Posted on 11/18/2009 8:25:56 AM PST by mgstarr
Called to a home to help control an "unruly child," an Ozark, Arkansas police officer was given permission by the girl's mother to a taser to subdue the child.
According to 40/29 News the girl's father is outraged that the police would use a taser on such a young child. "I would like to say Ozark police Tased this little girl right here," the girl's father, Anthony Medlock, told 40/29 News. "Ten years old and [they] shot electricity through her body, and I want to know how the heck in God's green earth can they get away with this."
According to the police report, the officer said when he arrived at the home he witnessed the girl kicking and screaming, and the girl's mother asked for help. The officer says the mother gave him permission to use a taser if needed.
According to the officer, he did eventually use a taser on the child after the she kicked him in the groin and made other threatening gestures.
Ozark police Chief Jim Noggle is backing up his officer, saying he had no choice in the matter and that it was the only way to get the child under control Noggle said the officer shocked the child for about one second and no permanent damage was done to the girl. Ozark police said it is their policy to use a Taser on someone who is a threat to others, no matter their age. The father asked why she wasn't simply handcuffed and carried out to the police car. Noggle says that might have actually hurt the child worse had she struggled while restrained, and after she was cuffed.
The child's father says this isn't the first time the mother has called police on their daughter, and he is now planning on suing for custody. "She just wants somebody to love her, and I do," he said.
I wish the father luck. It sure sounds like this girl has some major emotional (if not mental) issues.
Good Lord.
If this isn't child abuse...
Did her head spin 360 and did green pea soup shoot out of her mouth too?
Perhaps they will come back tomorrow and shoot her dog.
That line about her just wanting someone to love her...YOU dad should be applying the discipline, not the local police.
This reminds me of that girl who was going nuts in her classroom and the teacher wasn’t allowed to discipline her and had to call the police. God forbid we should apply a smack on the bottom, or several.
Can’t we all just get along?
Let me get this straight. If your 10 year old is having a tantrum in a store and you give the little darling a swat on the rear, you’ll be accused of child abuse, likely arrested and the child put in protective custody. But if your 10 year old is having a tantrum at home, you can call the cops and they’ll tazer the child for you? Why don’t they just skip the middleman and issue tazers to parents and teachers so they can admister this new form of behaviour modification without the necessity of inconveniencing the police. :P This is madness.
I wonder if he even tried a Spock pinch?
BS. He had the choice to get in his car and drive off. It's not his job to control an unruly child in her own home, no matter WHAT the mother gives him permission to do. If she is not causing a public safety concern or causing harm to herself, he should advise the mother on what to do and then LEAVE.
Are my Libertarian leanings showing? Too bad.
Man, I hate to say it but I often wished I’d had a couple of those on me when my two daughters turned into teenagers. (No hate mail, I’m just kidding (well, maybe not ALL the way lol!))
Man, I hate to say it but I often wished I’d had a couple of those on me when my two daughters turned into teenagers. (No hate mail, I’m just kidding (well, maybe not ALL the way lol!))
Jeeze. I think he should get a shot at it. It sounds like the mother thinks "spanking is bad for children", or the kid has a medical problem that isn't being addressed. Either way, moms not doing so well. Maybe dad should handle this one.
This is insane. Law enforcement should not be involved in disciplining a child who is having a tantrum.
As an aside, there is a show on the National Geographic channel called “Alaska State Troopers” and one of the things the announcer says to tell you how dangerous the state is is: “...in a place where anyone could be armed.”
And I’m thinking, shouldn’t that be the United States—a place where anyone could be armed—and not just “the last frontier” of Alaska?
Grrrr.
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