CARY - Hundreds of thousands of dollars seized during drug investigations will pay for the Cary Police Department's new Taser electroshock weapons. The 155 upgraded weapons will be safer, more accurate and quicker to reload, according to the town and the manufacturer.

Cary will trade in 145 of its Taser X26s for a slightly expanded arsenal of Taser X2s, which it will make available to all field officers, from traffic enforcement to regular patrols. The town will pay for the $200,000 purchase with money seized during drug investigations involving the town police. The federal government has given Cary about $460,000 of the money since 2007.

Cary's police leadership cites several benefits for the new Taser model, which, like its predecessor, shoots electrified prongs attached to thin wires. Unlike the 8-year-old X26, this year's model automatically shuts off its stream of muscle-spasm-inducing electrical current after five seconds. The new weapon also allows for better aim and two shots, instead of one, between reloads.

Cary Police Department's general orders allow for use of the weapon to control violent and threatening people, to stop fleeing and resisting suspects and to prevent property damage during riots.

"That can be everything from ... actual hands-on struggle to someone who swears off, saying they're going to fight the officers, or someone who has something in their hands, a stick or a bottle," said Capt. Tracy Jernigan.

The policy forbids use of the Taser on docile protestors, pregnant women and unthreatening people who are "passively" resisting arrest. Officers are also restricted from using the weapons on the elderly and the "very young" - unless the person is acting in a threatening manner or appears to be capable of injuring the officer.

A 2007 study by Dr. William Bozeman, a Wake Forest University medical researcher, found the devices are generally a safe alternative to a gun. In 99.7 percent of nearly 1,000 cases, Bozeman, who conducted the study for the National Institute of Justice, said those who were shocked had no lasting injuries or suffered only mild injuries such as scrapes or bruises.

Cary officers have used Tasers almost 80 times in the last five years. The department has never found a case of misuse, according to Police Chief Pat Bazemore.

Last year, the Cary Police Department was scrutinized after an officer used a Taser to break up a fight between an eighth-grade girl and a 12-year-old boy at West Lake Middle School.

The department retrains officers in Taser use each year, according to its general orders.