NYRB also had a piece on these stun guns a few yrs. ago.
And The Chicago Reader and In These Times (Salim Muwakkil) had some
reportage in the mid-80's on the Chicago precinct where widespread torture
of suspects occurred.
http://www.rightsforall-usa.org/info/report/r08.htm
"I had electric shocks applied to my feet and hands for so long they had to
change the batteries, and I became so weak I told them what they wanted."
Pius Lustrilanang, an Indonesian political activist speaking in February
1998, describing his torture with an electro-shock stun gun.
US companies were the first to develop stun guns for use against human
beings and are among the world's leading suppliers. The US government keeps
export data on such equipment secret, but in 1998 Amnesty International
found leaked government documents showing that the US Commerce Department
had licensed the export of thousands of stun guns to Indonesia in 1993, in
the face of persistent reports of electro-shock torture by Indonesian
government agents.
The US government's claim to promote human rights and freedom around the
globe is undermined by its support for armed forces known to commit human
rights abuses. The USA has supplied arms, security equipment and training to
governments and armed groups that have committed torture, political killings
and other human rights abuses in countries around the world. Oversight by
public bodies remains inadequate to the task of ensuring that US supplies do
not contribute to further human rights violations.
The USA dominates the post-Cold War global market for arms and security
equipment. It is estimated that from 1989 to 1996 the USA sold more than
$117 billion of arms, about 45 per cent of the global total. Sales are often
supported by official financial assistance, military training and logistical
support programs. Successive US governments have authorized exports to
recipients with a record of human rights abuse, and have failed to publish
comprehensive and timely information on the export of US small arms and law
enforcement equipment — the most common tools of human rights abuse"
<snip>
