TASER International Corrects Significant Error in USA Today

[HenryTo]

Next up: The widespread hiring of Indian engineers to the staff of USA Today so that nothing like this will happen again in the future:
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TASER International Corrects Significant Error in USA Today Story
Friday June 3, 3:22 pm ET
Paper Misrepresents TASER(TM) Device Output by Factor of 1 Million

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., June 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TASER International, Inc. (Nasdaq: TASR - News), a market leader in advanced non-lethal weapons released a statement by Rick Smith, CEO of TASER International in response to the USA Today article, "TASER Packs Potent but Brief Punch of Electricity" (13 A):

"I am outraged at the careless reporting and gross misrepresentation of the facts in the USA Today article, 'TASER Packs Potent but Brief Punch of Electricity.' The article states that the electrical output of the TASER X26 as 2,100 to 3,600 amperes, when the output of the TASER devices is, in fact, 0.0021 to 0.0036 amperes -- a misrepresentation of the device's average current specifications by a factor of 1 million.

"TASER International has repeatedly met with and provided the editorial and reporting staff of USA Today with this and other technical information. Information regarding the device's specification is also readily available on the company's website www.TASER.com.

"USA Today further sensationalizes the story by showing photographic comparisons of the TASER X26 with an electric chair, a lightening storm and the electric train track. The article compares the output of the TASER X26 to that of an 'electric chair,' stating the output of the TASER system is more than 100 times that of the chair. When in fact, the TASER system's average current is more than 1,000 times LESS than that of the electric chair.

"Given the heightened interest and general lack of understanding by USA Today of the TASER's technology, I can only hope this was the result of a sophomoric mathematical error or the USA Today editors don't understand the simple fundamentals of electricity such as differences between milliamperes (equal to .001 amperes) and kiloamperes (equal to 1,000 amperes) rather than an intentional misrepresentation.

"This latest story including its egregious mathematical error and horrendous analogies to blatantly lethal electrical sources written by USA Today is an affront to science and an insult to the TASER International employees and the hundreds of thousands of law enforcement officers and military personnel who develop and deploy TASER technology with the goal of saving lives," concluded Mr. Smith.