Why Coyle uses an electrified baton/cattle prod
(Image 1: Coyle's weapon, image 2: Picana)
It bears some resemblance, in both form and function, to the Picana and it's less safe for work brethren (e-stim prods). The Picana was a torture device used by police and military regimes to interrogate and torture prisoners. It would often be applied to the head, temples, mouth, genitalia, and breasts. Coyle uses his prod in a similar fashion, frequently targeting many of the same areas on his victims for the same reasons. To power the picana a car battery, much like the modified car battery attached to Coyle's back, was used.
His motivations in wielding his weapon—both toward himself and his victims—parallels the motivations behind using more intimate prods, though with a much more violent undertone. He conflates intimacy with violence, perverting both into instruments of corruption and fascism. As a character, he is designed to seduce the player into sexualizing these themes, thereby indoctrinating them into the acceptance of authoritarian violence.
(Downtown Voice Line)
Upon witnessing the death of a cow, he calls it a 'Kraut black angus' with the angus being a Scottish breed of beef cattle, suggesting he may have ties to cattle farming. This could be one of the reasons he carries a cattle prod, as all the Prime Assets carry weapons connected to their pasts. References: https://www.reed.edu/poli_sci/faculty/rejali/articles/History_of_Electric_Torture.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picana
https://outlast.fandom.com/wiki/Leland_Coyle
*There's a separate post regarding his weaponization and fetishization of electricity













