swift electric rifle-- taser.struck a deal with cover, and then they re- engineered his weapon. they drew straws and went out in the backyard to take the first hits from their new improved taser-- first tom, then rick-- standing in a pool of water. today, they run a worldwide business from their over-the-top headquarters in scottsdale, arizona, which the smith brothers designed from the ground up as a corporate statement. >> tom smith: this is an iris scanner. >> identification is completed. >> tom smith: allows access to the building without the need for keys. >> david martin: they don't have those at the pentagon, you know. >> tom smith: i did not know that. >> david martin: it is part fortress, part tribute to "star trek". >> tom smith: we, certainly, again, wanted that projection of high-tech, that we're on a cutting edge. we're making things that are, you know, right out of hollywood. we're the wired version of a "star trek" phaser. >> david martin: the smith brothers may not have invented the taser, but they

>> whose taser is this?scenes like this in "nurse jackie" are only funny because we know this weapon only inflicts temporary pain. but that hasn't stopped taser international for becoming a magnet for lawsuits and scorn. greatly upsetting the brothers who built it. >> the reason we started this company, we want to get people to stop killing each other. and in order to do that, you know, you have to take some steps that are sometimes not pleasant. >> reporter: do you spend more on research and development or legal fees? there have been years when the litigation budget has been higher than the research. you hear about the cases but you don't hear about all the cases that it avoids. >> reporter: they started the company in the early 's '90s. >> we can put man on the moon, but the way people fundamentally defend themselves is how we fought the revolutionary war. >> reporter: so, they tracked down the ex-nasa scientist who invented the taser, and uses parts from ace hardware, modified it for a broader market. >>

. >>> the debate over the use tasers rages on.e'll have the surprising opinion of baltimore's police commissioner. >>> i'm alex demetrick. coming up, it might not look like much now, but a major casino is betting on it it. that story as ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> it is 6:30. mainly clear and 70 degrees. good evening, everyone. thanks for staying with wjz. here are some of the stories people are talking about tonight. wjz continues to follow the breaking news from southwest baltimore. a federal agent is injured in an arrest operation. jessica kartalija is live near the scene with an update. jessica? >> reporter: right now, behind me here on patapsco, looks like it is open. but federal agents are actually turning people around here and sending them back toward anamop -- anopolis -- annapolis street. and they are also letting them use viola street. and still unclear as to why they aren't opening the area up. take a look from sky eye chopper 13. we captured some video. it appears agents are sitting outside of a storage facility. that stor

more and more, police are relying on tasers. >> it's an excellent tool.n. >> detective jared mathern should know. he with two other officers are with the louisiana police force. they were uninvited guests who brought tasers to a wedding that went very, very wrong. instead of a toast, the groom got a tase, and the bridal party got a shower of mace. >> what is going through my mind is probably, oh, my god, i'm supposed to be getting mair and supposed to be the happiest day of my life, getting tased. i don't see how it could get any worse. >> jeffrey has been on the force for 15 years. >> this is a small town, nice to live here. it's quiet. >> it is usually quiet. but not on july 23rd, 2005. riding along with police is a cameraman. >> what the [ bleep ]. some wedding. >> shooting for a local tv show called, "the beat," produced by martin fultz. >> sometimes you come back with no video and sometimes you come back and it is pretty good stuff. this time was real good stuff. >> how did this couple's happily ever after turn so quickly to disaster? it begins when

. >>> baltimore's police force has been using tasers for more than 10 years. police commissioner fred bealefeld isn't exactly a fan of them. last night, he appeared to cbs's 60 minutes to talk about the devices. monique griego has more on his opinion. and it may surprise you. >> reporter: they're designed to control suspects without killing them. still, the debate over law enforcement use of tasers rages on, even here in baltimore. >> on a personal level, no. i'm absolutely not a fan. >> reporter: that's what police commissioner frederick bealefeld said on cbs's 60 minutes. >> well, not a personal fan, he has seen some benefits during their 10 years of use in baltimore. >> it makes the public safer in a lot of situations. it has helped contribute in some measure to reductions of deadly force. >> reporter: his concern is that officers will choose tasers over proper police training. >> it could lead you down a path of overdependence on that device. >> reporter: while baltimore's police force has 2800 members, only 500 have tasers. and n20 -- in 2010, officers fi

had our officers had tasers, they wouldn't have had to fire that 40. this city would not be writing him -- i don't know, a couple hundred thousand, maybe more. great. the memphis plan is great but keep this going. i do support them in this. but every tool in the toolbox and tasers should be in the toolbox. thank you. president mazzucco: thank you, deputy city attorney clyde. any further public comment? hearing none, public comment is closed. please call line item 3-a. >> reports and announcements, 3-a is the chief's report, a review of recent activities. >> good evening, chief. good evening, commissioners, director hicks. part one, crimes continue to be down, violent crimes down 7%. property crimes up a tick at 2% but overall, part one crimes remain flat from last year so we're still enjoying a good year in that reguard. our homicide total is at 47 which is the high of the last three years, but it's also the third best year in the last 10. and half of what we were in 2008. so we're doing relatively well with regard to homicide, although we will strive

photographs and once showed photographs proving officers unnecessarily tasered over and over hittingthe legs and face >> cannot understand why there were treating it that way. my wife got to witness that. thank god she was there with me if not nobody else would have seemed that >> joshua tapia wife says she screamed at the officers to stop and tried to record what was happening with her cell phone camera says she was too hysterical to hold the telephone steady >> nephew was recording one officer sot recording and arrested and threatened never going to tasered him >> officers never returned the telephone and that night joshua tapia arrested and charged with aggravated battery resisting arrest a jury acquitted of all charges tossed week not filing a civil suit against the officers >> i think the most egregious part of this situation was deeply to cover up the officers came up with after they realized they had tasered and beat up the wrong person them >> statement from police joshua tapia attorneys did not say how much they are seeking in damages. students given a free laptops school no

in law enforcement to seek and to find alternatives to lethal force remember that pepper spray and tasersand certain other tools at the disposal of the police today were intended to be used as an alternative to shooting and killing someone and now we see pepper spray for example being applied so casually as it was it at u.c. davis and that and that's a very very disturbing that's that's a misuse of the tool to think about like right at the at some point as iraq right now what you ordered the battle for seattle i think if their story is anything similar to mine they'll believe that what they did was right that it was unpopular they understood that going in but they really didn't have an alternative and i think over time they will come to appreciate the fact that they did have alternatives including patients i mean to use pepper spray on a line of students who are seated generally with their heads bowed. it is absolutely unconscionable and inexcusable and i suspect whether the individual who applied that pepper spray will come to appreciate what he did wrong many many others will and i want

so that's road is going to be used for fires then why does it come with a being that larger and a tasersurely the police are downplaying this investment but looking at all those items i think it's pretty safe to say they're an unnecessary tool for local police so why do cops need its aid or drone well they don't but if they can get one and they figure why not call me crazy but these devices need to be left to the military for war situations not to use against americans for domestic purposes. now coming up next our sound off on comments or news that i read and will take a closer look at last night's g.o.p. debate over iraq.

one of them whips out a taser and confronts the powerful bull. >> you see this cop with a taser gun,t's like swatting an alligator with a flyswatter. >> the officer gets within a few feet of hardball and lets the taser fly. >> that just made the bull even angrier because how would you like to be as thorred? it doesn't feel good. >> the bull charges the officer, missing him by inches. then when all hope seems lost, the cavalry arrives. >> here comes the cowboy. he'll take care of this. watch this. here's a cowboy. >> in a scene straight out of an old western, three wranglers rush in on horseback. >> there was a lot of tension in the parking lot. are they going to be able to get him, are they going to be able to, you know, pull him back, you know, away from everyone. >> within seconds, one of the cowboys ropes hardball. >> they got that bull. they got that bull. >> if you don't have a cowboy on a horse with a rope, you can't control a raging bull. it just doesn't happen. a taser gun is not going to do the trick. it's got to be a cowboy. >> the cowboys, they could have just sat back and

free and home of whoever is brave enough to try to take on a militarized police force with tear gas tasers again sound cannons many police forces are now arming themselves with laffin spat on the battlefield so. now occupy los angeles protesters are getting a firsthand look at that police crackdown for many victim notice to an overnight raid police officers in california shut down the movement and the cover of darkness also limited media access. and as police in the u.s. try to curb the social on grass labor unions in the u.k. are rising up and what is arguably the largest strike in decades and millions come out all in a battle over public sector pensions so is it time for american protestors to take a page out of the u.k. of diets and social uprisings we'll compare. it's wednesday november thirtieth in washington d.c. i'm liz wall and you're watching our. well over the past two months we've seen shocking video of police brutality directed at peaceful protesters from firing pepper sprayed of beating protesters with the times to launch and rubber bullets we're seeing image after image of po

it's a wireless taser you shoot out of a gun.et as in a human, it emits an electrical charge for almost half a minute. this is something that's still in development. the pulst energy projectile is supposed to fire off a plasma beam that heats the air around it so quickly, for lack of better phrase, it makes the air explode. these are supposed to be nonlethal weapons. when used on humans they're supposed to hurt badly, knock you down, send you fleeing. they're not supposed to kill you even though the pain is so bad you wish they did. the argument for nonlethal weapons development is in the criminal justice field, the military field, there may be times when you need to and want to use force but don't want to kill people. therefore in an instance where you might otherwise use live ammunition to shoot and kill, you instead use the pain ray or the souped up taser or maybe the explode the air pulst energy projectile thing. someday. you switch from a gun to a nonlethal means of getting what you want without using deadly force. that's th

the cops are much more brutal than they used to be the tasering and so forth will eventually we see some of these demonstrators who shot and killed they're using rubber bullets already will they start to use metal bullets i must say i'm terrified of wow and speaking of tasers and stating i have the weapons and the rubber bullets and the increasing police force does the benefit there capitalize on that because as i mentioned if you're and that's or maybe you'd want to and that's in this kind of action you believe in the a long police raid which obviously you can't but i got imagine something benefit there. well sure i mean the good the government benefits and all the economic interests associated with the government and the you know malcolm x. used to say that at least forces are occupiers of their own current persons in effect occupying military forces i think that's correct i mean they are they are there to enforce the will of the government and its associated economic interests against the rest of us and if anybody protests why they want to take care of you take you out so you know tha

the free and home of the lover is brave enough to take on a militarized police force the tear gas tasers and sound cannons many police forces are now arming themselves with weapons found in the battlefield. some of the. occupy los angeles protesters are getting a firsthand look at the police crackdown from the diction notice to an overnight raid police officers in california shut down the movement and the tougher of darkness while also limiting media access. and as police in the u.s. try to curb the social unrest labor unions in the u.k. are rising up and what is arguably the largest strike in decades millions come out all in a battle over public sector pensions so listen it's time for american protestors take a page out of the u.k.'s guide to social uprise well compare. the reasons for holding the elections useful to be able to return home to corruption and crime. as the arab spring moves into arab winter so does a better reality the egyptian elections might not have been a free and fair as everyone was hoping for artsy is on the ground with the latest in egypt. it's wednesday november

uss aaes and stuff. 3227 he was ggtting picked on, pulling his hair, they play some game cclled the taser kind of where they stab each other - wiih two fingers and they stab like that.2429 but it ade me maa and sad at the same time. 3310 i jjst wanted it to stop. nats hits joe ddffy and his son miccael went too the school with the problem. hit hitbut they also came ere. noel smmth's razillan jiu jitsu in glen buunie.1618 teach the kidsááá the firrt goaa of a confrontation is controláááá723 if somebody was to push him, we're going for a single or double leg takedown,,and then go to the mount position nd holding it without throwing any strikes. watch what michael can do to an pponent in just 6 seconds. school, punching is the last resort, try noo o punch at all. 3727 even though he has the knowleege to to do it noww ittw all defense, i could sse himm i trust him to kkow whats rightand what's wrong. noel smith knnws what his students are going through. he used to eat lunch byy himself in he library becauue he was being bllied in the cafeteria. until..... 2001 i was approached in the lunch ro

police used a taser is on three demonstrators last night after a crowd refused to leave the building. one person reportedly bit an officer on the arm. the police believe the woman suspected in a carjacking and two bank robberies had struck again. >>> stephanie schwab carjacked a woman at knifepoint. the one and sustained an injury when she tried to grab the suspects knife. -- the woman sustained injury when she tried to grab the knife. >>> a group of people camped out for hours at a shop for affordable housing. the waiting list was opened it just about an hour ago. people spent hours waiting to apply for a -- in a line that stretched for two blocks. it could cost twice as much to ride a taxi cab for a mile. there is a proposal to raise the rate per mile. the rate has not changed since 2006. the plan would drop most other charges included four extra riders or luggage. >>> coming up, the power ball payout but are the winners who they say they are? cashing in on cyber monday madness, how many more people tracked down deals? local wounded warriors and their families getting in on the holi

>>vicki: in connecticut police had to use a taser to subdue a man. once again at wal-mart in arizona, police say a man was hurt after being arrested. they say chaos broke out at a video game display. in >>vicki: millions of americans did take advantage of incredible deals are black friday spending 11.4 billion. that is up 11% from 2010. an even bigger jump in online sales. john squire is joining us to discuss that. some good news for retailers? >> yes. thanksgiving started out strong. online sales were up 2423%. from black friday it was up 39.3%. >>vicki: online is really picking up steam. people just do not want to deal with the craziness of the crowds? >> there is a convenience of all my shopping. the >>vicki: and interesting trends, people are purchasing from mobile phones. >> in 2009, online sales were one per cent of all sales. for then, last year we saw that grow to 5.6% of sales. this year, it topped out at 9.8%. almost 15 percent of all people on line yesterday of using a mobile devices. >>vicki: it is convenient. now, you have people buying

shootings, pepper spray, tasers and more, as some shoppers looking for deals turned shockingly violent. and what happened to this man when he was trying to save his grandson from being trampled? >>> the aruba bombshell. the man under suspicion in the disappearance of american robyn gardner in aruba is now set to walk free in just days. but what will the fbi do when gary giordano comes back to america? >>> "twilight" fever. and not the good kind. what is it about the vampire blockbuster that's overstimulating some viewers in a potentially dangerous way? is it jacob? edward? or something more nefarious? >>> good morning, everybody. bianna's off this weekend. but we're very happy to have abc's andrea canning. a die-hard member of team jacob. co-piloting with us this weekend. i know you're a huge "twilight" fan. >> never saw one movie or read one book. >> great to have you. >> i'm happy to be here. did you brave black friday at all? >> i'm way too lazy for that. i may use the internet at some point. >> i don't have body armor or a bullet-proof vest. so, i decided to skip it this year. thin

johannes meserle claims he instead of using his taser, used his gun.o years sentenced, a rally is taking place at frank ogawa plaza. the member of the oscar grant family are respected to attend. >> the man that killed people in richmond, va. opening fire and hop-the mother begged the judger leniency. he is sentenced 40 years. >> a segment recently on now here is stanley roberts who found some people behaving badly. here is how it spread so quickly. >> people think that are going in my car. >>stanley: it h been one pe week since i introduced you to this person. let me tell you that a lot has happened. >> indication of not been on line or on television let me give you an update. >> speaking of angry people and the bay area this is great. there is a local reporter kron, now here is stanley roberts who found some people behaving badly. this week he went with the california highway patrol. >>stanley: was jimmy cam--kimme, the of video i already had was from this person. the video i already had was also from this person. these were all caught in the car pool

so they shot me with a taser gun. i still wouldn't move. so they called the extraction team. i still didn't move. thigh had to go put pads on so i couldn't stick them. >> though his behavior while incarcerated has been extremely violent, the crime that put him behind bars was notorious. >> i was 15 years old. i murdered my aunt with a butcher knife. i put on a hockey mask and brown coveralls and brown boots. they said i had bottled up anger. i was mad at my mom for the way she treated me. i figured i would kill her sister. i didn't want to kill my mom. i figured i'd kill her sister and slowly kill her mentally and emotionally. be is a -- i really ain't good at nothing. i think the whole thing i was meant for to be a serial killer, like that's my job. you know? in most ways, some ways i think if i get a chance to get out maybe i wouldn't do that, but since i ain't got no chance of getting out i might as well just carry out my plan to kill as many people as i can before i die. >> one of the ways riverbend staff tries to maintain control over violent inmates is with periodic cel

pepper spray, tear gas, bean bag bullets and tasers, all of which i believe are available at wal-mart. but folks-- but folks, they're going fast so, remember, bring your waffle iron. (laughter) nation, i don't just pass judgement, i lean on the horn and flip it the bird. this is tip of the hat, wag of the finger. (cheers and applause) first up, folks, this year thanksgiving was ruined. and this time it wasn't because of that horrible thing your grandmother said in front of your korean girlfriend. no, this year thanksgiving was ruined because in his thanksgiving day internet address barack obama did not thank god. come on! it is thanksgiving. who does he thinks we're thankings, other than dr. heimlich. that's why tonight i'm giving a wag of my gravy stained finger to president obama. sir, have you forgotten the first thanksgiving when the pilgrims and the indians and the jesus sat down together. and the lord did turn the maize into corn. and lo, he gavette the indian small pox for not believing in him. (laughter) and so i am call on the president to recognize thanksgiving as a religiou

smith shot james capoot several times before they used a taser to take him into custody. "jack andjames capoot died at the hospital. smith is expected in court on the 29th 29th. james capoot is scheduled for wednesday. he leaves behind three daughters and a wife. jade hernandez, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> the man who walked off with a pablo picasso drawing from a gallery is about to be exrudited to new york. mark lugo pleaded guilty from stealing it from the weinstein gallery. he was sentenced today to time served. also today the gallery rehung the sketch with new security measures now in place. >>> man fighting to stay in the u.s. will be able to stay another year. he came from the philippines back in 1995. immigration and customs told him to report to sfo today for deportation. however, the agency has now given him a one year stay of removal. he now has more time to fight deportation in court. >>> president obama promised to veto any attempt to undue spending cuts. this came after a super committee said it failed to reach a deal on a trillion dollars in cuts. president ob

police stunned him repeatedly with that taser confusing him with a wanted man with the same name.d for injuries. federal lawsuit against the city. all of that. where does this case stand? >> what happened was they actually charged this man who was not the person they were looking for with aggravated battery and obstruction of officers for resisting arrest. it went to a jury trial. that jury found him not guilty. they listened to his story and what the police officer said. they acquitted him. and that's why we see this civil suit being filed now as a violation of his civil rights. >> how much money? how much of a settlement are we talking about? >> i think they'll end up with a couple million. this is egregious. there were six or seven officers out there. don't tell me that one man needed to be tased 11 times for them to get him under control. anticipate his wife is in the car screaming the whole time. that's not who you want. please stop. >> all right the we'll follow that one as well. holly hughes, thank you. >> talk about an inspirational story. in our human factor today, dr. sa

the incidents have included people pulling out weapons, guns, pepper spray and a taser. all for the officially kickoff of the holiday season. that story tonight from nbc's kristen dahlgren. [ shouting ] >> reporter: on youtube today pictures of the quest for doorbusters again turning dangerous. in porter ranch, california, a woman pepper-sprayed fellow walmart shoppers so she could get at an xbox. >> this lady started spraying people. people are screaming. >> reporter: 20 people were injured and police spent the day looking for the suspect. at a walmart in northern california, one man is in critical condition after a shooting. an apparent attempted robbery of his black friday bargain. at a south carolina walmart, one woman was hospitalized after another attempted robbery and shooting. >> we heard gunshots. sounded like gunshots. about five of them. >> reporter: in oneida county, new york, two women were taken away by ambulance after a scuffle over $30 cell phones. >> next thing i know they cut the thing and there's 200 people on top of my mom. >> reporter: in a statement

one man said he was tasered while trying to help one of the victims. >> of 54-year-old man faces several charges including sodomy. howard county police believe there may be other juvenile victims but so far have not released a picture of the suspect. an inmate accused of escaping in anne arundel county is now behind bars. he was found in southwest baltimore last night and is now charged with second-degree escape. the fate of state center ulysses currie is in the hands of a jury. prosecutors criticized his honesty and integrity, but the defense fought back, saying he was just unorganized and would never knowingly break the law. the senators charged with bribery, extortion, and making false statements to investigators. deliberations will resume tomorrow morning. tomorrow we could hear from one of the women who accused gop presidential candidate herman cain of sexual harassment in the 1990's. it happened while he was head of the national restaurant association. the former employee received a settlement and was bound by a confidentiality agreement. cain continues to deny he harassed anyone a

used on a crowd of people that were getting unruly but a taser.sponsibility fall? is it on walmart? on the police? on personal responsibility from shoppers? or spread it around. >> all of the above. >>clayton: a $2 wafflemaker. this is the $2 wafflemaker sale that turned into a riot at walmart. personal responsibility. orderly. we stand in line all the time. you go to starbucks to grab a coffee do you push people in line? >>alisyn: are waffles that popular in this country? but to inspire this? how can people summon the energy after the thanksgiving meal to get off the couple and go out in the cold for this kind of rioting? are people not eating enough? is that 9 problem. >>clayton: that is the problem. >>dave: we will discuss later on the problem to discuss the psychology of this what is happening with these people and we want your tweets. does the responsibility fall or walmart and other big ticket stores to spread out the sales? >>clayton: i was surprised to see that president obama's campaign team decided to debt involved in the black friday de

that he had meant to grab his taser, but he is expected to testify very soon. and we are told that the trial is expected to last about five days. that's the latest from here, reporting live in san francisco, christie smith, john and marla, back to you. >> thank you very much for the update. >>> in other news this morning the man who turned himself in after 40 years as a fugitive answers to charges of shooting at police officers. ronald bridgeforth is expected to plead guilty to shooting at south san francisco officers who tried to arrest him for credit card fraud. this was back in 1968. he originally pleaded no contest but then disappeared before he could be sentenced. bridgeforth turned himself in earlier this month after spending 40 years on the run. he is also accused in the shooting death of a san francisco officer in 1971. in that case he denies any involvement. >>> today a police officer killed in the line of duty will be remembered as a husband, father and a friend during an emotional prayer vigil in vallejo. tonight at 6:00 the good samaritan mission th

the officers were able to use a taser on briscoe and placed him in handcuffs without any further resistance. briscoe was arraigned this afternoon in a santa clara county courtroom. >>> still to come at 5:00, what president obama and facebook's mark zuckerberg have in common. >>> a rare miss for google. why the search giant is apologizing today about its e-mails. >>> i'm damian trujillo live along the santa cruz coastline where huge mammals have been putting on a whale of a show coming up next. >>> we continue to follow developing news above oakland. our nbc helicopter, you can see down below thousands of protesters, an early estimate of 4,000 to 5,000 protesters as part of the occupy oakland movement. and they are moving from downtown towards the port. >> the goal is to shut it down. we have reporters and photographers on-scene. t her ir foe he for furt developments. [ dennis ] allstate wants everyone to be protected on the road. whether you're an allstate customer or not. all you have to do is call. [ female announcer ] call allstate now and you'll get a free lifetime membership in good ha

johannes mehserle claims he was going for his taser and accidentally fired his gun. >> reporter: hundreds of occupy wall street protestors in survive had a police escort as they marched through the rain today. the march was one one of many throughout the day in support of bank transfer day. unlike demonstrations elsewhere there were no problems and no violence. a group calling itself occupy 99% contra costa held a rally and march in downtown concord today. the first occupy rally for that city. many of those taking part say this is the first time they have ever joined their protests saying they represent the working class which has suffered the most in this recession. >>> a driver who hit three occupy d.c. protestors with his car last night will not face charges according to washington, d.c., police, because he had a green light. officers concluded the collision was unavoidable. hundreds of protestors shut down streets near the city's convention center. people who say they witnessed the accident offer conflicting stories about what happened. the people hit by the car were taken to the hosp