July 30, 2004 -- Audra Schroeder KFOX News at News Weekend Anchor/Reporter

Border Patrol agents will soon be taking aim and shooting but not with real bullets. They're joining a long list of agencies implementing non-lethal weapons.

They look like real guns and sound like real guns but this brand of heat is designed to save lives, not take them.

"We've had agents being assaulted with rocks, sticks and pipes, Agent Gerald Castro said.

And soon Border Patrol agents in El Paso will be armed with air-powered pepper ball launchers to use for self-defense.

And the best part for agents is they don't even have to come in contact with their suspects.

"The pepper ball launcher can be used at a greater distance so the agent doesn't have to go into the situation and put himself in danger, Agent Castro said.

When the balls hit the target, a powder is released, stopping a suspect in his tracks and only a few welts on the skin are proof they were ever hit.

Not only are the pepper balls a less lethal weapon, so are the taser guns used by the police department. They can knock down a suspect from 21 feet away therefore eliminating the physical contact, protecting both the officer and the suspect.

"It's like the worst muscle cramp you've ever had. Like hitting your funny bone with a 50 pound sledge hammer, Officer Allen Edington said.

Its enough force to stun a criminal into submission but police say not enough to cause serious harm.

Officers have holstered the tasers for about one year now.

In that time, the number of complaints against the department has dramatically decreased.

And while, both Border Patrol and police will continue to carry their regular guns, the tasers are giving them a new line of defense.