Last month a US District court awarded $9m to the family of a North Carolina teen who was killed after being stung by a Taser manufactured by Taser International, the same company that provided stun guns for the Victorian trial.
The verdict is a massive blow for the infamous firm, which has maintained its weapons are non-lethal and do not affect a victim's heart while delivering 50,000 volts of electricity.
Footage obtained by A Current Affair under freedom-of-information laws shows police deploying their Tasers in potentially life and death situations.
The Tasers are fitted with cameras so they record every encounter from the minute they are removed from their holsters.
In the incident mentioned above, the woman is seen being tasered after refusing police commands to put down her knife.
The footage shows the woman first threatening to stab police outside the front of her home as her family take refuge inside.
Despite being warned she will be shocked the woman advances towards police wielding the blade.
The officers then deploy a stun gun that sends 50,000 volts of electricity through her body.
Tasers have been marred by controversy but the police officers who wield them say they offer a better alternative than the lethal force of a gun.
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