Will NJ Give Police Officers Tasers?

At the very least, it's being discussed. NJ's Senate Law and Safety Committee is going to be discussing stun guns and tasers today:

The Legislature amended the law regarding use of deadly force last year, signing off on the use of less-lethal ammunition but leaving it to the attorney general to work out the details.

A list of allowable less-lethal ammunition will be compiled, the Attorney General's Office said.

Wednesday's report is the first part of a two-stage look at non-lethal force issues.

Still to be considered is whether to allow the use of stun guns such as Tasers, which use electric shock to temporarily disable unruly individuals.

New Jersey is the only state where it is illegal for police to carry Tasers, the result of a 1989 law banning all stun weapons.

The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee will take up the issue of stun gun use Thursday. The advisory panel has not scheduled a hearing on the stun gun issue.

Currently NJ has a law banning the devices (Interestingly, most of the hits on that Google search are from companies selling tasers and stun guns).

PostBlog (06-17-08): an update on tasers in NJ is here.