Corporate History

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Corporate History



		1993		In 1993 in Scottsdale, Arizona, TASER International's founders, brothers Rick and Tom Smith, began a quest to reduce violence by developing a more effective and safer use of force option for citizens and law enforcement. Along with the original TASER inventor, Jack Cover, the Smith brothers began work in 1993 to develop the first non-firearm TASER electronic control device for personal protection for citizens, which led to the incorporation of AIR TASER, Inc. in September 1993.



		1994		In June 1994, the AIR TASER Model 34000 incorporated a unique tracking system to make citizens accountable when TASER brand devices were used. This system, known as the anti-felon identification (AFID) system, disperses dozens of small confetti with serial numbers that match back to the owner of the TASER device. In that same month, the ATF certified that the AIR TASER was not a firearm and is not subject to the stringent regulations that were placed on the original TASER device developed by Jack Cover. The AIR TASER became a successful self-defense tool available to citizens concerned about personal security. Over the past decade, more than 120,000 TASER systems were sold to citizens for personal defense.



		1998		During 1998, AIR TASER, Inc. changed its name to TASER International, Inc. to reflect the company's international expansion and the introduction of the AIR TASER to the law enforcement community in 1998.



		1999		In 1999, a more effective TASER brand device was developed in an improved, ergonomically handgun shaped device called the ADVANCED TASER M-series systems. This new technology used patented neuromuscular incapacitation (NMI) technology which affected both the sensory and motor nervous systems to cause incapacitation.



		2001		Following its success in developing its ADVANCED TASER technology and the associated dramatic injury reduction at law enforcement agencies, TASER International, Inc. filed for an IPO in May 2001 and began public trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol TASR.



		2003		In May 2003, TASER International introduced the new TASER X26 with Shaped Pulse Technology. The TASER X26 has dynamically influenced significant changes in over 11,000 law enforcement agencies worldwide. It has become a vital tool for patrol-level deployment around the world. Now, TASER technology is dramatically reducing injuries to officers and suspects, protecting life. TASER International provides advanced electronic control devices for use in the law enforcement, military, private security and personal defense markets. TASER devices use proprietary technology to incapacitate dangerous, combative or high-risk subjects who pose a risk to law enforcement officers, innocent citizens or themselves in a manner that is generally recognized as a safer alternative to other uses of force.

Last Updated: 7/31/2008 10:02 PM