a taser is just one point along the use of force continuum. police are trained to always maintain a tactical advantage when confronting someone, but to only go as far along the continuum as is necessary. obviously they don't always do this correctly, and they are granted a lot of leeway when they mess up. it's unclear to me how removing a midpoint along the continuum would reduce instances of excessive force, unless there's something specifically bad about the taser.

it seems to me that it would be better to focus on the negotiation skills themselves; people won't bet their life on skills they don't feel confident in. or better yet, raise the bar for what justifies a confrontation in the first place. the cops who killed freddie gray didn't even have a charge in mind when they decided to pursue him. they chased him just because he ran away.