TASRE Taser International (MM)

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TASER International, Inc. (NASDAQ:TASRE), a market leader in advanced electronic control devices released the following News Alert: According to news reports from The Associated Press, a deputy used a TASER to successfully subdue an Orlando man in court after he yelled at the judge and attempted to charge the bench. Timothy Cravens, 40, was in court facing an injunction brought against him by Heather Boan, a local radio personality. Records show that after Orange Circuit Judge George A. Sprinkel ordered Cravens to permanently stay away from Boan and another station employee, Cravens shouted "Well, you're wrong," and charged the judge's bench. The deputy hit Cravens in the thigh with a TASER and was then able to handcuff him and bring him back before the judge. Cravens was found in contempt of court and sentenced to Orange County jail for 180 days. The judge also ordered a psychological evaluation and suggested Cravens be held on suicide watch. This is not the first time an officer has used a TASER to de-escalate a violent confrontation in a courtroom. According to reports in August from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock), an Arkansas mental patient managed to grab and fire an officer's pistol outside a courtroom, before the officer deployed a TASER to subdue him. Evaluations of courthouse security procedures have intensified over the past year after a series of high-profile court-related shootings, including three fatal shootings in an Atlanta courtroom in March. As reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Brian Nichols, a sexual assault defendant, overpowered a court officer and used her gun to kill the officer, a judge and a court stenographer. This information was compiled through publicly-available media reports and distributed by Dittus Communications, Inc. of Washington, D.C. TASER International, Inc. and Dittus Communications, Inc. disclaim any responsibility for the accuracy of the media reports which are the sole responsibility of the attributed media source. For more information on this life saving technology, please visit: http://www.taser.com/. DATASOURCE: TASER International, Inc. CONTACT: Jennifer Burke, +1-202-775-1401, for TASER International, Inc. Web site: http://www.taser.com/

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