05:55 AM CST on Saturday, February 12, 2005

SHELTON GREEN / KVUE News

Tasers are used too often by Austin police and should be blamed for the deaths of at least three people in Texas, protestors gathered outside of APD headquarters said on Friday.

The department bought tasers last year as an alternative to deadly force, but the 25 to 30 protestors gathered outside of the department's headquarters during rush hour Friday said more and more evidence proves they can be just as deadly as a firearm.

Steve Arceri believes tasers are a violation of a person's constitutional rights.

"If indeed [the police] are sworn to uphold the law, we should hold them accountable to the highest law in the land — the U.S. constitution — which clearly prohibits the use of cruel and unusual punishment," he said.

APD did speak openly about the use of tasers after first approving their use in May 2004. Their purchase was prompted by a similar outcry about the use of deadly force.

"Tazer is not 100% effective," Assistant Chief Robert Dahlstrom said. "It works 90 to 95% of the time. If for whatever reason, the officer were to miss with the Tazer, the officer could lose their life if they're doing a one-on-one with a deadly weapon."

APD refused to comment about Friday's protests.