Are Tasers good tools for police — or deadly force?

That sounds like a lot, but the important fact is that it uses 2.1 miliamps, says Steve Tuttle, a Taser spokesman. A wall socket has 110 volts but 16 amps behind it, which is why the shock from sticking a fork into an outlet would be much more severe than a Taser jolt.

Another comparison: A cardiac defibrillator uses 360 joules per pulse, Tuttle said. A Taser uses .07 joules per pulse.

There's a crackling, popping sound as the Taser completes a five-second round of "shocking," locking up all the individual's muscles and usually dropping him like a sack of potatoes.

"I think they're a great tool," said Provo Police Capt. Cliff Argyle. "Even though it's painful, it's actually saving people's lives and reducing injury."

Provo began using Tasers in 2006 and since then has reported nearly 30 uses.

For training at the jail, deputies were held up on either side by co-workers, to prevent collapse.

The common response was a tightening of all body muscles, clenched teeth and clutched fists. Some officers even rose up on their tiptoes.

The first words out of the mouth of one officer were curses.

"Wow, that was bad," was the first phrase from another. "Holy crap."

As soon as the shock is over, the pain is gone. No lingering side effects.

"Most pain is just where you hurt, not your entire body," said Utah County deputy sheriff Remington Barron. "(This one) started, stopped and then it was over. I don't feel hurt at all."

Using appropriate force

When Orem officers arrived at a group home on Feb. 2, 2005, the 6 foot, 200 pound, mentally unstable boy had broken off two legs from a chair and was threatening himself and others.

"I saw (him) coming toward us in a very threatening manner as he was holding those sticks above him as if he was going to stab one of us," an officer wrote in his police report obtained by the Deseret News.

"I felt the only way to resolve the situation with minimum risk of injury to (him) and officers was to deploy my Taser," another responding officer wrote.

The boy, who had not responded to pepper spray, was struck with two deployments from a Taser and finally complied, dropping the sticks. Officers took him to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center for treatment for the probe entry wounds plus further mental health evaluations.

"To me, what the Taser does, it gives us one more option before we have to shoot somebody or (take) a night stick to them," said Springville Police Lt. Dave Caron. "That never works out well."

The Taser allows officers to distance themselves from a situation, decreasing injury for both the officer and the suspect.