Tasers vs. Pepper Spray: "Hit me, I'll tell you which is worse"

Rocky's inquiry: One of the mayor's own serves as a guinea pig in an evaluation of police weapons
Ty McCartney thwacked his leg repeatedly with a foam baton as he braced himself to be jolted by up to 50,000 volts. Then - with a Taser's red laser beam pointed at his chest - he grimaced, drew in a breath and raised the baton, his "weapon." "Police! Drop the weapon!" Salt Lake City police officer Jared Wihongi shouted. Wihongi then fired two wired barbs at McCartney. One didn't stick, but the other embedded itself in his chest. McCartney asked for it - literally. The five-second zap Monday was part of a research project as McCartney, who works for Mayor Rocky Anderson, helps the Police Department determine its Taser policy.
A former cop, McCartney figured he should do his homework. He didn't "scream like a girl," as he feared. But the 33-year-old's guttural moans masked the electric "zzzz" of the Taser. His arms involuntarily contracted to his sides and he fell, bottom first, onto gymnastic mats laid on the floor in a classroom at the city's Pioneer Precinct. He tried to raise his baton to continue "attacking" Wihongi, but the threat was short-lived...Click title for article,video and pictures...