I was tallking to my buddy who is just finishing academy. He was tasered last week as part of training. It isn't manditory but strongly encouraged and if an officer wants to carry a taser he must be tasered. I think that should be a requirement nationwide if it isn't already (and I don't think it is). He said of being tasered "it was horrible pain." He couldn't belive that it was lowere on the force scale than physical force in many places.

I've been tased as part of my training.  Not just having the the prongs taped to me either... We had them shot into us, but like your buddy, getting tased is only encouraged not mandatory. It really is a horrible pain.  It's super blunt and intolerable... longest 5 seconds ever.  I'll take a sharp cutting type pain anyday over that again.

I got shot with a Taser  this summer to be certified. It was the longest 5 seconds of my life. I remember wondering why it was taking so long. It seemed like 15-20 seconds. What amazed me the most is how fast the recovery time is.  Took about 4-5 seconds for my brain to figure out where my body was afterwards.