No. No. And again, no. The police are simply using another tool to conduct the job they are tasked with: effect an arrest, overcome resistance, or prevent escape.
The prevailing complaint of the taser is that it is an excessive use of force. This is far from the truth. This tool actually revolutionized enforcing the law and created a way to do it that simultaneously reduces the risk of injury to the officer and target at the same time. We must also keep in mind that the police officer is not bound by the use of force "pyramid" that was used in the past to justify use of force. It has evolved into more of a circle that is constantly changing and shifing, requiring the officer to change back and forth as the situation changes.
Example: The officer is about to take an unarmed man into custody. The man is combative and takes a stance that indicates he is going to fight and there is no way to avoid it. What are the officer's options? He could engage the subject in hand to hand combat techniques that will be effective, but will increase the danger of injury to both parties and sustantially increase the duration of the confrontation. The officer could use pepper spray, but now he has created an officer safety issue for himself because he will inevitably get contaminated with the spray himself when he touches the assailant. The officer could use an impact weapon, but this will definitely injure the assailant.
What is the best tool for the job? The taser! The taser allows the officer to maintain significant distance (up to 25 feet) from the the assailant, subsequently minimizing or eliminating any contact with the subject during the taser deployment. The taser has been proven to completely incapacitate it's target, during and for a short time after deployment. During this time frame, the officer can safely place handcuffs on the assailant. The assailant suffers minimal damage physically and the officer has eliminated any chance of sustaining damage to himself. When you look at the dynamics of the encounter, I'm surpised that it is not used more often.
Those that are against the taser? I think those individuals already have a negative outlook on the function of law enforcement and have probably been on the receiving end of one of a police officer's tools. The Taser has successfully proven it's worth on too many occasions to be thought of as anyhting less that a Godsend. The Taser should continue to find use among today's law enforcement professionals and should be embraced for years to come.