Yes, a cop has to do what he needs to do in order to feel safe. My cousins actually all got tasered by a cop. Basically one of them was being hand cuffed and like a daisy chain each one RAN up to the cop asking, "Why are you arresting him?" He's a cop, not a friendly tour guide, if you run up on any cop making an arrest you will be tased or tackled.
Personally, I'll take a taser to the chest over a baton to the face and being disfigured for a week.
A cops demands might seem excessive or insane but you have to remember that at the core of the issue, there is a scared man, outnumbered by the community, trying to resolve an issue before the world collapses on him.