Would you rather be hit with a nightstick, sprayed in the face with pepper spray or get zapped with electricity?

Ann Arbor Police Department Chief Dan Oates said that compared to other methods, Taser can be a favorable option. “I’ve been hit with the Taser, mace and a nightstick, and I’ll take the Taser any day.”

More police departments nationwide are choosing to use Taser guns to subdue unruly suspects. The Ann Arbor Police Department was one of the first agencies in Michigan to supply all of its patrol officers with Tasers. But deaths related to Tasers have some people questioning whether they are safe enough to use.

Tasers are small guns that can be used to stop threats up to 15 feet away using a 50,000-volt electric shock. They can also be used in less serious situations in a dry-stun mode, which is a less severe, localized shock. The AAPD usually uses the dry stun mode, Oates said.

The AAPD bought 10 Taser guns from Taser International, the lone producer of Taser guns for police departments in the United States, in July 2003. After training the special tactics unit to use the guns in a pilot program, the department purchased guns for all of its officers. “We think it’s been a very reasonable, less-lethal force option, and we’ve had success with it,” Oates said.

Oates added that Tasers are used in situations in which the use of force is a reasonable and necessary option and other choices, such as hand-to-hand combat with a suspect or using other weapons, could result in injury.

However, the adoption of Tasers into police departments hasn’t been completely smooth sailing. As of November 2004, more than 70 people in the United States and Canada have died after being subdued with Tasers, according to Amnesty International. On Nov. 25, a 47-year-old Michigan man died after being shocked with a Taser by state police officers.

Some doctors said the shock emitted from stun guns can increase the risk of complications for suspects who are severely agitated or on drugs when they are shocked, as well as increase the risk of heart failure. However, no extensive studies have been done to determine if the deaths were directly related to the Tasers or if they resulted from other factors.

Amnesty International has asked all local, state and federal authorities to stop using Tasers and electroshock weapons until a more detailed study about their use and effects can be completed, but no authorities have stopped using Tasers yet. In the meantime, Amnesty International is asking them to only use Tasers in situations where the only other alternative is deadly force and to enforce strict guidelines on the use of the Tasers.

Taser International’s website assures that its stun guns are safe to use and have no lasting effects. “The problem we’re wrestling with nationally is when to use it,” Oates said. “We’ve had a couple usages where we refined our policy, and it’s an ongoing evaluation by the police industry.”