A publicist hired by Taser International couldn’t have scripted Saturday’s tragic standoff in Rumford any better: A desperate, violent suspect, a long police standoff, and an opportunity for the controversial twin-pronged, 50,000-volt stun gun to prove its nonlethal worth. Here’s the scene:

The suspect emerges from a home he’s threatened to burn.

An officer fires a Taser, striking the suspect.

Nothing.

Three pistol shots later, the suspect is dead.

How Scott White, a 46-year-old accused of attempted murder, met his end is clear. He put police in mortal danger by reportedly brandishing knives and charging at several officers. Aggressive behavior like that is often deemed justification for lethal police action.

What’s unclear is why the latest technology – the Taser – failed to stop White’s charge, and so ineffectively that lethal force became necessary. Though police confidence in Tasers is growing, as evidenced by growing use across Maine, its failure in situations like this is puzzling.

Then again, nothing about recent Taser usage around here has been clear-cut.

In July, an Auburn man threatened to burn down his home, but was stopped by a Taser zap through an open window, in a great display of how Tasers can be used to their fullest potential.

A few weeks later, however, in Chesterville, police used a Taser on an agitated 70-year-old man with heart problems, after arriving at his home to investigate “domestic terrorism.” The man was alone, but reportedly scuffled with police before being stunned with the Taser.

Though the man was described as confrontational with police, and the owner of a loaded handgun, using a Taser to subdue an aggrieved retiree isn’t a story to scrapbook. Such examples raise questions about where and when Tasers are most appropriate, and feed fears of their abuse.

Concerns like these will likely follow the weapon for years, until enough statistical evidence is gathered to make definitive conclusions. The National Institute of Justice is expected, in 2008, to release a major study on Taser use by law enforcement, which should shed light on its track record.

Yet allegations of Taser misuse are equally important as situations where its use failed, such as in Rumford.

These incidents deserve investigation into why the Taser performed so poorly, when the weapon’s stopping power is trumpeted as so potent. Citizens should be confident in Tasers to protect public safety, and let police do their job.

And police should be confident when raising a Taser that it does its job, too.