Taser

The dart fired from a TASER cartridge. This dart came from an X2 training cartridge and is slightly shorter than the standard length. There is also a even longer XP Extra Penetration dart for use against targets wearing thick clothing.

The Taser (Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle) is a less-lethal weapon manufactured by Taser International. It is used by many law enforcement agencies around the world as a way to subdue potentially dangerous targets where normally a lethal weapon would have been used. The Taser works by firing small canisters of nitrogen gas to propel two electrode darts known as "probes" up to 160 fps that can pierce clothing and will stick into the skin. Each probe has conductive wires trailing behind them to carry the electric charge from the main unit. The electric shock lasts for 5 seconds (10/30 for civilian models) and will deliver 0.02-0.04 amps which will cause neuromuscular incapacitation, in which the target's nervous system would have no control of the muscles causing instant and unavoidable incapacitation. The Taser can double as a standard stun gun by removing the cartridges, or in the case of the X2 and X3, by holding the button on the side and pressing the Taser to the intended target.

The Taser and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Air Taser Model 34000

The predecessor to the more well-known Taser M26, the Air Taser Model 34000 is the first Taser product that pioneered many features in later Taser models.

Introduced in 1994, the Model 34000 is a refinement of the earlier TASER TF-76, using compressed air instead of gunpowder to propel its probes, thereby bypassing classification as a firearm and the accompanying restrictions on who could buy and use them. It was also the first model to introduce the AFID (Anti-Felon Identification) tags stamped with the weapon's serial number that emerged whenever a cartridge (dubbed "Air Cartridges" by the manufacturer) was fired, as a means of providing evidence of use and identifying the weapon used, because conventional ballistic fingerprinting cannot be used with Tasers. The Air Taser 34000 can also be used as a conventional stun gun if cartridges are not loaded, a feature carried over to every subsequent Taser model.

When first introduced, this model did not come with any sights at all, but an external laser sight accessory eventually became commercially available. Its power source, fitting its early-1990s origins, was a 9-volt battery. Able to muster only 5 watts of power, the Air Taser in the field occasionally had trouble at incapacitating targets, or delivering as many shocks, compared to later models, and due to these factors the Air Taser Model 34000 has long been discontinued by Taser International. However, the cartridges introduced with this weapon would remain in use with later models, up to the Taser X26 (detailed below).

The Air Taser 34000 with an "Air cartridge" loaded and a laser sight on the yellow "power handle" (actually the base unit containing the battery and laser sight). Its appearance is, perhaps not coincidentally, very reminiscent of a conventional stun gun, just with ranged capability via its cartridges and the usual contact electroshock ability.

Specifications

Range: 15'

Pulse Cycle: 30 seconds

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Notation	Date
Looper	Noah Segan	Kid Blue	With external laser sight	2012

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Release Date
Syphon Filter series	Air Taser	Completely black, needles emerge from the top edge of the weapon in side-by-side configuration rather than the real weapon's over-under arrangement	Cannot be used in "Drive Stun" mode, has unlimited ammunition and battery power, and in several games possesses enough charge to set targets that are shocked for long enough on fire	1999 - 2007

Advanced Taser M26

The M26 was part of the "Advanced Taser" series, and was the first widely-adopted Taser model used by different law enforcement agencies and military personnel for less-lethal takedowns. Refinements over the Model 34000 include an ergonomic pistol-like shape, basic iron sights, an integral laser sight, and the ability to store data about the last 500+ shocks delivered (with cartridges or without), which could be downloaded through a proprietary download kit inserted into the dataport at the rear of the weapon. Like its predecessor, the M26 could be used as a conventional stun gun if fired cartridges or no cartridges were loaded.

The M26 (the 26 in the designation standing for the number of watts of power it could generate) was the first model to allow for reliable and consistent Neuro-Muscular Incapacition on the vast majority of targets, another factor leading to its widespread adoption. Its power source is an array of 8 AA batteries stored in the pistol grip, much like the ammunition magazine of many semiautomatic pistols. Despite its success, Taser International would discontinue sales of the M26 in 2010, with the civilian M26C (C for Citizen) being the only version of this model still being sold. Whether the M26C can use the longer range law-enforcement-exclusive cartridges has not been confirmed.

NOTE: The M26 is very similar in appearance to the M18 and M18L models, the civilian versions of the "Advanced Taser" series released around the same time as the M26, but which were discontinued in favour of the M26C. The differences are mainly internal, being that the M18 models could only generate 18 watts of power and could not record data on shocks delivered. They can, however, be externally distinguished from the M26 series in two ways. If a Taser in question looks like the M26 but lacks the integral laser sight, then it is an M18 model (all M26 models, along with the M18L model, have an integral laser sight). Both M18 models also lack the dataport at the rear, which could be hard to discern as the dataport is normally covered by a yellow rubber plug, the same colour as the rear of the weapon.

The Advanced Taser M26, loaded with a 25' range "Extra Penetration" cartridge (indicated by the green blast doors, and normally used to pierce thicker clothing such as that worn in colder environments). The integral laser sight is just below the muzzle, with the emitter in line with the lower edge of the trigger guard.

An unloaded Advanced Taser M26 held by a US Armed Forces Service Member. This version has a clip for an additional cartridge at the bottom of the weapons' battery tray, along with an attached lanyard for retention purposes.

Advanced Taser M26C.

Specifications

Years in Production:

M26: 1999 - 2010

M18/M18L: 1999 - 2009

M26C: 2009 - Present

Range (All are LE only unless otherwise noted): 15'(Civilian), 21', 25', 35'

Pulse Cycle (All are LE only unless otherwise noted): 5 seconds, 30 seconds (civilian)

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Notation	Date
Exit Wounds	Matthew G. Taylor	Useldinger	Used only in Drive Stun mode, and depicted with a fictional voltage selector	2001
Hannibal	Ivano Marescotti	Carlo		2001
Collateral Damage		FBI Agent		2002
Paycheck	Joe Morton	Agent Dodge	All-black colour scheme	2003
National Treasure		Henchman		2004
The Cutter	Aaron Norris	Anthony Maylam		2005
Death Race	Jason Clarke	Ulrich	Had a scope attached	2008
Nine Dead	John Terry	Shooter		2010
The Sweeney	Ray Winstone	Jack Regan		2012
Fruitvale Station	Alejandra Nolasco	BART Officer Salazar		2013

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Note / Episode	Air Date
24 - Season 2	Peter Outerbridge	Ronnie Stark		2003
My Name is Earl	George Frangides	Officer Bob Smiley	S1E09 & S1E17	2005
Burn Notice	Gabrielle Anwar	Fiona Glenanne		2007
Heroes	Jack Coleman	Noah Bennett		2007
NCIS	Pauley Perrette	Abby		2007
My Name is Earl	Randy Brenner	Cop	S4E21	2009
Sanctuary			Used without cartridge in Drive Stun mode / "Hero II"	2010
Supernatural - Season 7	DJ Qualls	Garth Fitzgerald IV	"Party On, Garth" (S07E18)	2012
Banshee - Season 3	Miles Doleac	Roland	Ep. 3	2015

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Release Date
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness	"K2 Impactor"	fully black finish, no blast doors		2003
S.W.A.T. 4	"Taser"	Has yellow muzzle and black colouration on the rest of the weapon	Laser sight is unusable, weapon cannot be used in Drive Stun mode, rubber plug for dataport is missing	2005
Secret Service	"Taser"			2008
Mirror's Edge			Unusable	2008
Bloody Good Time	"Taser"		Slightly modified	2010
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive	Zeus X27			2012

Anime

Title	Character	Note	Date
Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu	Yoko Wakana		2003
The Strange Case Files of Ryoko Yakushiji	Marianne, Lucienne		2008
Aria the Scarlet Ammo			2011
Case Closed: The Fist of Blue Sapphire	Leon Lowe		2019

Redon RD-5M

The Redon RD-5M is a Chinese-made CEW. It appears to be based on Taser International's Taser C2, and like the C2 the RD-5M has both a laser sight and tactical light.

Redon RD-5M

Specifications

Range: 16'

Pulse Cycle: Unknown

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Notation	Date
Everly	Salma Hayek	Everly		2014
Hardcore Henry	Oleg Poddubniy	Yuri		2016

Taser X26

The Taser X26 is the smaller but upgraded version of the M26. Developed in response to concerns about the size and weight of the M26 (which has about the same dimensions as a full-sized service pistol), the X26 is 60% smaller in size than the M26. The X26 uses the same cartridges as its predecessor, the M26. The X26 also has the unique ability to be attached to rifles/carbines with an appropriate rail system, using Taser International's "X-Rail" mount.

Improvements over the M26 include an integral LED tactical light along with the standard laser sight (both of which can be switched on or off individually or together), high-visibility iron sights, an LED information display at the back of the weapon that can show the percentage of battery power remaining or the time left in an electrical discharge. The LED display will not turn on if neither the light or laser are set to be on while the weapon is armed. The X26 is also capable of recording data on its usage with more storage capacity than the M26, but its dataport is inside the battery socket, instead of being at the rear of the weapon like the M26.

The compactness of the X26 drove the developers to use a proprietary lithium-ion power source (called a "Digital Power Magazine"), smaller than the M26's battery array, but which cannot be recharged. This meant a reduced power level of around 7 watts, but due to its "Shaped Pulse" technology allowing more efficient use of power, the X26 achieves slightly greater NMI effects than the M26 could. All Taser models have since used "Shaped Pulse" technology and Digital Power Magazines. Taser International has, however, released a rechargeable proprietary lithium-ion battery for the "Taser Cam" camera accessory that powers both the camera and the weapon to which it's attached.

Three variants of the X26 are currently available. The X26C is the only one that civilians can purchase, and unlike the others does not record firing data. The variants available to law enforcement and military clients are the X26E (which was the earliest variant) and the more advanced X26P. The latter can be distinguished from the others by its more detailed information display, a differently-shaped grip, a redesigned exterior shell, and the ability to use a variety of battery packs that are unavailable to civilians.

A Taser X26E with safety cap attached to a mounted cartridge

A Taser X26C fitted with an XDPM (Extended Digital Power Magazine), which is a battery pack with a grip extension that can accept a spare cartridge. Like the Taser M26, a laser sight is mounted underneath the muzzle, alongside a tactical LED light.

Taser X26P

Taser X26P (Black)

A Taser X26P with an attached Taser Cam. The original version could be mounted on any Taser X26 model and could carry a spare cartridge, but the newer HD resolution models can only be mounted on the X26P and the X2 (detailed below), and cannot carry an additional cartridge.

A Taser X26 attached to a compact AR15 carbine with Taser International's proprietary X-Rail mount.

Specifications

Years in Production:

X26/X26E: 2003 - Present

X26C: 2004 - Present

X26P: 2013 - Present

Range (All are LE only unless otherwise noted): 15'(Civilian), 21', 25', 35'

Pulse Cycle (All are LE only unless otherwise noted): 5 seconds (Law Enforcement/Military), 10 - 30 seconds (Civilian)

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Notation	Date
District 13: Ultimatum	Cyril Raffaelli	Damien		2009
Salt	Angelina Jolie	Evelyn Salt		2010
Piranha	Elisabeth Shue	Sheriff Julie Forester		2010
Thor	Kat Dennings	Darcy Lewis		2011
Courageous		Police		2011
Cosmopolis	Patricia McKenzie	Kendra Hays	With XDPM and spare cartridge	2012
21 Jump Street	Channing Tatum	Jenko	holstered	2012
21 Jump Street	Jonah Hill	Schmidt	holstered	2012
Fruitvale Station	Chad Michael Murray	BART Officer Ingram		2013
Fruitvale Station	Kevin Durand	BART Officer Caruso		2013
Ant-Man	Bobby Cannavale	Paxton		2015
Hot Pursuit	Reese Witherspoon	SAPD Officer Cooper		2015
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back	Tom Cruise	Jack Reacher		2016
Bright	Will Smith	Daryl		2017
Ant-Man and the Wasp	Tip "T.I." Harris	Dave		2018
Ant-Man and the Wasp	David Dastmalchian	Kurt		2018
Copshop	Alexis Louder	Officer Valerie Young		2021
Copshop	Gerard Butler	Robert 'Bob' Vinnick		2021
Ambulance	Jackson White	LAPD Officer Zach Parker	Green; Holstered	2022
	Cedric Sanders	LAPD Officer Mark Ranshaw
		LAPD and SIS Officers
	Chelsea Harris	Bicycle Officer
	Remi Adeleke	SIS Officer Wade
	Jamie McBride	SIS Officer Jay
	Garret Dillahunt	Captain Monroe
	Corey Portugal	SIS Undercover Agent

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Notation/Episode	Air Date
CSI: NY		NYPD Officer	"Uncertainty Rules" (S06E16)	2004-Present
Future Weapons			Less-Than Lethal	11/29/07
Prison Break - Season 2	Wade Williams	Brad Bellick	with yellow finish and XDPM	2006 - 2007
My Name is Earl	Ethan Suplee	Randy		11/08/07
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	George Eads	Nick Stokes		05/01/08
The Day of the Triffids	Eddie Izzard	Torrence	Episode 1	2009
FlashForward		NCAP Guard		05/27/10
Law & Order: Los Angeles	Skeet Ulrich	Det. Rex Winters	"Harbor City"
Deadliest Warrior				04/20/10
The Bridge (Bron)	Lars Simonsen	Jens Hansen	Season 1	2011-Present
Chicago P.D.	Marina Squerciati	Officer Kim Burgess	"Thirty Balloons" (S1E05)	2014
Banshee - Season 2	Trieste Kelly Dunn	Deputy Siobhan		2014
True Detective	Taylor Kitsch	Officer Paul Woodrugh		2015
The Mysteries of Laura	Debra Messing	Det. Laura Diamond		2014-2016
Midsomer Murders		A masked attacker	(S20E03)	2018
The Rookie	Melissa O'Neil	Officer Lucy Chen		2018
The Rookie	Afton Williamson	P03 Talia Bishop		2018
Ms. Marvel - Season 1		JCPD officers	Holstered;"No Normal" (S1E06)	2022
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law - Season 1		Los Angeles Sheriff's deputies	Holstered; "A Normal Amount of Rage" (S1E01), "Mean, Green, and Straight Poured into These Jeans" (S1E05), "Whose Show is This?" (S1E09)	2022

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Release Date
James Bond 007: Blood Stone	"Stun Gun"		Used by Bangkok police	2010
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier	"UB Stun Gun"		can be mounted on ACR, 5.56A-91, AK-200, AKM, AN-94, HK417, Mk 14 Mod 0 and TAR-21	2012
Battlefield Hardline	"T62 CEW"	Can mount a fictional holographic sight		2015

Anime

Title	Character	Note	Date
Bungo Stray Dogs	Nakajima Atsushi	Ep. 17 "Three Companies Conflict"	2016
	Izumi Kyōka

Taser X12 LLS

The Taser X12 LLS (for Less Lethal Shotgun) was the result of a collaboration between Taser International and Mossberg that took a standard Mossberg 500-series shotgun and modified it by giving it ghost ring iron sights, a rifled barrel set to a custom 1:18 twist rate, yellow furniture to indicate that it was a dedicated less-lethal weapon, a Picatinny rail, and the Radial Ammunition Key to prevent the firing of lethal 12-gauge shells (which carries the extra side benefit of making it, like a flare launcher, a non-firearm). Its associated ammunition, the Taser XREP (EXtended Range Electro-Muscular Projectile) shell, on the other hand, can be fired out of any 12-gauge shotgun. The XREP ammunition was released in 2007, with the LLS released in 2009, and both were available to Law Enforcement only.

Given the high cost of the ammunition (the shells were essentially flying, self-contained stun guns good only for a single hit, and may or may not have been recyclable after use), issues with effectiveness in the field, and concerns about its ability to cause inadvertent lethalities, TASER International discontinued sales of the Taser X12 and the Taser XREP ammunition in April 2012.

Taser X12 LLS

Taser X12 LLS made off a Mossberg 590 with an underbarrel X26 and XREP shells held in the stock. The underslung X26 was to allow the user of the weapon to engage a target at very close range with less of risk inadvertent lethalities, since less-lethal shotgun ammunition can possess enough force at close range to kill via blunt trauma. The picture here implies that a user would have to put his/her off hand between the shotgun's forend and the top side of the X26 to work the pump-action.

The Taser XREP ammunition in its deployed state. When fired, 4 barbs extend forward and spring-loaded fins extend to spin-stabilize the projectile even if deployed from a smoothbore shotgun. The shell even had the ability to electrify its upper body in case a target were to attempt extracting an embedded round by hand.

Specifications

Range: Max of 100 feet

Pulse Cycle: 20 seconds

Fire Mode: Pump-Action

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Notation/Episode	Air Date
Hawaii Five-0 (2010) - Season 1	Alex O'Loughlin	Lt. Cmdr. Steve McGarrett	"Powa Maka Moani" (S1E17)
Hawaii Five-0 (2010) - Season 1	Daniel Dae Kim	Chin Ho Kelly	"Powa Maka Moani" (S1E17)
Future Weapons			"Less-Than Lethal"	11/29/07
Strike Back	Philip Winchester	Sergeant Michael Stonebridge	S03E08	2012
Training Day		Menjivar sicario	episode:"Apocalypse Now"	2017

Taser X3/X2 Defender

Render of the TASER X3

TASER X3 (Black)

TASER X2

The Taser X2 and X3 are the newest Tasers on the market, though neither was the first multi-shot CEW to be developed. The X2 and X3 use "Smart Cartridges" which differ from those used by the M26 and the X26, by virtue of being slimmer and having the ability to emit a "warning arc" of electricity to intimidate a potential target or otherwise allow the X2 or X3 to be used in "Drive Stun" mode without needing to be fired or unloaded.

The weapon themselves are fully ambidextrous, have a more detailed LCD screen than the X26, dual visible aiming lasers, an aiming light, plastic blade sights on top, and a new button on the side of the gun to trigger the "warning arc," engage "Drive Stun" mode, or to keep applying electricity to any target(s) previously hit. The difference between the X2, and X3, as their names state, are the amount of cartridges they hold. The Taser X2 can, however, also mount a night-vision-capable "Taser cam."

The Taser X3 was introduced in 2009 and discontinued around 2013, most likely due to its higher weight, bulk, and comparatively low sales. The Taser X2 was introduced in 2011 and currently remains in production. The two models' lithium-ion batteries are not interchangeable.

Specifications

Range: 15' (Training and Civilian versions), 25', 30'

Pulse Cycle: 5 seconds

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Notation	Date
22 Jump Street	Ice Cube	Capt. Dickson	X2	2014

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Notation/Episode	Air Date
Burn Notice			X3/"Shock Wave" (S6E06)	2012
The Flash	Tom Cavanagh	Dr. Harrison Wells	X2/"Who is Harrison Wells"	2014-2015
The Blacklist			X3/"Alexander Kirk (No. 14)"(S3)	2015-2016
The Rookie	Mekia Cox	Officer Nyla Harper		2021

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Notation	Release Date
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier	"Stun Gun"	Black finish, incorrectly shown to be single-shot	2012