Police say stun gun's 50,000 volt electric burst not lethal

The 50,000 volt shock delivered by the electric stun guns New Zealand police are about to test is very painful but not fatal, say police.

Earlier this week police announced they were about to trial the controversial Taser stun guns which delivered a disabling burst of electricity from nearly 8m.

In America, dozens of people had died after being hit with Tasers -- although the gun issued to American police is more powerful than the gun being trialed in New Zealand. Medical opinion also says the deaths were from other factors and not the Taser.

The guns fire electric probes into a person's body and for five seconds the person gets a 50,000 volt electric shock -- enough to stop most people in their tracks, the New Zealand Police Association said.

If the probes remained embedded in the person and the electric shock had not worked, the police officer could trigger more bursts.

The association said in its latest Police News magazine that the guns had a range of 7.6m but during training officers would be encouraged to get as close as possible to avoid hitting eyes or genitals.

The gun fires two probes made from straightened fish hooks and once embedded in a person's body, electricity flows between the probes.

The association said the 50,000 volt shock incapacitated people and gave police "a window of opportunity" to move in and subdue the offender.

The electricity could pass through clothing but provided the probes were within 45mm of the skin, the disabling electricity would still flow, the magazine said.

It also said in England, where the Tasers were issued only to police officers trained to use firearms, the probes must be removed by a doctor and New Zealand was considering the same protocol.

English police officers had also been issued with a cross-draw holster for the Taser, meaning they had to reach across their bodies to draw it which "precluded the possibility of drawing a firearm instead of the Taser".

The Taser also included a red light which targeted the offender and overseas police officers said in up to 70 per cent of cases that was enough to convince the offender to give up, meaning the Taser did not need to be fired.

The magazine said deaths among people shot with the Taser were mainly in America and Canada but it also said in one American city, fatal police shootings had dropped by 50 per cent since the Taser was introduced. American police used a larger model which delivered 26 watts of voltage, instead of the 5W from the guns New Zealand police would test.

English police used the same model selected by New Zealand and there had been no deaths in the 170 times it had been used since it was introduced on a trial in April, 2003.

The association said overseas reports suggested the Taser gun saved lives by giving police a non-lethal solution when dealing with violent offenders, including those affected by methamphetamines or mental illness.

Association president Greg O'Connor said New Zealand police had a long history of being unarmed and the Taser would escalate their "armed" capability, while overseas it meant a de-escalation in lethal-force capability.

It gave police a less-than-lethal option, he said.

"We have to remember that police officers have to make split-second decisions in very volatile and dangerous situations every day and those decisions can have far-reaching consequences for themselves and others.

"The Taser provides a mid-way point between deadly force and a back-up for when offenders cannot be subdued by more conventional means such as pepper sprays," he said.

The Tasers would be trialed in North Shore/Waitakere Rodney, Auckland City, Counties Manakau and Wellington districts from June.

The controversial stun gun was also to be trialed by New South Wales police in Australia for civil disorder such as riots.

It has been used in high-risk events involving hostages or firearms for two years.

In Australia there had also been calls for the Tasers to be banned because there was no research showing them to be safe.

An Amnesty International report released in April last year found 103 people had died in America and Canada between June 2001 and March 2005 after being shot with Tasers.

- NZPA