Posted on 05/10/2005 1:51:41 AM PDT by Stoat
|
Tuesday, May 10, 2005 Police used Taser on pregnant driver She was rushing her son to school. She was eight months pregnant. And she was about to get a speeding ticket she didn't think she deserved. So when a Seattle police officer presented the ticket to Malaika Brooks, she refused to sign it. In the ensuing confrontation, she suffered burns from a police Taser, an electric stun device that delivers 50,000 volts. "Probably the worst thing that ever happened to me," Brooks said, in describing that morning during her criminal trial last week on charges of refusing to obey an officer and resisting arrest. She was found guilty of the first charge because she never signed the ticket, but the Seattle Municipal Court jury could not decide whether she resisted arrest, the reason the Taser was applied. To her attorneys and critics of police use of Tasers, Brooks' case is an example of police overreaction. "It's pretty extraordinary that they should have used a Taser in this case," said Lisa Daugaard, a public defender familiar with the case. Law enforcement officers have said they see Tasers as a tool that can benefit the public by reducing injuries to police and the citizens they arrest. Seattle police officials declined to comment on this case, citing concerns that Brooks might file a civil lawsuit. But King County sheriff's Sgt. Donald Davis, who works on the county's Taser policy, said the use of force is a balancing act for law enforcement.
|
Brooks' run-in with police Nov. 23 came six months before Seattle adopted a new policy on Taser use that guides officers on how to deal with pregnant women, the very young, the very old and the infirm. When used on such subjects, the policy states, "the need to stop the behavior should clearly justify the potential for additional risks."
"Obviously, (law enforcement agencies) don't want to use a Taser on young children, pregnant woman or elderly people," Davis said. "But if in your policy you deliberately exclude a segment of the population, then you have potentially closed off a tool that could have ended a confrontation."
Brooks was stopped in the 8300 block of Beacon Avenue South, just outside the African American Academy, while dropping her son off for school.
In a two-day trial that ended Friday, the officer involved, Officer Juan Ornelas, testified he clocked Brooks' Dodge Intrepid doing 32 mph in a 20-mph school zone.
He motioned her over and tried to write her a ticket, but she wouldn't sign it, even when he explained that signing it didn't mean she was admitting guilt.
Brooks, in her testimony, said she believed she could accept a ticket without signing for it, which she had done once before.
"I said, 'Well, I'll take the ticket, but I won't sign it,' " Brooks testified.
Officer Donald Jones joined Ornelas in trying to persuade Brooks to sign the ticket. They then called on their supervisor, Sgt. Steve Daman.
He authorized them to arrest her when she continued to refuse.
The officers testified they struggled to get Brooks out of her car but could not because she kept a grip on her steering wheel.
And that's when Jones brought out the Taser.
Brooks testified she didn't even know what it was when Jones showed it to her and pulled the trigger, allowing her to hear the crackle of 50,000 volts of electricity.
The officers testified that was meant as a final warning, as a way to demonstrate the device was painful and that Brooks should comply with their orders.
When she still did not exit her car, Jones applied the Taser.
In his testimony, the Taser officer said he pressed the prongs of the muzzle against Brooks' thigh to no effect. So he applied it twice to her exposed neck.
Afterward, he and the others testified, Ornelas pushed Brooks out of the car while Jones pulled.
She was taken to the ground, handcuffed and placed in a patrol car, the officers testified.
She told jurors the officer also used the device on her arm, and showed them a dark, brown burn to her thigh, a large, red welt on her arm and a lump on her neck, all marks she said came from the Taser application.
At the South Precinct, Seattle fire medics examined Brooks, confirmed she was pregnant and recommended she be evaluated at Harborview Medical Center.
Brooks said she was worried about the effect the trauma and the Taser might have on her baby, but she delivered a healthy girl Jan. 31.
Still, she said, she remains shocked that a simple traffic stop could result in her arrest.
"As police officers, they could have hurt me seriously. They could have hurt my unborn fetus," she said.
"All because of a traffic ticket. Is this what it's come down to?"
Davis said Tasers remain a valuable tool, and that situations like Brooks' are avoidable.
"I know the Taser is controversial in all these situations where it seems so egregious," he said. "Why use a Taser in a simple traffic stop? Well, the citizen has made it more of a problem. It's no longer a traffic stop. This is now a confrontation."
Nazi's suck...
But, when the signs show, slow school zone, and there's a posted 20 mph limit, I expect all drivers to respect the limit and drive accordingly. The life of my child may depend on it.
You are absolutely correct and because there are so many of them out there, I am surprised that the question hadn't surfaced before.
oops, bad spelling...
Nazis suck....
fair enough - you cant be all bad LOL
its been fun chatting today - take care sis - Ive got a date with a weber grill and some mahi mahi in 1/2 an hour
so color me gone
No, that is not what I am saying. We are still a civilized society. The officer makes an accusation, the court makes the adjudication. Once the officer makes an accusation, you are in the system and I have never seen a judge beat on a person convicted of a minor traffic violation.
I hope you don't get stopped because I would hate for you to find out that we still, basically, are a nation of laws and police officers are still paid to prevent and detect violations of the law and arrest violators.
Me either. That's why I thought we signed them too.
"I really hope you don't have any kids. We've got a surplus of really stupid people as it is."
I hope you don't have any for the same reason.
No. I understood that the signature was necessary to be released from arrest.
"Its all the sheeples fault - cops are always right (sarcasm) even when zapping someone carrying another life inside of her"
Well, in your ideal world, she'd automatically be in the lockup until the magistrate heard the case.
"Funny how speeding is a crime when it comes to police powers, but not when it comes to the rights of the defendant."
The signature does not admit guilt. It is a promise to appear in court.
>>Reading this one could get the impression that she was going at 100 mph through the zone.<<
School zones are a unique case of traffic laws. It is one of the few places where the speed limit is 35, except when....
They are great revenue getters, especially on streets that are used by lots of drivers that are NOT picking up kids. However, it is important that kids do not get run down by speeders. I think they are a special case for the cops, emotionally speaking. I know people who never get tickets that have been ticketed by the "sneaky" school zone.
I just look for the motorcycle, if there are not already lots of kids around.
I tend to agree with you to some degree, but I still put this on her head.
She did two things wrong: She refused to sign. She resisted arrest. This sort of thing reaches critical mass pretty quickly. The cops are like the Rain Man in the airport. Do what he says and everything is fine. Don't do it, and watch how fast things escalate.
The bulk of the responsibility is on her.
"Brooks was stopped in the 8300 block of Beacon Avenue South, just outside the African American Academy, while dropping her son off for school."
Key point. Looks like a case of BWOCS.
Clearly this mouthy little Momma needs some stick time !
< /SARCASM>
>>Work it Malika!<<
She's black?
Does that mean Big Woman on Campus?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.