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.

The June death of Thetford resident Macadam Mason has focused new attention on electronic weapons used by state police. Mason died after being shot by a state police stun gun. The incident has prompted calls for more oversight of the state police and changes to their use-of-force policy.

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.

The longtime companion of a Thetford man who died after a shot from a state police stun gun says she's not surprised by the autopsy that shows the electric charge killed him. State police late Friday said the cause of Macadam Mason's death was cardiac arrest due to an electrical weapon discharge.

Mental health advocates and civil libertarians are calling for a moratorium on police use of stun guns in Vermont following the death of a man last week.

The precise cause of Macadam Mason's death is yet unknown, but when he was stunned by a Vermont State Police trooper with a Taser it again stirred debate about the use of these weapons by Vermont law enforcement.