The new Taser XREP is an electrically charged dart that can be fired from up to 20 meters away with a 12-gauge shotgun.

Upon impact, its barbed electrodes penetrate a victim’s skin, discharging a 20-second burst of electricity to “distract, disorient and entice the subject to grab the projectile,” which routes the shock through the hand, making it difficult to let go and spreading the pain further.

U.S. police departments and the US military expected to be using the weapons by the end of 2009.