Queensland police will continue to carry Tasers despite a third Australian death linked to police use of the stun guns.
Hours after a man died near Townsville after being repeatedly stunned with a Taser, police said the devices had been shown to save lives.
The death of the man, who police recently took to hospital fearing he might be a suicide risk, will be investigated.
But Queensland Police Minister Neil Roberts ruled out suspending police use of Tasers while the investigation is completed.
"The evidence to date has shown that the mere presentation of Tasers has defused situations," he said.
"I believe the Taser has saved people's lives."
Civil libertarians said the death of the 39-year-old may expose the myth that Tasers are harmless, and police use should be suspended until all the facts of the case are known.
It's the third death in Australia linked to police use of Taser guns.
A man died in Alice Springs last month after police stunned him with a Taser. And in May 2002, NSW man Gary Pearce died of a heart attack about two weeks after being shot with a stun gun when he threatened police with a frying pan.
It was one of the first uses of the weapon in NSW but police omitted the Taser link from official records, including on the violent, mentally-ill man's death certificate.
It was only made public in November last year in a report by the NSW Ombudsman, which recommended a two-year moratorium on the rollout of Tasers to all general duties police, pending an independent review.
In Friday's incident, police said they were called to a property at Brandon, near Townsville, where they found a man semi-naked, covered in blood and armed with an iron bar.
A woman who knew him had called triple-zero, alleging he'd assaulted her and pulled out her hair.
Two rookie officers who attended the scene said the man was acting violently and deemed him a threat to himself and police, Queensland Police Union acting president Ian Leavers said.
The officers decided to subdue him with capsicum spray and the Taser gun. But three stuns from a male officer's weapon were required before the man could be handcuffed.
The man remained conscious for a short period after being stunned, but soon became unresponsive, Mr Leavers said. Efforts to revive him failed.
"This person was extremely violent, very well known to police and a known drug user," he told AAP.
He also revealed that police had taken the man to Townsville Hospital less than 48 hours before his death, after finding him lying on railway tracks.
Officers had feared he was suicidal, Mr Leavers said.
A Townsville Hospital spokeswoman declined to comment but it's believed the man was allowed to leave the facility of his own accord.
The death is being investigated by the coroner, the Crime and Misconduct Commission and the police Ethical Standards Command.
Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said the two officers involved in the incident were a woman in her first year of service and a man who had served only a few years.
He defended the use of Tasers and said he didn't believe the incident would spark a broader investigation into their use.
"We think and still absolutely believe that the Taser is a valid and very effective force option that prevents the use of a firearm," he said.
But Civil liberties lawyer Terry O'Gorman said: "Until the coroner investigation evaluates the safety of Tasers, the police commissioner should immediately order a directive that they should not be used unless in life and death circumstances."
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