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."
Then your beef would be with the governing agency (City, County, State etc.) and how they use the Police. I can understand that.
When it comes to speed/school zones, it is a no win for the Cops. If it is enforced, we are revenue generating tools of the state.
Let a kid or pedestrian get hit, or a major accident occurs that is directly caused by speed and every one screams "where were the cops and why didn't they prevent this?"
I prefer cash but if you work for a reputable business you can just sign the check over to me.
have I mentioned I am presently working gratis ?
"These days its a taser."
And tomorrow they should just shoot the women??
380 posted on 05/10/2005 9:44:42 PM CDT by shellshocked
Calm down and stop being so melodramatic.....
You first. (neh neh neh neh)
To me, cops are a threat. When confronted by one, it is reasonable these days to assume one's life is in danger.
I am sure that when a cop pulls you over, he feels exactly the same way about you.
Just tagging on here cause it seemed a good place but I was watching a documentary on Ruby Ridge last night and they showed Randy Weaver's arrest record and in the signature slot it clearly said "Refused to sign".
Perhaps local laws are different but it struck me that that's all that would have been required.
"Perhaps local laws are different but it struck me that that's all that would have been required"
Depends on the state law, department Policy, and what the local prosecutor is willing to accept
They'll get over
Maybe not
I advocate not resisting arrest.
I advocate obeying a police officer when he is giving you an order to comply when you have been caught speeding a school zone.
I advocate listening to the facts as presented and forming a well well informed, realistic opinion.
I advocate not putting words into my opponents mouth, but letting him hang himself with his own rope.
...the story of my life!!!
"I am sure that when a cop pulls you over, he feels exactly the same way about you."
Of course, they do. Clouds and fuzzy bunnies are a threat to them.
Sure, now add to the list, "I advocate not tasering a pregnant women instead of using better restraint techniques."
Here in Tx, refua\sal to sign the citation for a Class C Misdemeanor (Traffic Ticket and Minor Offenses) amounts to a demand to see a Magistrate Now.
Some departments will allow the "Refused to Sign" if the DA accepts. Not many do. The Supreme Court has Upheld taking minor violators before the Magistrate.
Naturally, some Lawyer out there will take a "Refused to Sign" on a citation and turn it into a case that the violator was denied his right to see the Magistrate immediately as prescribed in the law. Just as quickly they will scream Excessive Force and unlawful arrest if they are removed from the vehicle to see the Judge when they refuse to sign
I am unsure of the document you saw on the Randy Weaver story, but it could have been any number of administrative documents that go along with an arrest that are not citations
What I'm suggesting is that those who have studied the traffic patterns, etc. and set the speed limits are much more qualified to determine what the save speed is than you are.
To suggest that it is perfectly okay to speed through a school zone is moronic.
Regardless of the laws here I'm gonna sign, just can't win an argument like that on the spot with a cop and like the rest of the world, some can be a little, um, cranky.
Plus I suspect they must get a lot of grief. After getting a speeding ticket (deserved I might add) a while back after it was over the cop actually thanked me for being so polite so I figured he must not get a lot of that.
Didn't have any influence on me getting the ticket, but there are so many laws I suspect he could have started finding additional infractions if he had a mind to.
Believe it or not, most cops have already decided what action (Ticket, warning, etc) they are going to take before they even speak to you. They base it on the severity of the violation and whatever department policy is.
I have given some real loudmouthed a##holes warnings because that was what was warranted, regardless of the attitude. Most cops actually stick to that.
Interesting. I always wondered if my Texas 100 sticker made any difference. I figured probably not but I'll continue to participate anyway.
amen
200 Deaths? That it? We taser pregnant women for that and kill their unborn child?
45,000 people die on our roads each year and you want to kill unborn children for speeding that cause 200 of those?
5 gallon buckets kill that many. I bet we don't taser pregnant women who leave 5 gallon buckets around.
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