[sunvalleyslim]

Well Jumpy,
it sounds like you feel the police are abusing the tasers to gain respect. While I believe that happens sometimes, most times it is not.
True, there has to be an escalation and deescalation in the use of any force. Starting with verbalization and ending with lethel force.
You state that some burly chaps with handcuffs should be able to take the person down. Around here I don't see that many "burly chaps". The height requirement on the L.A.P.D. was once a minimum of 5'8". But for the last 30 years there has been no requirement on height. That was so they could recruit women on the job for patrol work. With the threat of lawsuits when you use your fists, feet, baton, chokeholds, or anything else that "looks" bad, then police are going to use other means.
The world would be a great place if everyone could be talked to jail. But that isn't always the case. Police work is not always pretty. And when watching a tazer in action, especially when the suspect has been warned, then you can see it stops whatever action the suspect was engaged in beforehand.
I don't think that you will be on the receiving end of a taser in your lifetime. Unless your a criminal, or are running around looking to antagonize the police.
Remember if you're not doing anything unlawful, show some respect to your police, and do what they say, you're going to be OK. They don't ride around saying "Hey look at that guy lets go taze him."