by TChris

Firing 50,000 volts of electricity into a person's body is an extreme measure, but at least it's better than a bullet. That may be the ultimate lesson to draw from the experiences of police departments that have issued Taser guns to their officers.

The number of people killed by police in Seattle, Miami, Phoenix, and other cities has fallen dramatically, in part, it seems, because officers in those cities have been relying on Taser guns when, in the past, they might have used deadly force.

But as the Taser spreads rapidly, it is raising questions about whether the weapon, which can also be applied directly to the skin as a stun gun, could be abused by the police. The Taser zaps suspects with 50,000 volts of electricity, disabling them for five seconds at a time. Critics say the weapon is ripe for abuse because the shock leaves no obvious mark, other than what looks like a small bee sting. Human rights groups in the United States and abroad have called Tasers potential instruments of torture.

Incidents of abuse are not unknown. A man in Las Vegas died last month after being shot with a Taser four or five times. Here's what his cousin saw:

"He was on the ground," Ms. Bell said in a telephone interview. "He had two pairs of handcuffs on him, and I didn't know the Taser was being used until I heard him screaming. He kept screaming and screaming, saying, `Oh God, Jesus, please no.' He was screaming in pain, he was hurt and he didn't resist."

The long term effects of being zapped with 50,000 volts are unknown, and the possible lethality of the weapon is open to debate. Still, if the alternative is the use of a gun that will almost certainly cause serious injury or death, police departments should seriously consider training officers in the use of a Taser.

Police departments should vigilantly guard against the abusive use of Taser guns, just as they should guard against abuse of any kind. Policies limiting the use of Taser guns should be strictly enforced, so that officers are held accountable if they resort to a Taser gun when safer and less painful methods can safely be used to obtain an offender's compliance.