The death of  an unarmed Thetford man last June has prompted a state-wide discussion about the use of Tasers in Vermont and a new bill in front of the legislature.

A group of Vermont lawmakers and the heads of disability and civil rights groups are pushing legislation that would create new rules governing police use of electronic stun guns.

Attorney General Bill Sorrell will not file criminal charges against a state police officer who fired a stun gun at an unarmed man last June. The man died from the electric shock to his chest.

Attorney General Bill Sorrell says no criminal charges will be filed against a trooper involved in a fatal stun gun incident. Macadam Mason of Thetford died after Trooper David Shaffer discharged his stun gun during an incident in June

A Thetford woman who witnessed her longtime boyfriend die after he was struck by a charge from a state police stun gun wants to sue state police. Police say he had threatened to harm himself or others.

A state police officer who fired a stun gun shot that killed a Thetford man in June has been placed on paid administrative leave. Officials are not saying why the action was taken, and the case remains under criminal investigation.

Vermont law enforcement officers have deployed electronic stun guns 50 times in the last 18 months. And 10 of those incidents have involved people who are mentally ill. VPR's John Dillon examines whether police are following their policies when they try to subdue individuals who are in mental health crisis.

Ten times in the past 18 months, state police fired electronic stun guns at people threatening suicide or at others experiencing a mental health crisis. That's according to police records and video recordings obtained by Vermont Public Radio under the state's open records law.

State Police say a Thetford man who was shot with a stun gun by police died of a heart attack caused by the shock.p

A state trooper's use of a stun gun on a Thetford man last month has renewed concerns about the weapons' use in local police departments.