The surprising reasons why Tasers didn’t stop crazed Times Square stabber

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By Published Sep. 1, 2026, 6:58 p.m. ET

The maniac who stabbed two people, killing one, in Times Square was likely able to battle through police tasers because of her body fat, erratic movements — and her purse, an expert told The Post.

Artur Sadowski, a retired NYPD detective and Taser expert, said Pamela Cisneros, 49, was able to fight off multiple Taser deployments because the officers were unable to make solid contact with the waddling killer.

NYPD officers fired off at least three Tasers at Pamela Cisneros after her stabbing spree in Times Square. 4

Mentally ill Pamela Cisneros fatally stabbed new mom Erin Piacenti and hurt a male passer-by in a Times Square rampage Monday. Facebook/Pamela Cisneros

One expert said that Tasers are not effective when shot in fleshy areas of the body. 4

An expert said Tasers are not effective when shot in fleshy areas of the body. @bboypop97/Instagram

“The thicker the padding in front of the muscles, the more difficult it is for the taser to get to the muscles and be effective,” Sadowski said Tuesday of the body-fat factor.

Sadowski, who wrote the Taser playbook that the NYPD used for training, noted that the devices can only work when both of its probes make solid contact — and that there was enough distance between the officers and jostling stabber to make that all but impossible.

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One of the cops’ probes also struck the deranged woman’s purse, which was wrapped around her body — preventing the circuit in that case from connecting and causing neuromuscular incapacitation, a temporary stop of muscle control.

The shocking caught-on-camera mayhem shows the NYPD cops confronting Cisneros, who has long struggled with mental health, holding two knives up in the air just after she attacked two people near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue on Monday.

The woman, who ignored cops’ pleas to drop the knives, was tased as she started to wildly swing the knives in the air before eventually being fatally shot when she charged at them, the footage shows.

At least one of the probes appeared to strike Pamela Cisernos' purse. 4

At least one of the probes appeared to strike Cisneros’ purse. @bboypop97/Instagram

When the cops tried tasing her to bring her down, they appeared to hit her at least once in the middle of her stomach, Sadowski said.

But “even when probes hit, a narrow spread, thick clothing, or body fat can limit the electrical effect,” the former Axon master instructor said, adding that areas like the back and back of the legs have less fat and make tasers more effective.

“She may have felt pain or muscle cramping in her abdomen but not enough to stop her from advancing.”

The knives recovered at the Times Square stabbing. 4

Two knives were recovered at the Times Square stabbing. Kyle Mazza-UNF News via CNP/Shutterstock

Sadowski said at least three tasers were fired off in about a second — with a possible fourth discharged right as Cisneros was gunned down by cops.

She died from her gunshot wounds at Bellevue Hospital, officials said.

Her victims include Erin Piacenti, a 32-year-old University of Pennsylvania and Fordham Law graduate, who died due to her injuries, sources told The Post.

Piacenti, who was an executive at Bank of America, had just celebrated her second wedding anniversary in August, social media posts show.

The other victim, a 68-year-old man, was stabbed in the abdomen.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5899864&forum_id=2/#50110215)