A police officer responding to a domestic dispute comes face-to-face with an angry 56-year-old woman in a nightgown wielding a large knife.
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.
Frontline officers in NSW and Queensland both have access to Tasers but can only use them with proper training.
Victoria Police recently concluded a 12-month trial of Tasers and is reviewing the results.
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.
Both claims were contradicted by the court's finding.
Victoria Police told the Sydney Morning Herald they were aware of the case but referred to a US Department of Justice study that found ''research does not support a substantially increased risk of cardiac arrhythmia "¦ even if the [Taser] darts strike the front of the chest.''
NSW Police assistant commissioner Alan Clarke said Tasers have a strong deterrent effect.
He told A Current Affair suspects will often comply with police directives rather than face the temporary agony of an electroshock gun.
"Last year through 2010 we were drawing the Taser 80 to 85 times a month and fired 30 percent of time. In 2011 we are drawing the Taser about 66 times a month," Clarke told the program
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