A robbery suspect in Sydney died after police confronted him with a Taser when he reportedly resisted arrest, prompting the NSW Council for Civil Liberties to renew its calls for a Taser use review.

A convenience store reported theft at 5.30am, and police in Pitt Street stopped a man using capsicum spray and a Taser when he resisted arrest. However, the man stopped breathing and could not be revived.

Officials yesterday casted doubts on police, saying the man who died may have not been the right suspect, after all.

Council president Cameron Murphy said when the man resisted arrest, it would not have been a situation where police were justified in using a firearm. ''He was alleged to have stolen a packet of chips,'' he said. ''We cannot speculate whether it was a traditional robbery at all.''

Mr Murphy said the management of suspects become dangerous when police were inclined to draw their Taser gun simply because suspects did not comply with directions.

Police now had an array of weapons, including Glock pistols, batons and capsicum spray, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

''It is a worrying thing when police may opt to use one of these weapons and that increases the risk of injury or death,'' he said.

The acting Assistant Commissioner, Mark Walton, told a news conference police had been responding to reports of a robbery.

''It's unclear as to the involvement of this man or the extent of that actual incident,'' he said. ''Whether it is a robbery or not is unclear at this time. The report of a robbery is ongoing and I cannot ... even confirm that it was an actual robbery.''

Mr Murphy said there should be a moratorium on the use of Tasers until their safety and guidelines for their use were clarified to prevent another Taser death.