All 104 RCMP detachments across Alberta will have tasers added to their arsenal within the next three years.
Taser guns - which stop people with a 50,000-volt electrical charge - have proven controversial. A 1991 forensic pathologists' report linked them to 16 deaths in Los Angeles. It warned they could kill people who have heart conditions or are on drugs.
RCMP spokesman Sgt. Steve Gleboff said the $700,000 investment for equipment and training is worth it because using tasers is less lethal.
"This is just another tool. It's a less lethal weapon as opposed to a firearm. What we're trying to do is eliminate the necessity to shoot somebody."
But tasers aren't needed at all and if cops use them, they're less likely to negotiate with people, said Stephen Jenuth, Alberta Civil Liberties Association president.
"If I have a taser and I believe it's a non-lethal thing, it doesn't really hurt people, I might be tempted to use it rather than spend my time trying to deal with a person in an appropriate manner," said Jenuth.
"If the weapon doesn't work, then (the officer is) in a real problem because they have an enraged person coming at them and that can put them in a really tough situation. It's not a weapon that's needed."
The John Howard Society is not worried, suspecting police will use the tasers very little, said spokesman Robin Murray.
Gleboff said officers won't be allowed to use tasers unless they're trained but was unsure if part of the training would include telling members not to use tasers on people high on drugs.
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