Originally Posted by Mike33

Taser vs club could probably be debated forever. I thought the taser was originally introduced because the club was seen as too brutal and didn't necessarily subdue the individual quickly enough unless pummeled to death or near death.

I could be wrong, but I think the physical requirements to be a police officer used to greater, but were reduced to allow more people entry into service. I think fire fighters still have strict physical requirements. At least where I'm from, I know a guy that applied to become a firefighter and he had to carry the weight of an average person up several flights of stairs etc.