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Police tactics?

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by jkaras

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Here is an article about a disturbed little boy taken down by two officers while threatening to hurt himself. After reading this, not being a parent I cant begin to imagine how two adult male police officers had to resort to tasering a six year old rather than rushing the child? I dont know how big the piece of glass was but I'm sure that anyone especially trained in disarming could have handled this situation better. I have many friends that are cops but tasering can be as deadly as a bullit as other incidents have been seen. I just dont know what's going on in our world lately, am I wrong to be a little miffed even if it was effective/safe this time?

MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- Police used a stun gun on a 6-year-old boy in his principal's office because he was wielding a piece of glass and threatening to hurt himself, officials said Thursday.

The boy, who was not identified, was shocked with 50,000 volts on October 20 at Kelsey Pharr Elementary School.

Principal Maria Mason called 911 after the child broke a picture frame in her office and waved a piece of glass, holding a security guard back.

When two Miami-Dade County police officers and a school officer arrived, the boy had already cut himself under his eye and on his hand.

The officers talked to the boy without success. When the boy cut his own leg, one officer shocked him with a Taser and another grabbed him to prevent him from falling, police said.

He was treated and taken to a hospital, where he was committed for psychiatric evaluation.

"By using the Taser, we were able to stop the situation, stop him from hurting himself," police spokesman Juan DelCastillo told The Miami Herald.

The case was under review.

16 replies

by maecuff

This is insane. The child is obviously disturbed, and shooting him with a TASER to PREVENT him from hurting himself??? That makes no sense. I have a six year old son, if he were shot with a taser, I'd have to hurt someone.

by protiusx

I have a five year old who is off the charts for height and weight. He is the average size of a seven year old. Even if we assume this kid was abnormally large I think the officers in question went a little over board.
I would not only have his badge but I would press charges to the full extent of the law (notice I didn?t say I would sue).

by hal 9000

If it had of been in Victoria Au the police would have shot him dead for his own protection.

Actually come to think of it the same thing most likely would have happened in New South Wales as well. Last year I think they had six Police to subdue a mentally disturbed man on Bondi Beach with a kitchen knife and they method of stopping him from harming himself or others was to shoot him.

Up here in Queensland that would be very unlikely to happen because the Police tend to shoot themselves more than the people that they are suspose to apprehend. We have even had a couple actually kill themselves while on a raid but there was no one near them somehow they managed to kill themselves.

Col

by thechas

Looking over what I have seen on this story, I believe that the officers may have acted in the best interests of the boy.

If he was already cutting himself with the piece of glass, and the officers rushed him, he may have been able to cut an artery before the officers could stop him.
Using the taser, they would have been able to subdue the boy with a lower risk to both the boy and the officers.

On the flip side, how would you feel if the officers had rushed the boy and he cut an artery and bled to death?

Chas

by "old" devildog

Benifit of the doubt? I have a 10 year old son who has Autism. The area (small back woods town in SE Kansas) is about 100 years behind the world in dealing with developemly disabled children. Just over 6 months ago he suffered a sensory overload at the school they have for " problem children". By the end of a 20 minute fight with thid 10 year old. He was brused and beaten by the local police, arms and legs chained together. All because he was leaving an area outside of the school to enter the school building to relieve his mental sensory overload, as per his Doctor's orders. In the process a cops sunglasses were broken, the local County Attorney (one very dumb blonde) had him charged with a felony count of assulting a police officer? This 10 year old very scared boy was taken to jail in chains were he was kept for 6 months with out even a hearing. His mental health has reverted back 5 years. It has taken all of this time for his mom and I to get him back home. Now the shoe is on the other foot. Yeaterday the County Attorney was jailed as well as two of the 3 officers who fought him to the ground. The charges are felony Civil Rights violations (C.A) and felony assult on a minor (2 cops). It took the Federal goverment to do this but justice is going to be served. This town had never followed the ADA, now it is going to cost them. As you notice "I have not filed for money". That will come after the guilty is heard from the jury on all three of these people. As well as against the school district for not following Federal laws in dealing with disabled children.

Yes I do plan on making this town, county and school district very poor. And yes being the smart people we are, we are moving out of the area, well out of the state. We have all ready been less that well recived in some of the local business. We are "rocking the boat". I don't care. My business is run from my cell phone. My wife has already gotten a transfer from her company. Good bye backwoods and hello 300,000 plus. Just think we moved here to raise our children in a small town with out the pressures of the big towns, and all we got was the inbred hillbillies from hell

by protiusx

What can one say to that? I am a father as well. I have two boys and I work with law enforcement of a certain kind. I was shocked when I heard this on the news and the general consensus here is that as fathers we would have to be tasered too.
Your story is tragic and my heart goes out to you and your son. We had a neighbor once whose son was autistic. The boy was a handful for my neighbor and his wife. They eventually divorced with her leaving for California and he staying here. It was hard on the boy going from one house to the next during visitation. He liked to come over our house and play with our kids though.
I hope your family finds peace and comfort in wherever you move to. I also hope you can find it in your heart to forgive those who harmed your boy. I know as a father it would be very hard for me to but ultimately forgiveness aids the forgiver more than the forgiven.

by bucky kaufman (mcsd)

I gotta agree - tasering the little kid was the right thing to do. It was that, or let him kill himself. The non-lethal option was clearly the better choice.

I remember my niece doing the classic "touch the stove" think when she was a wee one. I was standing next to the glowing element when this curious little hand slowly reached up to touch the pretty glowy thing.

I slapped the crap outta that little hand - harder than was necessary to get her attention, but just hard enough to knock it outta harms way.

Sometimes a kid's gotta get his hand slapped - or tasered - for his own benefitification.

by protiusx

THE BOY WAS 6 YEARS OLD YOU IDIOT! You are obviously NOT a parent NOR have you had any exposure to developmentally disabled children. You disgust me! I suggest you do some research into Autism before you drool out some more garbage from that gaping festering stinking wound that is your mind!

by maecuff

Still can't agree. I have a 6 year old, and if I had to, I am confident I could get a piece of glass from him without running 50,000 volts through him. What are the chances he'd slice an artery before getting the glass from him? I'd say slim. My kid is pretty damn smart, he started talking a 7 months and reading at age 3 and I am pretty sure, that if I asked him where his arterys were or where he should cut himself if he wanted to do himself harm, he wouldn't have a clue. (Don't think I'll do that though)

Hell, he could slice an artery while falling down after getting tasered, so, no, I think it is extreme and frightening and there had to be a better way to subdue a SIX year old child.

by bucky kaufman (mcsd)

re:
What are the chances he'd slice an artery before getting the glass from him? I'd say slim.
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Isn't that a little too dicey? I mean, as *dramatic* as the tasers are - they are almost totally harmless. Shocking, yes - but harmless.

by hal 9000

In a 6 year old child the heart is much closer to the outside of the body so if they where to be hit around the chest cavity it could have an adverse affect upon the heart.

The action of a Taser is to make the muscles contract making it impossible for the person hit to move now would anyone like to tell me exactly what the Heart is?

Col

by bucky kaufman (mcsd)

re:
In a 6 year old child the heart is much closer to the outside of the body so if they where to be hit around the chest cavity it could have an adverse affect upon the heart.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----

True, but the kid was actually holding a shard to his own throat. Clearly the damage from a Taser would be easier to recover from.

Anybody can give CPR - but not many folks know how to stitch up the Carotid artery on the floor of a principle's office.

by hal 9000

I'll bow to your superior knowledge as in the original article the child had only cut under his eye, hand and leg.

The Police Tasered him just after he cut his leg.

Now for the facts it is a very hard thing to do by intent to cut a major blood vessel most people are unable to cut deep enough to have a successful outcome from their point of view "Death!"

Exactly what has happened to this child for him to behave this way? It can hardly be described as "Normal" whatever that may be but this action was way out on the fringe. If at least one officer was close enough to stop him falling what was preventing them from disarming him in a conventional way?

Surely by using a Taser it would have caused the muscles in his hand that was holding the glass to contract and cause injury that would have been beyond his capacity to do by himself.

The whole thing could and should have been handled in a better way and should never have reached the stage where the Principal lost control of the situation! Then there is the obvious question what was something potentially as dangerous as the glass doing within his reach?

Aren't schools supposed to be safe places for our children?

Now it's been a very long time since I've been to school even for my children but the one thing that I know is that when I was at school something like this would never have been allowed to happen.

At what stage did the teachers loose control over their charges which they are supposed to be protecting? Maybe it is the total lack of discipline and the knowledge that there are consequences for your actions that allow things like this to happen now days.

Col

by choppit

I don't know the full details here, but the way I see it, there were three lives at risk and this was not your average six year old. The outcome was right, the means (however questionable) led to this outcome therefore ,in these circumstances, the actions of the officers were right.

by maecuff

A 12 year old girl was tasered by police in Dade County for running away from them. She was not in danger, she was not threatening anyone.

by hal 9000

To her shoes attempting to wear them out so they just had to stop her from this uncivilized practice.

Col

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