milo

MIAMI-DADE POLICE TANSERED TRUANT GIRL, 12
Miami Herald | 11/13/2004 | Susannah A. Nesmith


Miami-Dade police said an officer should not have used a stun gun to stop a 12-year-old girl who was skipping school.

A Miami-Dade police officer used a Taser to stop an unarmed, 12-year-old girl who was running away from him after she was caught skipping school, police acknowledged Friday night.

The incident happened Nov. 5, just over two weeks after other Miami-Dade officers used a stun gun to restrain a first-grader. In that case, police said the 6-year-old boy was holding a shard of glass and threatening to cut himself. Police Director Bobby Parker defended the decision to shock the boy because he could have seriously hurt himself.

But Parker said Friday that he could not defend the decision to shock the fleeing 12-year-old, who was apparently drunk.

''Under the circumstances, we thought that he should not have used the Taser,'' Parker said referring to the officer. ``It's likely that discipline will be forthcoming.''

According to the incident report:

Officer William Nelson responded to an anonymous complaint that some kids were swimming in a West Kendall pool, drinking alcohol and smoking cigars about 11 a.m.

Nelson said he noticed the girl was intoxicated and told her to get dressed so he could take her back to school.

''While walking [the girl] to the police car, [she] took off running through the parking lot,'' Nelson wrote in his report.

Nelson, 38, a 15-year veteran, said he chased her and yelled several times for her to stop. Nelson said he pulled out the Taser and fired when the girl began to run into traffic.

The electric probes hit the girl in the neck and lower back, immobilizing her with 50,000 volts.

Nelson said he fired ''for my safety along with [the girl's] safety.'' He could not be reached for comment.

Paramedics treated the girl, who went home with her mother.

Parker said department policy permits officers to use the Taser to apprehend someone, but he said he expected his officers to use better judgment -- especially when police had no plans to arrest someone playing hooky.

''If you use it to apprehend an adult, it would be an arrest kind of situation,'' said Parker, adding that the timing of the latest incident couldn't be any worse.

His department is already under fire for using a Taser to subdue the 6-year-old last month. That zapping has made national headlines and prompted calls from child advocates that Miami-Dade review its Taser use.

Parker said Friday night that his department will review its Taser policy. ''That doesn't mean that we're going to change it,'' he said.

County Commissioner Joe Martinez, a former Miami-Dade officer, said the policy needs to be tightened.

''When you have a 6-year-old who is on medication and very disturbed, maybe some of that crisis intervention training would be very handy,'' he said, referring to a program that teaches officers how to deal with the mentally ill. ``Now, when I learn that a 12-year-old girl was running away, truant, and was also Tasered, I think it's time we instruct the county manager to look at that policy.''

Asked if his officers had shocked any other kids, Parker said: ``I asked the same question, are there more of these out there that I'm not aware of? To my knowledge this is the only one.''

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Nothing like a good shock to the system to get the young 'uns back on the straight and narrow

Seriously, break the law, expect to the law to use whatever means to arrest you.....Oh what I'd give to tazer some chavs

pslewis

About time we started doing this in this country!!

Start with executing the Car Thieving Scum, Chavs could be done away with, Hang the lifers in our prisons (free up space)

Lets get TOUGH!!!

Pete

yoza

The officer should be tortured to within an inch of his life, the lazy fat ****.

Eat less doughnuts you fat ******.....

Just a quick question, if I was to fire a tazer and the wires crossed, would it short out, or still deliver its charge.

The barbes sometimes spin and the wires twist together....

Thanks.

Also does anyone know where to buy 'barb and wire' cartridge refills for a M18 50,000V..?

Lum

Agreed.

Stick BBC4 on now, these chavs are even worse than normal.

yoza

Ignore my first stupid question, Ive just noticed the wires have black insulation on them.....

Leslie

Can't believe he could do that to a 12 year old child let alone to a 6 year old. Different if you are in danger of murderous attack by a criminal, but a child who is running away!

Les

wakeboardar

what a ******** ^ this is a 12 year old girl, Not in my country please

M444GY

iTrader: (72)

bloody yanks always go over the top . I AM THE LAW !

have u seen the worlds most dangerous police chases on sunday nights all in america of course. one bloke ran a red light and the police gave chase about 2 mins later there are about ten fu*kers chasing this bloke and then they ran him off the road , cmon ten cars!! for one car? we seem to catch them ok over here with just one!

always goin over the top imo

Trucker Ted

The girl was intoxicated,so what if she had ran into traffic and been killed,the cop was on a hiding to nothing,remember over there,some of their roads in the "city" are like the bloody M25 and maybe the cop really thought she was in serious danger of being run down.Thats the only way i could justify his actions,if she was only getting away from him and in no danger,then he should have just let her go.

P.s who's up for a group buy on Tazers maybe stop me having to buy new valve caps every bloody month(damn kids)

tiggers

And of course we have to remember that just maybe the report in the Miami press might not be 100% accurate - think back to a thread on here just this week about the 16 year old killing his mother's rapist for example. The press do tend to bend the truth just a little bit sometimes

Just to pick up on the general tone of some of the posts here (not in direct reference to the alleged incidents which are way OTT IMHO) it's funny to note how much of the time SN complains that the UK is too PC and doesn't enforce the law properly, but as soon as we hear of other countries being tougher we start complaining of them going too far.

Just a thought...

tiggers.

Leslie

I really can't believe that attacking a child with a tazer can be justified under anything but the most extreme circumstances, such as a threat to one's own life. Perhaps's the officer concerned should be made to experience the effects of 50K volts being shot into his own body! How on earth can he use the excuse of his own safety for doing it?

Les

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

The Police usually are shocked as a part of their training...like with CS-gas they get sprayed so they know what it's like.

Can't comment on if that particular state uses that type of training, but many other states do.

Next time you see a gobby 12year old girl throwing eggs at your car - think of how "innocent angels" some young kids really are.

Leslie

I can understand what you are saying Ali-B and yes I would be very pissed off, but still would not want to take that kind of action. A good hiding is another matter though!

Les

milo

also remember where this happened. you can bet your *** there will be a mega HUGE lawsuit from the kid and/or her parents

NotoriousREV

OK, but as a parent what would your first thought be?

A) Oh my God, my little girl has been Tasered

or

B) What the hell was she doing drinking and smoking cigars by a pool while she should have been at school?

It's over the top, but I bet she won't wag school for a while!

Brendan Hughes

Shocking.

yoza

Stunned...