Police are using Tasers more often than before. In recent years, the presence of Tasers alone has increased over 50 percent.

The Boston Globe reported, “Police in Massachusetts reported a record high of 1,084 Taser uses in 2016, the most recent data available. That was driven largely by a spike in the number of departments using them, 250 in all.

Departments reported owning 6,008 in 2016, or nearly 1,800 more than in the year before — a 42 percent spike.

State Police accounted for a large part of the increase: Officials spent roughly $1 million to buy 895 Tasers that spring, marking the first time they began widely arming troopers with the weapons.

State Police reported 38 deployments in 2016, trailing towns and cities like Barnstable, New Bedford, and Springfield, which had a state-leading 81 uses.”