the supposedly “non-lethal weapons”. Documentation of the speech Part I
    The website “Truth… Not Tasers” has counted over 1,045 Taser deaths in the USA since the 1980s. Not a single one of the many US government agencies counts Taser deaths. However, one thing is certain: #Tasers are not non-lethal weapons! Speech from @NoCam_Do Part II
    The deadly policy of repression and punishment against the condemned in the cities will only stop when we stop letting it go. Out on the streets on #do1911 #defundthepolice Speech by @NoCam_Do Part III“
  • Tweet from Amnesty Police from 10/19/22 : “Another person dies in #Germany in connection with the use of a #Taser. @amnesty_de has warned against the general introduction of the devices to the #police and we continue to demand that they be abolished. #NRW #DEIG“
  • See the current background:Man dies after being hit by a Taser: another death during a police operation in Dortmund and also our dossier:NRW is vastly expanding the powers of the police and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution
• Berlin Police: Possible end to Taser operations. According to an internal email, the testing of electric shock guns should end for the time being 
  “Electrically charged arrows that are fired over a distance of up to six meters and can paralyze the nervous system of the person hit for a few seconds - shooting with a Taser not only sounds dangerous, it is. The Berlin police have been testing the so-called distance pulse devices for over five years, and according to an email, the testing is scheduled to end at the end of the year as planned. On Wednesday, the "B.Z." published parts of an internal letter from Interior State Secretary Torsten Akmann (SPD), in which he announced the end of the model experiment without an extension. The state chairman of the German Police Union (DPolG), which is considered far-right, Bodo Pfalzgraf, confirmed the internal administration's decision when asked by "nd". Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD), however, denied the rejection to the dpa and referred to the outstanding final report after the evaluation at the end of the year. Only then will “a decision be made about future use of the Taser.” Since 2017, ten Tasers each have been available to police sections 53 and 57 and eight Tasers have been available to police department 5's presence unit. While still under red-black, it was decided to test the devices until December 31, 2022 and then decide on widespread use after an evaluation. The special operations team also has electric shock guns, but these are used regularly regardless of the test run…”Article by Nora Noll from August 17, 2022 in the ND online 
• Police officers in Neumünster and Ahrensburg are starting pilot operations with electric stun guns 
  "...Police officers from the 1st precinct in Neumünster and the Ahrensburg precinct (Stormarn district) are starting a one-year test of Tasers in patrol duty. Officials are to wear the Tasers, which are clearly recognizable by their yellow signal color, in a holster on their protective vests from Monday, as the state police office announced. The police want to use the practical test to find out to what extent the electric shockers increase the police officers' self-protection. (...) According to previous information, the country has a total of 35 Electric shock guns were procured. The total cost is 225,000 euros. In addition to police officers in Neumünster and Ahrensburg, 140 officers from the special forces in Kiel will be used Body cameras. The Tasers allow current pulses of up to 50,000 volts to be used. Similar regulations apply to firearms. Agency report from August 1, 2022 in the Hamburger Abendblatt online 
• ai position paper on distance electric impulse devices
  “More and more federal states are creating - for example within the framework of amendments to police laws - the legal basis for the use of so-called distance electrical impulse devices (DEIG), colloquially known as “Tasers”. Interior authorities are increasingly making the decision to equip not only special units, but also patrol police with these weapons. Amnesty International has long warned that the risks of DEIG are very high and underestimated, despite and because of its classification as a “non-lethal” weapon. The use of distance electrical impulse devices can lead to serious injuries or even death, especially if certain risk factors such as cardiovascular problems or drug intoxication are present, which are difficult for emergency responders to recognize.The position paper from February 2019 shows the human rights risks of this weapon and names the safeguards that authorities must take before equipping the police with it. Amnesty International calls on police authorities to only implement DEIG based on a clearly defined operational need. They should only be used by special units and only in situations where the use of lethal force would otherwise be necessary…”Position paper on January 21, 2021 at Amnesty International 
• Hesse's police have 43 Tasers that incapacitate aggressive people with electric shock. For GdP regional leader Mohrherr, that is far too little 
  “… “We would like to see the devices flattened out,” said GdP state chairman Jens Mohrherr to the Frankfurter Rundschau. The Tasers have proven themselves in practice. “We are very happy that we have the Tasers,” emphasized Mohrherr. (…) Union leader Mohrherr would like every police department to be equipped with a DEIG. According to his estimate, that would be around 600 devices. According to the ministry, the Hessian police actually only have 43 Tasers. Five of these are available in each of the seven police headquarters in Hesse. Another eight devices are used for training and further education. (…) The introduction of Tasers was accompanied by fears that affected people could be killed or seriously injured. “The fear of deaths has not been confirmed at all,” states GdP leader Mohrherr. State Secretary Sauer reports that since the introduction of the first DEIGs for special units in 2005, there have been a total of two deaths “related to the time” of the operation. However, a “direct connection” with the use of the Taser was not found. The State Secretary continued that four people were injured in the almost 50 missions in 2020 and 2021. In one case, the person affected fell and sustained a laceration to his head. In three cases it is about “a superficial injury to the DEIG contact point.” Article by Pitt von Bebenburg from January 16, 2022 in the Frankfurter Rundschau online 
• Two deaths every year: Several state police forces are introducing Tasers across the board 
  “Four federal states are now purchasing electric impulse weapons for patrol work. The right-wing conservative police union DPolG declares itself to be the mastermind and is sponsored by a manufacturer. It is questionable whether the officers use less force with the new weapons, as claimed.
  Shortly after the end of a pilot project in five major cities, the state parliament in North Rhine-Westphalia received a further 4.5 million eurosdecided to procure 620 Tasers . The weapons, known by the police as “distance electro-impulse devices”, are now also to be used in twelve other cities, including Aachen, Bochum, Gütersloh, Münster and Wuppertal as well as parts of the Sauerland. Currently there areaccording to two Paderborn members of the state parliament 766 Tasers in use by the police in the largest federal state. In total, the inventory will be expanded to over 1,360 devices, with the total procurement costs amounting to 8.5 million euros. This also includes training.
  The dpa recently conducted a country surveyNumbers presented . Accordingly, the police in North Rhine-Westphalia pulled out the Taser almost 160 times in their pilot test by the end of September 2021. There were 123 threats and 31 actual shots fired