Handguns

• Handguns are the most common lethal weapons police officers use. The most prevalent calibers are 9mm, .40 and .45.
  
  

Night Sticks

• Night sticks or batons also are used by police officers to subdue criminal suspects who are fighting or fleeing.
  
  

Tasers

• Tasers are weapons which look like handguns, and shoot dart-shaped electrodes that deliver a low-current, high-voltage shock, effectively disabling the criminal.
  
  

Controversy

• Tasers are a source of controversy because their use has resulted in several deaths over the years. Amnesty International estimates that since 2001, over 330 people in the United States died after being hit with Tasers.
  
  

Other Stun Weapons

• Other stun weapons, such as the stun baton, also are used by police officers.
  
  

Pepper Spray

• Police officers use pepper spray when dealing with several violent people at once, as in a riot.
  
  

Crowd Dispersal

• Police officers also shoot rubber bullets and spray tear gas into crowds which are becoming violent or causing property damage.