admin
We watched the scary video from Times Square and saw something that made a lot of people ask the same question: why didn’t the Tasers stop the attacker? A New York Post interview with Artur Sadowski, a retired NYPD detective and master Taser instructor, gives a clear, practical answer — and it should calm the armchair critics while pushing city leaders to pay attention to training and tools.
Expert explanation: probes, muscle, and why Tasers sometimes fail
Artur Sadowski’s quick read of the scene is about physics, not politics. Tasers work by sending a current between two probes so the muscles seize and the person can’t move. If the probes don’t hit muscle — because they land on thick clothing, fatty tissue, or too close together — the device can sting but won’t create that neuromuscular shutdown. In plain English: if the electrical path doesn’t go through enough muscle, the shock won’t drop someone who is charging with knives. Sadowski’s résumé as an NYPD instructor who wrote Taser lesson plans makes that explanation worth listening to.
Video, tactics, and the rush to judgment
The footage shows officers trying Tasers then moving to firearms as the threat continued. Commissioner Tisch has said officers deployed CEWs twice before shooting. That sequence matters. Officers were facing a fast, violent attack in a crowded tourist hub. They didn’t have time to reposition for a perfect probe spread or to aim for the back or legs. If you want to criticize, do it after investigators check Taser event logs and body‑worn camera clips — not from a couch with refreshments and hot takes.
Training fixes and policy questions the city should actually answer
Let’s be useful: update training and doctrine so officers know the limits of conducted electrical weapons and where they are most effective. Require prompt reviews that publish clear findings about device logs and video so the public can see what happened. And yes — keep oversight — but don’t let political theater replace technical facts. If CEWs won’t reliably stop someone in certain conditions, the NYPD needs options: better tactics, more realistic training, and honest public messaging instead of blaming the tools or the officers alone.
Bottom line: facts first, then accountability
This episode is tragic. A woman died, a victim was killed, and a city is asking hard questions. Sadowski’s explanation about probe contact, clothing, and body composition is a solid technical start. Now the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division should do its job, release the data they can, and city leaders should fund the fixes instead of grandstanding. If we want safer streets, we need clear facts, better training, and enough common sense to admit that no single tool is perfect.
