COLCHESTER — Records show Vermont State Police troopers fired electronic stun guns 10 times in the past 18 months at people threatening suicide or at others experiencing a mental health crisis.

State police say the weapons were deployed a total of 50 times in that period.

Vermont Public Radio reported it asked for the information under the state’s open records law.

The request came after a Thetford man died in June after police used a stun gun on him.

Police say electronic weapons reduce injuries and allow them to make arrests or defend themselves without resorting to firearms.

But people like AJ Reuben, a lawyer for Disability Rights Vermont, have challenged the use, saying that when a person is suicidal, mentally impaired or emotionally distraught, he or she may not fully understand what’s going on.