MIDDLETOWN, Connecticut - September 3, 2010 - Police and school officials are investigating why a student at Middletown High School was tasered at lunchtime Friday after stealing food from the cafeteria.

Police said the student was "dry-stunned." Unlike a typical act of tasering, dry stunning eliminates the use of projectiles. The Taser is held against the person’s skin and is intended to cause pain without incapacitating the victim.

Around noon, a 17-year-old student was caught stealing a Jamaican pattie and was approached by officers Kurt Scrivo and school resource officer Alex Rodriguez, of the Middletown Police Department. When the two officers told the senior that he was under arrest and began placing handcuffs on him, he allegedly became violent.

Soon after, his brother, a ninth-grader at the high school, attempted to defend his brother and reportedly joined in on the fight.

At that point, the older student was dry-stunned by one of the officers and was arrested for breach of peace, interfering with an officer and larceny, according to Sgt. Mike Marino. He is currently being held on a $5,000 bond.

His younger brother was arrested for breach of peace and interfering with an officer but has since been released into his mother’s custody. He was also found to be in possession of marijuana.

“Had this gentleman been compliant, he wouldn’t have been tasered,” Marino said. I think it was justified. (Tasering) was very appropriate for the incident.”

He added that Scrivo was sent to the hospital after the fight with a hurt shoulder.

In the past several years, Taser guns have become increasingly popular non-lethal weapons of choice by police officers stirring up debate across the nation. Tasers use electric pulses and human muscle contractions to incapacitate people considered to be a threat to law enforcement and the public.

After the deaths of three Canadian men who died after Tasers were used on them in 2007, debate over the degree of harm they can cause have led many to question the necessity of Taser guns, especially within police departments.

The Scottsdale, Arizona-based Taser International stands by its product, stating that the energy emitted by the Taser does not affect internal organs. Rather, the tool’s energy follows the grain of a human’s muscle, impacting sensory motion and motor control. According to the company there has never been a proven case of a death directly caused by a Taser.

No representatives from Taser International could be immediately reached to comment Friday.

The police, who have admitted to the use of a Taser at the scene, said they used it as a last resort after attempting to control the student verbally. However, many parents are up in arms over the officers’ choice to use the weapon on a minor.

“Age is just a number,” Marino said. “Personally, I would’ve rather gotten tasered any day of the week than get pepper sprayed, which was the alternative.”

Currently, there are approximately 10 operational Tasers within the Middletown Police Department, according to Marino. Each officer is certified to use a Taser and is eligible to sign one out at any time.

In an article published by The Press in July, Acting Police Chief Patrick McMahon said, “Tasers are very safe if used properly. They are designed to minimize any injury to individuals and injury to police officers. It eliminates the need to use a nightstick or police dogs that can bite and harm someone.”

To date, there are no existing regulations that restrict or prohibit the use of Tasers on anyone, including minors within a school.

“All in all, we can taser anyone who’s out of control,” Marino said.

Superintendent of Schools Michael Frechette said that he did not know of any regulations controlling the use of Tasers within any of Middletown’s 11 schools.

Frechette, who received notice of the incident around 2:30 p.m., said that the school is in the process of obtaining the video tapes and will hold interviews with student witnesses after.

“I am deeply concerned about the use of force but I reserve all comment until further investigation,” Frechette said.