TASER - BACK IN BUSINESS :-) - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

[Marcyvo]

TASER International, Inc. Announces Extension of Offering Period ... 18.11. / 22:46

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TASER International, Inc. , a market leader in advanced less-lethal weapons, announced today that it was extending the offering period through December 20, 2003 to exercise the remaining TASER public stock warrant at a reduced exercise price of $9.24 per share representing a discount of 3%, or $0.29 off the exercise price of $9.53 per share.

About TASER International, Inc.

TASER International, Inc. provides advanced less-lethal weapons for use in the law enforcement, private security and personal defense markets. Our flagship ADVANCED TASER(R) product has reduced officer injuries by over 80% in the Orange County (FL) Sheriff``s Office, and reduced suspect injuries by over 67% in the Phoenix (AZ) Police Department. The ADVANCED TASER is saving lives, reducing liability and creating safer jobs in over 3,500 law enforcement agencies worldwide. Call 480-991-0797 or visit our website at http://www.taser.com/ to learn more about the new standard in less-lethal weapons.

For further information, please contact Phil Smith, Chairman of the Board of TASER International, Inc., [phone].

TASER International, Inc.

© PR Newswire

[Marcyvo]

New Taser Finds Unexpected Home in Hands of Police


Taser International
Sgt. Steve Hadley of the Glendale Police Department in Glendale, Ariz., fires a Taser gun. Taser International says it is on track to reach $20 million in sales this year.


By TERESA RIORDAN

Published: November 17, 2003


Taser International
Rick Smith, the chief executive of Taser International, turned an interest in self-defense into a successful business.


Taser International
The M26 Taser fires two barbed hooks attached to wires, up to 21 feet, delivering a 5-second jolt of electricity.


n 1995, Rick Smith, then a 25-year-old entrepreneur with a newly minted master`s in business administration, got a telephone call from an official with the Czech National Police Academy. Could Mr. Smith come to Prague to demonstrate his new nonlethal gun?

He flew right out and, after delivering a bold sales pitch about how it could subdue a suspect, he asked for a volunteer. A police cadet stepped forward. Mr. Smith confidently aimed and fired. But instead of collapsing on the floor as others had done during tests, the cadet kept charging Mr. Smith and enveloped him in a bear hold.

"It was the most embarrassing and humiliating day of my life," Mr. Smith recalled. "If those guys had a fruit and vegetable cart, I would have been pelted with tomatoes."

Life is better for Mr. Smith these days. Last month, he received United States patent No. 6,636,412, a broad patent covering a new, effective version of the nonlethal gun, which is being used by law enforcement agencies across the United States. Last year, Taser International, his company in Scottsdale, Ariz., had $10 million in sales, and the company said it is on schedule to double its business by the end of this year.

Named for the Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle, a fixture of Tom Swift books from the 1930`s, the first Taser was invented in 1974 by Jack Cover, who was a scientist for the Apollo moon landing program.

What Mr. Cover invented was a device resembling a large flashlight. When a gunpowder charge was detonated, the Taser launched two wires that latched onto a suspect`s clothes and delivered an electrical charge to his body.

After introducing the invention with great fanfare, Taser Systems, a California-based company, foundered and went in and out of bankruptcy protection until it was sold to an investor who produced the Tasers as a side business. That business was called Tasertron, supplying them to police agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department. In 1991, the Taser gained notoriety when police officers were accused of beating Rodney King after the Taser they used had failed to subdue him.

That same year, Mr. Smith said, two friends of his were killed during a dispute with an angry motorist.

"I got very interested personally in the whole topic of self-defense," Mr. Smith said. "I thought it was bizarre that you couldn`t find a nonlethal weapon to defend yourself with." For an M.B.A. class at the University of Chicago, Mr. Smith, who had read that the Taser had failed in the Rodney King incident because of a battery problem, developed a business plan for marketing an improved Taser-like invention for the average citizen.

After graduating in 1993, he received $25,000 in financing from his family to work with Mr. Cover, who was then 73 years old. Tinkering in Mr. Cover`s garage, they developed a version of the Taser that was fired with compressed air, not gunpowder.

Then came the disastrous demonstration in Prague. Mr. Smith and his older brother, Tom, who is president of Taser, realized that they were not taking into account the psychological aspect of pain. While the gun could subdue a fairly docile person, it could not stop people who were angry, psychotic, in a drug-induced rage or - like the Czech cadet - highly motivated.

More testing was necessary. During the first round of new testing they tried the gun on a pig that had been anesthetized - so that it would feel no pain and, too, so they could see its basic physiological reaction.

"It was disheartening," Mr. Smith said. "There was only minor shivering, like the pig was cold.``

He gradually cranked up the amount of energy in each electrical pulse, increased the duration of each pulse and also added more of an electrical charge. With the new version of the gun, the anesthetized pig experienced severe muscle contractions. "It was as if the pig was on an exercise machine pulling out all the stops," Mr. Smith said.

He acknowledged that the new Taser was not the only effective nonlethal weapon on the market. But with stun guns, which also deliver an electrical charge, "you have to be close enough to touch the other person." And pepper spray, he said, can get in the eyes of officers as well as suspects.

Tom Smith said that the new Taser was very different from the original ones. "Those were like those big early video cameras," he said. "Today, a video camera is something that fits in the palm of your hand. It`s the same with the Taser. Other than the fact that it was named a Taser and it fires out probes, those would be the only similarities."

In June, Taser International acquired Tasertron for $1 million. While Rick Smith originally envisioned the Taser as a weapon to be used by citizens for self-protection, it is being widely adopted by law enforcement agencies. The Phoenix Police Department adopted the Taser in December, and according to the department, from January through June, the number of officer-involved shootings dropped to 8 from 15 from the same period last year. The Defense Appropriations Funding Bill for 2004 allocated $1 million to buy Tasers for the Army.

In 2001, at the depth of the dot-com bust, Paulson Investments, an investment bank in Portland, Ore., offered financing to Taser and the company had an initial public offering of stock at $6.50 a share. On Friday, Taser closed at $61.04 a share on the Nasdaq. Mr. Smith has paid back his father, who also owns about $12 million in Taser shares.

As for the Czech police officers, Tom Smith recently went back to see them. "I was in Prague with those same people," he said earlier this month. "Call it the reunion tour."

Things went differently, he said.

[Marcyvo]

A Taser that really jolts

Teresa Riordan NYT Monday, November 17, 2003

In 1995, Rick Smith, then a 25-year-old entrepreneur with a newly minted MBA degree, got a call from a Czech National Police Academy official. Could he come to Prague to give a demonstration of his new nonlethal gun?
.
He flew right out and, after delivering a bold sales spiel about how it could subdue a suspect, asked for a volunteer. A cadet stepped forward. Smith confidently fired. But instead of collapsing on the floor, the cadet kept charging Smith and grabbed the entrepreneur in a bear hold.
.
"It was the most embarrassing and humiliating day of my life," Smith recalled.
.
Life is better for Smith these days. Last month, he received U.S. patent 6,636,412 for a new, effective version of the nonlethal gun, which is being used by law enforcement agencies across the United States. Last year, Taser International, his Arizona company, had $10 million in sales and it hopes to double its business by the end of this year.
.
The Taser was invented in 1974 by Jack Cover, who was a scientist for the Apollo moon landing program. It resembled a large flashlight, and when a gunpowder charge was detonated, it fired two wires that latched onto the target`s clothes and delivered an electrical charge.
.
Tasers were supplied to police agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department, some of whose officers beat up Rodney King in 1991 after the Taser they used had failed to subdue him. That same year, Smith said, two friends of his were killed during a dispute with an angry motorist.
.
"I got very interested personally in the whole topic of self-defense," Smith said. Smith, who had read that the Taser failed in the Rodney King incident because of a battery problem, developed a business plan for marketing an improved Taser-like invention for the average citizen.
.
Working with Cover, who was then 73, Smith developed a Taser that was fired with compressed air rather than gunpowder. Then came the disastrous demonstration in Prague. For the new version, Smith gradually increased the amount of energy and the duration of each electrical pulse, then added more of an electrical charge.
.
"Last week I was in Prague with those same people," he said. "Call it the reunion tour. We knocked them on their butts."
.
The New York Times

< < Back to Start of Article In 1995, Rick Smith, then a 25-year-old entrepreneur with a newly minted MBA degree, got a call from a Czech National Police Academy official. Could he come to Prague to give a demonstration of his new nonlethal gun?
.
He flew right out and, after delivering a bold sales spiel about how it could subdue a suspect, asked for a volunteer. A cadet stepped forward. Smith confidently fired. But instead of collapsing on the floor, the cadet kept charging Smith and grabbed the entrepreneur in a bear hold.
.
"It was the most embarrassing and humiliating day of my life," Smith recalled.
.
Life is better for Smith these days. Last month, he received U.S. patent 6,636,412 for a new, effective version of the nonlethal gun, which is being used by law enforcement agencies across the United States. Last year, Taser International, his Arizona company, had $10 million in sales and it hopes to double its business by the end of this year.
.
The Taser was invented in 1974 by Jack Cover, who was a scientist for the Apollo moon landing program. It resembled a large flashlight, and when a gunpowder charge was detonated, it fired two wires that latched onto the target`s clothes and delivered an electrical charge.
.
Tasers were supplied to police agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department, some of whose officers beat up Rodney King in 1991 after the Taser they used had failed to subdue him. That same year, Smith said, two friends of his were killed during a dispute with an angry motorist.
.
"I got very interested personally in the whole topic of self-defense," Smith said. Smith, who had read that the Taser failed in the Rodney King incident because of a battery problem, developed a business plan for marketing an improved Taser-like invention for the average citizen.
.
Working with Cover, who was then 73, Smith developed a Taser that was fired with compressed air rather than gunpowder. Then came the disastrous demonstration in Prague. For the new version, Smith gradually increased the amount of energy and the duration of each electrical pulse, then added more of an electrical charge.
.
"Last week I was in Prague with those same people," he said. "Call it the reunion tour. We knocked them on their butts."
.
The New York Times In 1995, Rick Smith, then a 25-year-old entrepreneur with a newly minted MBA degree, got a call from a Czech National Police Academy official. Could he come to Prague to give a demonstration of his new nonlethal gun?
.
He flew right out and, after delivering a bold sales spiel about how it could subdue a suspect, asked for a volunteer. A cadet stepped forward. Smith confidently fired. But instead of collapsing on the floor, the cadet kept charging Smith and grabbed the entrepreneur in a bear hold.
.
"It was the most embarrassing and humiliating day of my life," Smith recalled.
.
Life is better for Smith these days. Last month, he received U.S. patent 6,636,412 for a new, effective version of the nonlethal gun, which is being used by law enforcement agencies across the United States. Last year, Taser International, his Arizona company, had $10 million in sales and it hopes to double its business by the end of this year.
.
The Taser was invented in 1974 by Jack Cover, who was a scientist for the Apollo moon landing program. It resembled a large flashlight, and when a gunpowder charge was detonated, it fired two wires that latched onto the target`s clothes and delivered an electrical charge.
.
Tasers were supplied to police agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department, some of whose officers beat up Rodney King in 1991 after the Taser they used had failed to subdue him. That same year, Smith said, two friends of his were killed during a dispute with an angry motorist.
.
"I got very interested personally in the whole topic of self-defense," Smith said. Smith, who had read that the Taser failed in the Rodney King incident because of a battery problem, developed a business plan for marketing an improved Taser-like invention for the average citizen.
.
Working with Cover, who was then 73, Smith developed a Taser that was fired with compressed air rather than gunpowder. Then came the disastrous demonstration in Prague. For the new version, Smith gradually increased the amount of energy and the duration of each electrical pulse, then added more of an electrical charge.
.
"Last week I was in Prague with those same people," he said. "Call it the reunion tour. We knocked them on their butts."
.
The New York Times In 1995, Rick Smith, then a 25-year-old entrepreneur with a newly minted MBA degree, got a call from a Czech National Police Academy official. Could he come to Prague to give a demonstration of his new nonlethal gun?
.
He flew right out and, after delivering a bold sales spiel about how it could subdue a suspect, asked for a volunteer. A cadet stepped forward. Smith confidently fired. But instead of collapsing on the floor, the cadet kept charging Smith and grabbed the entrepreneur in a bear hold.
.
"It was the most embarrassing and humiliating day of my life," Smith recalled.
.
Life is better for Smith these days. Last month, he received U.S. patent 6,636,412 for a new, effective version of the nonlethal gun, which is being used by law enforcement agencies across the United States. Last year, Taser International, his Arizona company, had $10 million in sales and it hopes to double its business by the end of this year.
.
The Taser was invented in 1974 by Jack Cover, who was a scientist for the Apollo moon landing program. It resembled a large flashlight, and when a gunpowder charge was detonated, it fired two wires that latched onto the target`s clothes and delivered an electrical charge.
.
Tasers were supplied to police agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department, some of whose officers beat up Rodney King in 1991 after the Taser they used had failed to subdue him. That same year, Smith said, two friends of his were killed during a dispute with an angry motorist.
.
"I got very interested personally in the whole topic of self-defense," Smith said. Smith, who had read that the Taser failed in the Rodney King incident because of a battery problem, developed a business plan for marketing an improved Taser-like invention for the average citizen.
.
Working with Cover, who was then 73, Smith developed a Taser that was fired with compressed air rather than gunpowder. Then came the disastrous demonstration in Prague. For the new version, Smith gradually increased the amount of energy and the duration of each electrical pulse, then added more of an electrical charge.