Headline-making cases involving the use of police Tasers have shaken the public's confidence in the ability of officers to distinguish between mortal threats and mere nuisances.

Last week, 29-year-old Jason Schmidt was stunned four times by three Pittsburgh officers responding in Brighton Heights to a medical call from a friend of Mr. Schmidt after he appeared to go into a seizure. One witness said the man was not fighting or posing a threat when he was shocked with the weapon. The police say otherwise and charged him with criminal trespassing, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Mr. Schmidt was taken by ambulance to Allegheny General Hospital, where eight medical personnel were needed to subdue him, police said. Doctors put him in a medically induced coma as part of his treatment.

With police standing watch at Mr. Schmidt's hospital room, his parents were barred for the first two days from visiting him. Chief Nate Harper, who defended the officers' Taser use, said police were following standard procedure in guarding a hospitalized suspect who was under arrest.

While the police presence was understandable, their refusal to allow a parental visit at the hospital, while he was in a coma, was appalling. Yesterday, Mr. Schmidt was arraigned and released from custody.

The Jason Schmidt case is one of several recent Taser controversies in Allegheny County. Andre Thomas died after Swissvale police stunned him on Aug. 5, and North Braddock agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a lawsuit over a police Taser incident last year.

These are not the outcomes the public -- and good police officers -- want to see after using a Taser. It's time for elected officials and law enforcement to have a discussion -- not just with themselves, but with the community -- about Taser use. Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. and Medical Examiner Karl Williams are forming a group of law officers and medical personnel to examine the weapon's effects and deployment.

That's a start, because the status quo is unacceptable. Some of these incidents are standard police takedowns of unruly suspects on relatively minor charges. They should not result in six-figure legal settlements, multiple days in intensive care or death.

While Tasers should be used judiciously, they have become a weapon of convenience. Because of these troublesome cases and their questionable outcomes, police with itchy Taser fingers shock our faith in the system as well.