Posted on 05/10/2005 1:51:41 AM PDT by Stoat
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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.
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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."
You're a cop-hater?
Sounds like he's more lazy than anything else. Just doing enough to get through the shift mentality and taking shortcuts. Failing to act is just as bad as...well you know the rest.
Roger that-
Lazy is it
One of those that is so lazy, it's a good thing for him that breathing is a non voluntary reflex action. If he had to do it for himself, there'd be problems
LOL that reminds me of an old cop anecdote:
Some cops are as*holes.
Don't worry, other cops think they're as*holes too.
DING DING DING, we have a winner.
Roscoe Rules from the "Choirboys" (The book, not the Movie)
The penultimate a##hole cop
Haven't read it, but Harvey Keitel goes above and beyond in Bad Lieutenant. Gotta go..see ya out there.
Seen it
Very true
Stay Safe
If I tried to argue any point you made on Municpalities, I would be guilty of lying or being Pollyanna.
Fortunately, I am not under any of those restrictions
I know of some that are. The ones that don't llike it make do. The ones that do like make all others look bad.
Good Luck and Thank you
The woman broke a law. Not all laws that officers need to enforce are robberies and rapes. Also, if this woman is a large woman, her pregnancy might not have been evident. I am sure there is more to this story than what is in the article. Just from the article, this isn't the first time she has gotten a ticket for speeding, maybe she should drive a bit more careful in order to protect her 'fetus'.
Voice of reason?! That's LOL funny!!! Is that your impression of the police? Police are the voice of authority, not the voice of reason. You'd know that if you ever had one barking in your face.
So how many hours have you spent studying school zones so you could know that it was perfectly safe to travel faster than the posted speed limit in a school zone?
Please tell me you don't have school age children.
What is the correlation between your being an engineer and a moving traffic violation? It's about speeding in a school zone which started the whole brouhaha.
I won't say there aren't a##hole cops out there.
Come back when you have a valid point, not colored by your crappy attitude
Have a Nice Day
You might try making your own argument, instead of putting words in my mouth.
What words did I put in your mouth?
Most schools zones I've been through don't even have kids crossing the street near them.
Your statement flies in the face of reality. For a child sake I wouldn't want you to be responsible for their safety since you think all children should behave like little adults concerning safety. Children are children. They don't always look both ways before crossing a street. They don't always think before darting out between two parked cars chasing a ball.
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