be used. In order to facilitate medical treatment and inform public discourse, the results of these tests should have a role to play in law enforcement, the capacity to use the Condor Spark as a direct contact electric shock also be made publicly available along with any relevant documentation pertaining to the equipment’s technical weapon makes the device potentially abusive and therefore inappropriate for use by Brazilian law enforcement specifications, functions and use parameters. officials. In Omega’s view, projectile electric shock weapons intended for law enforcement should not have In order to promote accountability and transparency related to the use of projectile electric shock weapons, only products that maintain an electronic record of every use should be permitted. The data recorded by these weapons should be made available to internal oversight bodies, investigators, prosecutors and torture monitors. direct contact shock capabilities, and those that do should have them permanently disabled. Where this is not possible, the promotion, trade and use of such weapons should be prohibited. 3.1.3 Kinetic impact weapons (handheld) Finally, given that the use of projectile electric shock weapons should be limited to situations in which officers While conventional batons and truncheons can have a legitimate role in law enforcement, when testing are faced with an imminent threat of death or life-threatening injury, when selecting equipment for deployment, and selecting handheld kinetic impact weapons it remains important to ensure that the design of the weapons due consideration should be given to the operational context in which they are likely to be used. Specifically, it and the materials they are made from are such that they do not impact with excessive force or cause injury is important to consider whether the selected weapon can be used proportionately and lawfully in this context which is unnecessary. and whether the same objectives could be achieved by less harmful means. Previous investigations by Omega have highlighted the dangers of inherently abusive forms of striking weapons including spiked batons; sjamboks and other strengthened whips; weighted gloves and weighted batons. These weapons are designed to increase, not minimize, the amount of force (and resulting injury) inflicted on subjects and can often cause skin lacerations or puncture injuries. Given their potential to cause unnecessary and excessive injury these types of weapons clearly cannot legitimately be used for law enforcement purposes. As such, the manufacture, trade and use of these types of handheld kinetic impact weapons should be strictly prohibited. Omega’s research and records indicate that there are at least two Brazilian companies that manufacture handheld kinetic impact weapons, namely Belica Militar and O Filizzola & Cia Ltda, both of whom produce a range of police batons including side-handled and extendable batons. The batons manufactured by these companies are conventional in their design and appear to be manufactured using rubber or plastic. During our research Omega found no evidence to suggest that inherently abusive kinetic impact weapons such as spiked or weighted batons are currently being manufactured in Brazil. 3.1.4 Kinetic Impact Projectiles Despite their widespread use by law enforcement agencies around the world, there currently exist few international standards regulating the design or performance, including kinetic energy or accuracy of less lethal ammunition. As described in section one of this reports, kinetic impact projectiles can be manufactured using ▲ SPARK DSK 700, projectile electric shock weapon manufactured by Condor on display at Milipol 2013 © Robin Ballantyne/Omega Research Foundation a wide range of materials and come in a diverse range of designs and calibres. As a result, the performance Although there are many imported direct contact electric shock devices available for sale in Brazil, deployment, it is essential that all kinetic impact projectiles are rigorously and independently tested in order to Omega has identified only one domestic manufacturer of projectile electric shock products at present, namely Condor, who with the support of government funding has developed and marketed the Condor ‘Spark’. According to its operating manual, the Spark can be used either as a projectile electric shock device or in direct contact (‘drive stun’) mode and is currently in use by Brazilian police86. While projectile electric shock weapons can 32  of kinetic impact projectiles can vary substantially between different models. As such, prior to selection and ensure that they are accurate and do not impact with excessive force. Ammunition containing multiple projectiles, especially those that contain small pellets or balls are inherently inaccurate and therefore pose a heightened risk to unintended targets. Because of the small size of the pellets, 33