Police have denied that anyone in Bermuda has been tasered since officers were issued the new weapons two weeks ago.

Members of the public told The Royal Gazette they believed they witnessed someone being tasered on Monday morning on Par-la-Ville Road.

The electroshock weapon uses an electrical current to immobilise muscle movement. The Bermuda Police Service held a press conference on April 21 to announce the stun guns were on the Island and would be used to combat rising crime.

Four people approached The Royal Gazette this week to say they believed they witnessed Police putting the stun guns to use on a man they thought to be a vagrant.

According to the eyewitnesses, the man began swearing loudly after the officers questioned him about a court appearance near the new Power House building on Par-la-Ville Road.

"The Police officers then became more aggressive toward the man and asked him another question, which then led to a fight between the vagrant and the [male] Policeman," said a woman who didn't want to be identified. "At this point, the woman Police officer got involved and they managed to pin the guy down on the ground."

The woman said the male officer threatened to use the Taser on the man if he didn't keep quiet.

"I believe the words were 'shut up or I'll tase you! Shut up or I'll tase you!'," the woman said. "The man did not be quiet and was still fighting back with the officers.

"This is the point that the Police officer put the Taser up to him and he let out a yell. If the Taser gun actually went off or not is unbeknown to me, but the man certainly reacted as though it did."

Another eyewitness, who also asked for anonymity, said: "He was tased. I saw the device and they put it up against his body and then he yelled. As they pulled him to the car he was yelling, 'Why are you all watching this? It is Police brutality'. I couldn't believe what I was seeing."

A Police spokesman said yesterday: "To date, the Bermuda Police Service has not had to use a Taser on anyone."

Tasers are manufactured by Taser International. The stun guns are used by armed forces and law enforcement agencies to subdue dangerous subjects before they inflict harm on others.

The weapons are said to have less risk of injury than the ASP (Police baton) or Captor spray (pepper spray).

In Canada, the weapons may only be used in the most extreme situations after an elderly man tasered by Police died last year.

Human rights organisation Amnesty International estimates more than 400 people have died worldwide, as a result of Taser strikes.

According to CNN nearly every big city Police department in the United States uses a Taser device; more than 14,000 law enforcement agencies worldwide employ Tasers and more than 1.8 million people have had the weapon used on them since it was introduced into general law enforcement use in the 1990s.

The Royal Gazette asked Police in what instances officers could use the Tasers. According to a spokesman they could be used in situations which offer a level of violence that cannot be appropriately dealt with by lower levels of force; involve violent offenders where failure to induce immediate incapacitation would increase the risks to all present; involves offenders whose actions pose an immediate threat to themselves or others in circumstances where immediate incapacitation would minimise that risk.

He added: "The use of any form of force must be judged in relation to the level of resistance or violence to which an officer is subjected. Varying levels of aggression and violence require various responses from the Police that must be strictly proportionate, ensuring that the Police use of force is always necessary and reasonable in the circumstances.

"All of the Tasers are fitted with the optional Taser Cam that will record audio and video whenever they are used, providing evidence of any inappropriate use."

The Tasers the Police use also record the time, date and duration of use. In order for Police to obtain a Taser they must sign one out. Every time it is used tiny confetti-like identification numbers are deployed that can be recovered so as to identify the specific Taser that was used.