Tasers get initial approval

(ANSA) - Rome, September 30 - Italian police were given initial approval Tuesday to use Taser electric stun guns on a trial basis for the first time, following a motion by Gregorio Fontana of the centre-right Forza Italia (FI) party.
    The motion must still be approved by the Lower House before the trial use of the electroshock weapon, used by police services in many countries, can begin.
    The motion was approved after Italian Deputy Interior Minister Filippo Bubbico reworded the motion to say experimentation must take place "with necessary precautions for the health and safety of the public and in accordance with the principles of precaution, and after consultation with the health minister".
    Fontana said his motion's approval constituted "a first real step toward the introduction of the Taser as a tool supplied to police".
    "It is hoped that the condition laid down by the rewording of the motion" does not impede "technological modernization of extreme usefulness for security operators and all citizens," Fontana went on. Proponents say the weapons have allowed police to subdue dangerous suspects with fewer injuries than when guns are used.
    However, critics have complained the use of Tasers can result in serious injury and even death.
    Fontana pointed out that the Taser is used in the United States, United Kingdom, France and Switzerland.