The Grauniad’s weekend alter ego reports that the Gardaí, after hearing that their opposite numbers in the North were seeking Taser guns, have followed suit and are looking to arm themselves with the devices.

The controversial devices have hit the headlines recently (and have done for several years), linked with a number of deaths, including that of a Polish national at Vancouver airport towards the end of last year.

They fire two electrodes at the victim and deliver a 50,000 volt shock through their body, incapacitating them entirely and sometimes killing them outright.

The news that the gardaí are looking into them comes at the same time as Taser unveil their newest toy, dubbed the iTaser. A leopard-skin version of the Taser now comes with an mp3 player built into the holster, with huge potential for electrode/earphone mixup hilarity.

For a force that kicked up such a fuss over the Pulse system, it sounds like the gardaí are finally looking to new technology.

The big questions:

Will misuse see gardaí charged with batteries? (AAAs, we reckon)
Will they become a shocking force to be reckoned with?
What will the average blueshirt play on his iTaser?

Electric Avenue?
Electro-Shock Blues?
Overpowered?

Answers on an angry left-wing petition….