Frontline police in the Southern district will soon be using Tasers, with more than 250 officers expected to be trained to use the stun-guns.
Emergency response group manager Inspector Alistair Dickie said police were looking forward to the introduction of the Tasers next March, which have been introduced across the country since May.
The Southern police district will be one of the last of New Zealand's 12 police districts to receive Tasers.
Insp Dickie told a Dunedin radio station a recent incident in Mornington where an officer was threatened with a tomahawk was an example of when a taser would have been useful.
It was expected about 280 staff including sergeants, dog section members and frontline emergency response staff would undertake training with the Tasers in March.
The numbers were still being finalised, but about 70 Tasers would be distributed to stations across Otago and Southland, including about one for each duty section in Dunedin.
He referred more detailed questions to the officer in charge of the introduction of Tasers in the district, Inspector Dave Miller, who is on leave until next week, but said there would be detailed training for officers who might use the Tasers.
Safe storage and handling would be paramount and strict considerations had to be taken into account before a taser was deployed in the field.
