4. Projectile electric shock weapons Projectile electric shock weapons are designed for law enforcement officials to incapacitate an individual at a distance. Most models work by firing darts attached by thin wires to the launch device, at an individual, and can be used from a distance of several metres. The darts attach to a person’s body or clothing, delivering an incapacitating high voltage electric shock that causes the subject to lose neuro-muscular control and collapse. Depending on the model, the shock can be continuous and prolonged if the trigger is held down (up to minutes), repeated numerous times if retriggered, or can be interrupted. When deployed by highly trained police officers as a projectile in a stand-off situation to prevent an imminent threat of serious injury or death, such projectile electric shock weapons can be a legitimate alternative to firearms. Officers authorized to use such weapons must abide by regional and international policing standards on the use of force and firearms, and should always be under a strict system of supervision and accountability so as to ensure that such standards are fully met. However, most such dart-firing electric shock weapons are designed so that they can easily be switched to “drive stun” mode to enable them to be used as direct contact electric shock weapons. The Omega Research Foundation considers the use of such direct contact electric shock weapons to pose a substantial risk of torture or other ill-treatment, and therefore calls for the prohibition of the “drive stun” or direct contact mode on such electric shock projectile weapons. 4.1. Misuse of projectile electric shock weapons During 2012-2017 Amnesty International and the CPT have documented the misuse of electric shock projectile weapons in Finland and Lithuania. 4.1.1. Illustrative cases Finland In a 2016 submission to the UN Committee against Torture, Amnesty International reported on three instances of reported inappropriate use of electric shock weapons by police officers.117 Although the specific type of electric shock weapon used in each instance is not identified, considering the particular circumstances it is likely that projectile electric shock weapons were used in two of them. In the first case, Amnesty International reported that police used an electric shock weapon on a person who was fleeing on a stairway. As a result, the victim fell and sustained a brain injury. The second instance took place in August 2012, when police reportedly used an electric shock weapon against a 14-year-old boy who was speeding on a moped. The UN Committee against Torture subsequently expressed its concern at these reports and made a detailed recommendation to the Finnish Government that it “ensure that electrical discharge weapons are used exclusively in extreme and limited situations, where there is a real and immediate threat to life or risk of serious injury, as a substitute for lethal weapons and by trained law enforcement personnel only; should expressly prohibit their use on 117 Amnesty International, Finland: Submission to the United Nations Committee against Torture, 59 th Session, 7 November – 7 December 2016, p. 13-14 28