Yesterday, Mountie commissioner William Elliott told the Commons public safety committee that use of Tasers should be resisted as they can prove to be fatal especially in "acutely agitated" condition.

"We've now made it very clear that the only time the use of a Taser can be justified is where there is a threat, either to our officers or to members of the public," he said.

However, Taser International Inc., the U. S.-based maker of the stun guns, has defended the safety of its devices with conviction.

This change in policy comes in the wake of recommendations made in June by RCMP public complaints commission chairman Paul Kennedy that Taser use be restricted to "combative" suspects and its use be barred for inexperienced officers.

Dr. Christine Hall, who co-authored a two-year study of Taser use in Calgary for the Canadian Police Research Centre, said that the issue of its effects in case of agitated suspects is an area that needs more research.

"It's fabulous they have recognized that incoherent agitated people are a higher risk," she said. "But whether using a Taser is a higher risk as opposed to other weapons used to subdue suspects has not been scientifically proven."