GENERAL duties police officers will be equipped with stun guns for the first time when the weapon is rolled out in country Victoria on Sunday.
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On July 4, a 12-month trial of Tasers will begin in Bendigo and Morwell. Currently, only the state's specialist squads, the Critical Incident Response Team and Special Operations Group, use them.
Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe, who is personally overseeing the trial, said 150 officers from the two stations had undergone intensive training to use the weapon, which is the same model as used by the specialist squads.
Tasers are used by general duty police in Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales, despite being linked to several deaths, including a 39-year-old man in Queensland in 2009 who was shocked 28 times.
The use of electroshock weapons is condemned by civil libertarians and human rights advocates, here and abroad.
Liberty Victoria president Michael Pearce said he opposed their use as there was evidence of fatalities. He added: ''There is a real concern that because they are less lethal, police are more likely to use them.''
The Law Institute of Australia has also expressed concern.
An Amnesty International spokeswoman said its most recent study found that 334 people died after being struck by stun guns in the US between 2001 and August 2008.
Many human rights organisations, such as Amnesty, want an independent investigation into the effects of stun guns.
But Mr Walshe defended the trial and said it was not a step towards a widespread rollout of Tasers.
''At this stage we are quite satisfied that we have sufficient coverage through our critical incident response teams, who operate 24 hours a day in the metropolitan area,'' he said.
"We maintain the view that a Taser is only to be used to prevent death and serious injury in highly volatile incidents. They should not be used for compliance purposes and instead as a last option before police have to resort to a firearm.''
The trial in Bendigo and Morwell would be limited to general duty and traffic management unit patrols of two or more officers. Only one member will carry the weapon, the other a firearm so it can be used as a last resort if the Taser fails.
The towns were chosen because of the higher number of critical incidents involving the use of force by police.
The Tasers are equipped with video and audio recorders that activate when the weapon is armed. These will monitor officer accountability and gather evidence.
An interim evaluation of the trial will take place in January with a final assessment to be completed next June.
The trial was announced in February by Chief Commissioner Simon Overland, who last year ruled out giving the weapons to every officer, saying: ''If you've got a homicidal maniac with an axe running at you and you're relying on this thing and it doesn't work, you're dead.''
