Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers last year reached for Tasers about seven times as often as they did pepper spray.
Officers used the stun guns about 140 times in 2007, according to a police department study. They used pepper spray about 20 times.
The findings mark the third year in a row that Taser use increased at about the same pace as pepper spray use decreased.
The devices have drawn scrutiny because officers used them in three recent Charlotte-area cases that left suspects injured or dead.
Police have relied on pepper spray since the 1970s to end potentially dangerous conflicts quickly. But area officers are turning to Tasers, departments say, mainly due to the spray's limitations.
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