THE NSW Government insists its police Tasers are safe despite four deaths linked to the stun guns in North America in the past week.
The police have almost 50 of the Tasers, although the latest unit to be given them, the Public Order and Riot Squad, which has 12, has never actually used them.
Tasers shoot two barbed darts that deliver a series of 50,000-volt electrical pulses over five seconds, resulting in severe pain and immobilising muscle contractions.
There is a global debate over their safety, with Amnesty International pointing to 150 cases of deaths in custody linked to Tasers between 2001 and last year.
More than 50 wrongful-death suits have been brought against the manufacturer of the stun guns, Taser International, and there are concerns they disrupt key nerve signals.
However, other studies have shown the injury rate is low and most injuries are minor.
Last week, a Polish national Robert Dziekanski died after being shocked repeatedly by policemen in Canada with a Taser stun gun only 60 seconds after being confronted.
Since then, three more men, all in their early 20s, have died in the US. Taser International denies the guns are to to blame.
Last year a Bible-wielding American teenager who shouted "I want Jesus" died after being shot twice by a police stun gun.
The acting Minister for Police, Matt Brown, said NSW Police had developed guidelines for the use of Tasers to ensure they were used properly.
"Tasers are used by our elite units after a full assessment of a situation and in incidents where senior police conclude that the person poses a real and immediate risk to themselves, members of the public, or to police," he said.
"Those who are authorised to carry and use the Taser device have undergone specialised training and are highly experienced in weapons use."
Thousands of prison and police departments in the US use Tasers, but only three NSW police units have been given access to the stun guns. The state's most heavily armed police units, the Tactical Operations Unit and the State Protection Support Unit, have had 37 of them for five years. By the end of last year, they had used them 11 times.
The Public Order and Riot Squad was given permission to have 12 guns in August, although their use in violent protests and riots was forbidden.
They have not yet used the gun in a confrontation.
The Police Association of NSW criticised the decision to give the Tasers to the riot squad, saying they would be more useful to uniformed police as an alternative to bullets or capsicum spray.
The secretary of the Police Association, Peter Remfrey, said Tasers were safe, presented a less-than-lethal option and reduced assaults on police. "There's been no finding by a coroner that Tasers have been the cause of death," he told the Herald.
Mr Remfrey said the fact the riot squad had not used its Tasers showed it was the wrong unit to give them to. "It's not a trial if they're not using them."
The Opposition's police spokesman, Mike Gallacher, said the Government needed to get as much information as possible about Taser deaths in the US.
SHOCK TACTICS
- NSW police have 49 Taser guns
- Guns shoot two barbed darts and deliver 50,000 volts
- Public Order and Riot Squad given 12 before APEC
- Tactical Operations Unit has 16 Tasers; State Protection Support Unit has 21
- Tactical and protection units have had them for five years and used them 11 times
Topic: Tasers zapping power (Read 1123 times)