Law enforcement officers nationally have praised the addition of electric stun guns, also known as "Taser" weapons, to the arsenal at the disposal of the police, primarily because it can defuse a situation without hurting people seriously — or killing them.

The Honolulu Police Department recently has expanded the use of the guns, issuing them to 300 officers since November. The hope is that the weapons can reduce injuries and lawsuits by avoiding excessive force.

However, while the actual 25,000 volts a Taser delivers won't kill in ordinary circumstances, a risk remains: the danger that the weapon might be used too casually.

Police officials and officials who ultimately direct their actions through lawmaking need to watch for any such tendency to develop.

Taser guns aren't considered lethal weapons, but they have been contributing factors in deaths reported around the country. Amnesty International, one of the organizations most critical of stun-gun use, has tallied more than 230 Taser-related deaths since 2001. These cases are often controversial because other factors — a victim's physical condition, or drug-induced state — can muddy the role Tasers played in the deaths.

Earlier this month in Baltimore, the death of a mentally ill man as police attempted to subdue him with a Taser revived a debate about whether police might be too quick to use them. One county councilman, a former police officer there, called for a review of the policies governing use of the weapons.

Three years ago in Honolulu, just as HPD was completing its pilot program using the stun guns, the American Civil Liberties Union voiced its concern. ACLU officials argued that a Taser should be used as a substitute for conventional firearms, but not in situations where a less forceful approach would work well.

One ACLU complaint involved an episode that occurred mere days after the initial 2004 rollout of the weapons, when an officer fired a Taser into a crowd at Aloha Tower Marketplace. In fact, police acknowledged that the weapon was used four times in the first 72 hours after the first Tasers were distributed.

On balance, the guns have the potential to keep situations from escalating in danger, which is why they're welcomed by the police labor representatives. City risk managers like them because workers' compensation claims are likely to decline.

To the extent that they can avert the accidental deaths or serious injuries of residents, everyone can applaud their judicious use.

But "judicious" is the word that needs underscoring.

So far, HPD seems intensely aware of the cautionary tales related in other states. And judging by the count over the past four months, in which only 20 Taser uses were logged, officers don't seem too trigger-happy.

Departmental policy bars the use of stun guns unless dealing with a person who exhibits "aggression" that could result in injury to the officer and others. Officers keep the Tasers, distinctively colored yellow, on the opposite side of their gun belt from their conventional firearm to reduce the risk of confusion.

That sounds reasonable, but how well that policy is carried out bears watching.

Avoiding serious injury should remain the top priority, but it's a disservice to the community if causing injury of any kind becomes accepted as routine.