Police to trial Taser gun in NZ

[dave nz]

Police have unveiled the tasers they plan to trial with a stunning demonstration of their stopping power.

The electrical weapon, which delivers a temporary debilitating shock, will be trialled for one year, by 180 officers in Auckland and Wellington, who have already been trained in how to use them.

The taser fires two barbs into the offender with a force of 50,000 volts. Police won't carry tasers all the time, only to incidents where they are likely to encounter violent or aggressive offenders.

On Tuesday officers acted as guinea pigs.

One who was stunned said it was "so intense that all my arms, my legs my back everything went rigid and I felt like a starfish."

Police say the only short term effects are some bleeding and minor burns.

Superintendent John Rivers has reiterated that the use of tasers is in the interest of public safety, saying they give police more tactical options when dealing with violent situations.

"We have an independent group of medical experts to monitor and report on the trial. The medical risks are not as high as some people report," says Rivers.

Every person who is shot with a taser gun during the one year trial will receive an examination by a doctor afterwards

But while police insist they are safe, opponents say the trial should be stopped before someone dies.

Critics claim tasers have been involved in two hundred deaths in the United States. And they are not buying into the public relations blitz.

"Police are fudging the issue when they say the taser doesn't kill, because it does kill, even their documents admit it, people with heart conditions that's what's happened in the United States," says Green MP Keith Locke

Police will start the taser stun gun trial on Friday.