New Research Shows Being Tased Can Cause Temporary Brain Damage
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Being tased can cause temporary brain damage. That's according to new research conducted, in part, by Drexel University.
Rob Kane, director of Drexel's Department of Criminology and Justice, says the study used healthy young men, who were tased with 50,000 volts for five seconds. He says the shock left them, on average, with the brain capacity of a 78-year-old man with mild cognitive impairment.
"For a 19 or 20-year-old young adult, college student, who is used to taking tests and reading and functioning highly in their environment, that's a pretty big decline," Kane says.
Kane adds the effect usually wore off within an hour. However, he says this raises concerns for some suspects who are questioned within an hour of being tased. And Kane says some defense attorneys are challenging statements their clients have made to police, especially when it concerns Miranda rights.
Kane says the study, conducted in conjunction with Arizona State University, is the first of it's kind, and more research should be conducted on the issue.
