Police departments in the Pittsburgh area, gradually adopting Taser guns as standard equipment, are quickly finding that the weapons bring a new set of problems.

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Controversy. The possibility of lawsuits. Cries of police brutality. But so far, at least, there have been no deaths locally, as has been the case in other cities, where Tasers were cited as a contributing factor in some deaths.

Last week, two incidents in which city police and a suburban officer fired the guns have brought those issues to the forefront here.

Human-rights groups decried the use of the guns, which pack 50,000 volts of electricity, after several people died from being stunned. Taser International, the manufacturer of the weapons, has watched its stock decline among rising safety concerns.

But on the other hand, police have hailed Tasers as a formidable tool in reducing police shootings and saving lives.

More than 4,000 police departments in the country now use Tasers.

Pittsburgh police first acquired Tasers in June 2004 and used them six times that year, when just 10 officers were qualified to carry them. Now, about 200 officers carry the guns.

Pittsburgh police used the weapon Saturday on a war protester outside a military recruiting station in Oakland. Organizers of the protest claim police were trigger-happy and are calling for a moratorium on the weapon's use.

On Friday night, police in White Oak used a Taser to subdue a man who was threatening to kill his 4-year-old son with a butcher knife.

Lives may have been saved, police Chief Joe Hoffman said.

"The officers would have been justified using lethal force, but opted not to because of the child," Hoffman said. "They had to make an instant decision. They put themselves at risk."

Other recent cases in the city and suburbs also have generated controversy.

Jeffrey Stephens has retained an attorney and is exploring his legal options after a Pittsburgh police officer shot him with a Taser at a South Side parking garage in May.

Police said Stephens "began to argue and yell" when he was told he was under arrest for leaving his Weimaraner dog inside his truck while he ate dinner at a restaurant with his girlfriend and her parents.

Stephens, 30, of Stonington, Conn., was charged with resisting arrest, cruelty to animals, providing false identification to law enforcement and disorderly conduct, but the charges now have been dropped.

His attorney, Michael O'Day, said Stephens experienced "incredible and intense pain" from the jolt of electricity.

Stephens was one of 66 people whom Pittsburgh police shot with Taser guns from April through June, a nearly 16 percent increase in incidents from the first quarter of 2005, when there were 57 Taser incidents.

While not a staggering increase, the numbers illustrate what some critics have said is a heavy reliance on a weapon that is not designed to kill but can still be deadly.

A single strike from a Taser can paralyze a suspect for five to eight seconds. The guns are effective at up to 25 feet.

The human-rights organization Amnesty International, in a report last year, noted the deaths of more than 70 people in the United States who were shot with Tasers since 2001. Amnesty International also has called for a moratorium on their use.

Reports by medical examiners across the country have cited the shock of Taser guns as a contributing factor in some deaths, prompting Taser International, the Arizona manufacturer of the guns, to release an independent study in May that claimed people shocked by the guns experienced no irregular heart palpations.

The study didn't examine the effect the guns may have on those under the influence of alcohol or drugs, which Amnesty International claims increases the likelihood of death or injury.

The law enforcement community has embraced the guns, saying they provide officers with a "less than lethal" method to subdue suspects without using other forms of force, decreasing the risk of injury to everyone.

"Taser is used only when we have active resistance," said Pittsburgh Police Chief Robert W. McNeilly Jr.

McNeilly wouldn't discuss in detail the guidelines under which officers are instructed to use the guns, saying only, "It's not used under any situation involving passive resistance."

McNeilly added that officers undergo training at the police academy before they can use the guns, and each time the gun is used, senior department officials review the case.

Kathy Kraus, manager of the police department's Office of Municipal Investigations, said she has received a "handful" of complaints about Tasers.

In police departments smaller than Pittsburgh's, the use of Tasers has also garnered attention.

Mt. Lebanon police have used their Tasers guns five times since the department acquired the weapons in July 2004.

But one recent case has prompted some to question officers' judgment.

Frank Caruso, a 66-year-old pizza shop owner, was hospitalized after being shot by a Taser during a traffic stop in which police contend Caruso got out of his car, swore at officers and "cocked his right arm and fist and made aggressive movements."

Caruso had parked on the sidewalk near his business, Caruso Pizza at 656 Washington Road, about 9 p.m. July 21. His wife, Josephine, was a passenger in the car.

As he pulled away, officers stopped him nearby. His wife exited the vehicle, saying she was hot. Her husband followed, and police said both refused repeated requests to get back into the car.

Caruso, who has high blood pressure, complained of chest pains and stayed overnight at St. Clair Hospital.

He was arraigned the next morning on charges of aggravated assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and parking on a sidewalk.

The Carusos daughter, Gina Cerminaro, 36, said the family had been inundated with calls and visits to their home from Mt. Lebanon residents who are outraged by the incident.

"It's so unbelievable that something like this could occur," Cerminaro said through tears during a recent interview.

Caruso faces a preliminary hearing Sept. 12 before District Judge Sally Ann Edkins in Upper St. Clair.

O'Day, the attorney retained by Jeffrey Stephens in the Pittsburgh dog-cruelty incident, said Stephens was not aggressive toward the officers.

"You had a guy who was lucid, who had not drank at dinner, and was asking questions about why he was being arrested," O'Day said.

Police contend that when officers asked Stephens to place his hands behind his back, "he continued moving away and his dog nipped [an officer's] right arm," according to court documents.

O'Day said Stephens' dog sometimes becomes destructive when left alone, so Stephens locked the dog inside his car on a mild evening, cracking a window and providing it with food and water.

But passers-by said the dog was howling, and someone called police.