POLICE TO REVIEW TASER USE AS FAMILIES STRUGGLE TO COPE (MORE CRAP ON THE MIAMI TASER INCIDENT)

Miami Herald ^ | 11/14/2004 | Susannah A. Nesmith

[JesseHousman]

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY-The mother of a 12-year-old girl shocked by police with a Taser gun says she worries other children might suffer as her daughter has.

The 12-year-old girl shocked by police with a 50,000-volt Taser used to dream of being a police officer when she grew up.

Not anymore, her mother said Saturday.

''Now, with this, she says she's scared of the police,'' Viviana Rojas said.

Miami-Dade police officer William Nelson caught Rojas' daughter skipping school on Nov. 5. When the unarmed girl ran from Nelson, he chased her through a parking lot, then zapped her with the stun gun when she ran into traffic, according to his report.

The police department is still reviewing the incident, but Director Bobby Parker said the officer will likely be disciplined.

Nelson could not be reached.

Though department policy allows officers to use the Tasers to capture people and permits their use on children, Parker said using the weapon to catch a child playing hooky showed bad judgment.

The incident came just a few weeks after another Miami-Dade office shocked a 6-year-old because the child was threatening to hurt himself with a piece of glass.

Parker said he believes the decision to use the Taser on that child -- which was approved by a supervisor -- was justified because the boy could have hurt himself seriously.

Both cases have prompted the police department to reevaluate its Taser policy, which allows officers to shock children.

''We're going to be looking at the entire policy to make sure we're comfortable with when we do and don't use the Tasers,'' County Manager George Burgess said. ``At the same time, we want to make sure we deploy more Tasers, we want to get them to all our offices to make sure they have an alternative to lethal weaponry.

''We're certainly taking this very seriously,'' he added.

Other departments, including Miami police, have policies that specifically prohibit zapping a child unless the only other option is to shoot the child with a gun.

Miami-Dade's policy has drawn sharp criticism.

''When they're using a Taser on a 6-year-old in a principal's office and a 12-year-old skipping school, it's pretty clear the police have a policy of using violence as a means of conflict resolution,'' said Max Rameau, of the Worker's Center, a frequent police critic. ``It's historically been a problem for the black community and the mentally ill and now children.''

Miami-Dade is in a tough position, facing criticism for using the Tasers but also for not using them. Just last month, an officer shot and killed a mentally ill man, prompting many to question why the man couldn't have been subdued with a stun gun.

The Taser temporarily immobilizes someone with 50,000 volts of electricity that arches between two probes shot from as far away as 21 feet.

Officers who are issued the Tasers are zapped as part of the training. A North Miami officer told The Herald last year that the shock was ``like when you stick your finger in a light socket, multiplied by a thousand times.''

After the 12-year-old girl was shocked, she was checked by paramedics and released to her mother.

Rojas took her daughter to Miami Children's Hospital for a battery of tests, concerned she might have been injured by the Taser.

''Her friends said she fell down and and had an attack like epilepsy,'' Rojas said. ``She vomited, too.''

The doctors told Rojas the girl may have vomited because she had been drinking alcohol. The tests showed she hadn't suffered any serious injuries, Rojas said, though the child got a bruise on her head where she hit it when she fell.

''One of the nurses said she hit her head hard enough to kill her, but we were lucky,'' Rojas said.

The mother of six worries her other children might have a run-in with a Taser-equipped officer one day.

''This shouldn't happen to anyone's children,'' she said.

[Texas Chrystal]

Yep. Two, no THREE times. No evidence.
Mwheh.

[WI 157]

Again I am inclined to defer to the department's policy on use of TASERs. As long as the officer complied with the st policy it is off his back. Of course it falls on the department's shoulders. Where do TASERs fall in the Use of Force. Tasing a 6 year old who may potentially do serious harm to himself with a piece of glass, in my opinion, is a good use of a TASER. Tasing a 12 year old truant who is running may be a problem. TASERs are a good alternative to an impact weapon or even O.C. (oleoresin capsicum). This girl was not violent nor did she pose a threat (going by this article). She was guilty of a status offense, that is, an offense only due to age. I do admit the mother is making a bigger deal out of this than needs to be. TASERs are safe and do not cause permanent injury. That is except for the fall.

[WI 157]

When somebody runs from the police it isn't probable cause. It may be reasonable suspicion for something, but you need a little more. In this case it s reasonably suspicion that a 12 year old running at that time of day may be truant. Still It seems that tasing a truant may be an unreasonable use of force.