Posted on 08/14/2007 1:40:06 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
HOUSTON (AP) - In a confrontation captured on videotape, a hospital security guard fired a stun gun to stop a defiant father from taking home his newborn baby, sending both man and child crashing to the floor. Now the man says the baby girl suffers from head trauma because she was dropped. "I've got to wonder what kind of moron would Tase an adult holding a baby," said George Kirkham, a former police officer and criminologist at the University of California-Berkeley. "It doesn't take rocket science to realize the baby is going to fall."
The trouble began in April when Williams Lewis, 30, said he and his wife felt mistreated by staff at the Woman's Hospital of Texas so they decided to leave. Hospital employees told him doctors would not allow it, but Lewis picked up the baby and strode to a bank of elevators.
The elevators would not move because wristband sensors on each baby shut off the elevators if anyone takes an infant without permission.
Lewis, who gave the video to The Associated Press, said his daughter landed on her head, but it cannot be seen on the video. He said the baby seems injured since the episode.
"She shakes a lot and cries a lot," Lewis said, noting doctors have performed several MRIs on the child, Karla. "She's not real responsive. Something is definitely wrong with my daughter."
It was not clear whether the baby received any electrical jolt.
Child Protective Services has custody of the baby because of a history of domestic violence between Lewis and his wife, Jacqueline Gray. Agency spokeswoman Estella Olguin said the infant seems in good health.
The hospital and the Houston Police Department did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.
David Boling, an off-duty Houston police officer working security at the hospital, and another security guard can be seen on the surveillance video arriving at the elevators and trying to talk with Lewis. Lewis appears agitated as he walks around the elevators holding his daughter in his right arm.
Within 40 seconds of arriving, Boling is holding the Taser. He walks around Lewis and whispers to the other guard, who moves to Lewis's right side.
About a minute later, Boling can be seen casually standing near Lewis, not looking in his direction, when he suddenly raises the Taser and fires it at Lewis, who was still holding his daughter.
Lewis drops to the floor. The other guard, who has not been identified, scoops up the baby and gives her to the child's mother, who was standing nearby in a hospital gown.
The guard then pulls Lewis to his feet with his arms locked behind him. Lewis's T-shirt has two holes under the left side of his chest where the Taser prongs hit him.
Lewis said he did not see the stun gun.
"My wife said we want to leave and then he just Tasered me," Lewis said. "He caused me to drop the child."
Lewis was arrested and charged with endangering a child. A grand jury in May declined to indict him on that charge, but charged him with retaliation, accusing him of making threats against Boling.
Lewis also has been charged with a second count of retaliation alleging he made a threatening call to Boling at his home.
Lewis denies both charges. He said he is considering suing the hospital but has not filed any legal papers.
Some 11,000 U.S. law enforcement agencies use Tasers, which have been officially listed as a contributing factor in about 12 deaths nationwide, according to Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Taser International Inc., which makes the weapon.
Some experts contend the weapon can be deadly, particularly when used on suspects who use drugs or suffer from heart problems.
"The Taser itself is a legitimate law-enforcement tool," Kirkham said. "The problem is the abusive use of them. They're supposed to be only used to protect yourself or another person from imminent aggression and physical harm. They're overused now."
We haven't had a good debate over a taser thread lately.
Here we go....
Same sort of moron who would kill a woman holding a baby, as in the Randy Weaver incident.
Our government is stocked to the brim with morons. It is time the public do something about it.
Thread hijacking in progress...............
So the elevators were disabled, so the guy was in no danger of leaving immediately regardless of whether the hospital gave him permission... and they Tasered him. What about charging the security guard with “retaliation” over the lack of respect for his authoritah?
If the security guard had reason to believe that the baby was in immediate danger of being harmed or killed he was in the right to act. If not, this is an egregious assault facilitated by the socialism already embedded into the large number of morons in this country.
A father and a mother have a natural and God-given right to have control of their infant child. This whole “takes a village” crowd has significantly eroded the concept of personal liberty. If someone had done this to my father or grandfather, my uncles or grand-uncles would be taking care of the situation outside of the law.
“Our government is stocked to the brim with morons.”
Sad, but true.
Yes!
Illegal immigrants.
THEY’RE the real problem here.
Oh oh, one more lawsuit to add to Tasers collection of 3 million lawsuits. Personally I think Taser should start making guns just to drive home the point to the professional litigators.
Thread hijacking on aisle 3........
What happened to the days when a guard or LEO would simply physically restrain people?
I'd be interested in hearing the hospital's side of this story.
People should always be able to check themselves out of the hospital at any time they wish. There is no mention that the baby had any medical problems, so the parents should be able to take their child with them.
This security guard is not a government employee.
It occurs to me that if the Mother intent was to leave the hospital (even against medical advice) with the baby (carried by her OR the father), there is not a single leg for the hospital to stand on.
Despite what staff might say, signing an AMA or proper notice cannot be required - not 3 hours, minutes, or even 3 seconds.
The fathers fate lies in the mothers words. Child Protective Services might well be way out of line on this one, too.
SO I wuz acting like and idiot.. and I got myself tasered... and so I dropped my baby.
So it’s the hospitals fault, and whoever else has a million dollars.
OMG!! That poor baby.
Starbucks! Budweiser! Krispy Kreme!
Oh, I would guess THIS.....
.... had something to do with it.
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