Nonlethal weapons, such as electronic control devices (ECWs), have become increasingly commonplace in American law enforcement as our society seeks to reduce citizen injuries and deaths at the hands of the police. There is reason to suspect, however, that police possession of nonlethal weapons such as ECWs can sometimes increase the likelihood that a citizen will suffer serious injury or death during an interaction with the police. This paper lays out the theoretical basis for this suspicion and presents empirical evidence that the presence of ECWs has led police officers to shoot citizens in numerous cases where they otherwise would not have discharged their firearms. Police leaders—and policy makers throughout the criminal justice system—should carefully consider the potential downside(s) of given technologies before adopting them and seek means to ameliorate negative consequences if they opt to use them.

随着我们的社会寻求减少警察造成的公民伤亡，电子控制装置 (ECW) 等非致命武器在美国执法部门中变得越来越普遍。然而，有理由怀疑，警察拥有电子化学武器等非致命武器有时会增加公民在与警察互动时遭受严重伤害或死亡的可能性。本文阐述了这种怀疑的理论基础，并提供了经验证据，证明电子武器的存在导致警察在许多案件中向公民开枪，否则他们不会开枪。警察领导人以及整个刑事司法系统的政策制定者在采用特定技术之前应仔细考虑其潜在的负面影响，并寻求方法来减轻选择使用这些技术时产生的负面后果。