Jeff, you appear to be a thoughtful person. Have you considered that maybe she was running for her life from a lazy taser-happy cop, who she may have thought was about to taser her to death? The taser option appears to be the first and only option in this case. The cop couldn’t have known a dash cam video was catching his actions on tape, therefore his carelessness. Also, the girl may have been allowed to “escape,” if only temporarily, or she may have even been scared into running. Tasers are lethal in and of themselves, no doubt about it.
A taser shot can cause ventricular fibrillation 3 out of one hundred times, depending on the electrical cycle of the heart at the time of the application of the jolt.
She had been involved in two hit and runs. She was wanted on a areest warrant. She and her mother had been involved in drugs.
The police located and arrested her and while sha was waiting for booking, she made an attempt to escape, running out of the police office.
Bad decision number umpteen.
What she was running for was to escape justice and the consequences for her actions to that point where she had shown she was a danger to society...not "running for her life."
The large policeman chasing her could have tackled her, then having a 250+ pound man fall on a 100 lb girl which easily could have injured her and had a batter chance of doing so than the taser.
In addition, had she not been injured by the tackle, and scuffled with the officer and continued to try and escape, which she clearly was already showing a propsesity to do, then she may have been able to get the officers weapon. Also a very much undesired event but one that happens too often.
The officer did the least forceful and lethal thing he could do while maintaining his own safety to apprehend an individual that was a danger to society.
Tragically, she hit her head when she fell. But that was all a result of a multitude of very poor, and increasingly bad decisions she made that put the officer in that position, not the other way around.
Look, I am the first to call police powers when they are abused and have personally stood up to that abuse by the state at places like Jarbidge, Nevada, and Klamath Falls, Oregpon during the Klamath Water Crisis.
But this was not that, or like, for example when Elian Gonzales was taken from his family. This was a tragic accident that occured when an individual who had endagnered and injured the public, tried to escape justice, tried to get away form the consequences of the felonious/criminal actions she had already committed. This was not the officer's fault and I will not knee jerk and call it that when, IMHO, it is so clearly not so.