Honolulu police officers will soon be carrying Tasers equipped with tiny video cameras that will record incidents and help the department review its use of the electric stun guns.

The department has money for 500 camera-Tasers and hopes to eventually equip all 1,700 of its field officers with the devices, Honolulu Police Chief Boisse Correa said yesterday.

"We have had zero complaints about our Taser deployments," Correa said. "But if we were to end up in court in civil litigation over the use of a Taser, the cameras will help justify appropriate action was taken."

HPD officers have carried Tasers since 2004. Last year Honolulu police officers used the nonlethal weapons 61 times, Correa said, including six times against aggressive animals. Three cases remain under internal investigation for not following proper protocol, Correa said.

This year, HPD officers have used Tasers three times — twice during assaults on officers and once on a woman who was cutting herself with a knife and attempting suicide, he said.

The threat of lawsuits over Taser use has been a concern of police departments across the nation. Correa yesterday made several references to videos on YouTube of Taser use at a news conference where he introduced the $1,500 camera-equipped Tasers.

"Having the cameras is a good idea and a step in the right direction," said Tenari Maafala, president of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, the police union. "It's in the best interest of our officers and shows we have nothing to hide in how we use them."

Last year, Amnesty International reported there have been more than 230 Taser-related deaths worldwide since 2001. Amnesty International has been one of the most critical organizations of use of the devices, which fire darts with electrified wires attached. A 50,000-volt jolt — which is of a low, nonlethal amperage — incapacitates the target by disrupting communication between the brain and muscles.

"It's far less than what you'd feel from a light socket," said HPD Maj. Susan Ballard, who has been working on implementing the Tasers here. "Our Taser use isn't designed to hurt. It's designed to temporarily incapacitate a suspect."

Correa said that of 63 U.S. big-city police departments, 55 use Tasers, including Honolulu. So far seven, including HPD, have Tasers equipped with cameras.

The camera is attached to the bottom of the battery, which slides into the Taser like an ammunition clip. The cameras can record 90 minutes of video and capture images in low light.

"We knew when we bought our first Tasers that there was camera capability," Ballard said. "We didn't have (to do) any retrofitting. These just fit in."

Most of the money to buy the Tasers has come from federal grants. The Honolulu Police Foundation has funded 25 Tasers.

"It's costly," Correa said, "but it's worth it. We've added the Tasers to the city budget, but we don't know when we'll get all of them."

HPD Lt. Fabian Loo was one of the officers to first use a Taser against a suspect, in 2005. He's also volunteered to be Tasered five times for training.

"The first time I used it was in 2005 in Kalihi. There was a mentally challenged person who had become a threat to himself and his family," Loo said.

"I think the cameras are great for officers," he said. "I also do litigation for the department, and I feel our officers do a good job in following protocol. This will show it."

Reach Dave Dondoneau at ddondoneau@honoluluadvertiser.com.