The Electric Slide
The modern American police officer is kitted out like a 22nd Century Intergalactic Warrior. He or she’s got an ultra-powerful Glock sidearm, a body camera, bulletproof armor, automatic long guns, night vision goggles, armed robots, flashbangs, drones (also armed), drug-sniffing dogs, X-ray machines, tanks and is abetted by aircraft various. They’re just lacking jetpacks. I know this because I obsessively watch cop videos on Facebook in which you learn how these people operate. Like any specialized occupation, there’s jargon: signal 1 is a drunk driver, 10-29 is a request to check records and “SWAT” means to slap a “perp” about the face and or to kill pesky insects in the squad car. One of the most popular tools at the law enforcement officer’s disposal today is the Taser, a device described with the artful euphemism “less-lethal”. Here’s its remarkable story.