Lovely! Police use taser on 6 year-old boy

[DaveC]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/11/12/child.tasered.ap/index.html

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

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.

 

[DaveC]

I know the kid was cutting himself with a piece of glass.

But the thing is there was a police officer close enough to catch him from falling once he was tasered; shouldn't he have been able to grab the kid in the first place?

And 50,000 volts going through a body the size of a 6 year old's is more than plenty to kill him. In fact, they're lucky this kid isn't dead already. Hell, grown men weighing over 250 have been killed by tasers in the past.

That was an ENORMOUS risk that the police took, one that was lucky, IMO, that the kid wasn't killed.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

Damned if you do... damned if you don't...

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

it was probably a little extreme, but the cops acted spur of the moment in an effort to keep the kid from killing himself. probably should have used another method, but when there's a kid who's about to stab a piece of glass through his jugular, ya don't always have time to properly think things threw. damned if ya do, damned if ya don't. i'm just glad the kid is alive and getting the help he so obviously needed.

 

[Sherry Darling]

My teacher's gut here is betting that this kid has been the victim of abuse.

sd

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

likely... most kids involved in violence are abused in some way. see it all too often

 

[nbcrusader]

Let's let the investigation review what happened. The view from behind our computer screens is much different than the view experienced by the police officers involved.

 

[verte76]

Damn, the whole thing is unfortunate. A six-year-old boy grabbing glass and cutting himself? Horrors. Most likely this is an abused child. Child abuse sucks. It's so sad.

 

[sharky]

Umm...how hard is it to wrestle a piece of glass from a six-year-old? And how much power does a kid have to dig a piece of glass deep enough to do serious damage? I dunno -- I think the kid was less at risk from dying by cutting himself with glass than being tasered.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

Umm...how hard is it to wrestle a piece of glass from a six-year-old? And how much power does a kid have to dig a piece of glass deep enough to do serious damage? I dunno -- I think the kid was less at risk from dying by cutting himself with glass than being tasered.

Uhmmm... I wouldn't want to find out...

The taser does "sound" extreme but so is getting slashed or at worse the kid slashing himself. I mean we all have vital and vulnerable organs/ body parts.

 

[U2_Muse]

Umm...how hard is it to wrestle a piece of glass from a six-year-old?

You might be surprised.

When I was student teaching a first grade class, a girl in my classroom threatened to stab herself with a pair of scissors. It took myself and the teacher's aide in my room to get the scissors away from her.

Later on, the same child had to be restrained by another teacher (one who had training in proper restraint methods) and myself from hurting herself or others after she was removed from the classroom for her behaviour.

Adrenalin and pent up anger, frustration and hurt can go far.

That said, I still think using a taser on a six year old is a bit extreme.

 

[Liesje]

Umm...how hard is it to wrestle a piece of glass from a six-year-old?

Sorry, sharky, but have you ever dealt with a six year old that's emotionally disturbed? You would be VERY surprised at what they can do. I used to nanny for four siblings and the 6 year old was ADHD but most likely manic depressive (he was at the Dr constantly and frequently changing meds tying to figure out what was wrong). Fortunately, if you can call it that, he directed his anger towards himself (like banging his head HARD on the TV if he lost a video game) and not at other people. I don't think I would've lasted there if he'd attempted to hurt someone else. Kids like that, they have no limitations on their own strength, they just go psycho whether or not they're injuring themselves or someone else.

 

[sharky]

Hmm...I guess I baby sat for nice normal mentally stable six-year-olds.

 

[BAW]

I wasn't there and don't know anything about the child's background so anything I say is just speculation but I can't begin to imagine why it took 50,000 volts to subdue a 6 year old boy. I just can't.

The size difference alone makes me wonder why 2 trained police officers couldn't simply overpower the kid.

If the taser was indeed the only way to handle this, my God, that really scares me to think that there are 6 year olds who are so disturbed they need to be handled like adults.

 

[DaveC]

I wasn't there and don't know anything about the child's background so anything I say is just speculation but I can't begin to imagine why it took 50,000 volts to subdue a 6 year old boy. I just can't.

The size difference alone makes me wonder why 2 trained police officers couldn't simply overpower the kid.

If the taser was indeed the only way to handle this, my God, that really scares me to think that there are 6 year olds who are so disturbed they need to be handled like adults.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

I wasn't there and don't know anything about the child's background so anything I say is just speculation but I can't begin to imagine why it took 50,000 volts to subdue a 6 year old boy. I just can't.

The size difference alone makes me wonder why 2 trained police officers couldn't simply overpower the kid.

If the taser was indeed the only way to handle this, my God, that really scares me to think that there are 6 year olds who are so disturbed they need to be handled like adults.

Hollywood glamorizes/ exagerrates what cops or people can do. Again its easy for people to say disarm, he's only 6 years old but if a cop actually loses an eye or has a tend or something severed... that isn't small damage...

 

[BAW]

Hollywood glamorizes/ exagerrates what cops or people can do. Again its easy for people to say disarm, he's only 6 years old but if a cop actually loses an eye or has a tend or something severed... that isn't small damage...

I'm not looking at this from a Hollywood perspective. My husband was a cop for 17 years so I know the realities of police work.

Again, I said in my original post that I was not there and don't know the boy's history...but a taser still seems extreme.

 

[Mr. BAW]

In the minutes that it took these officers to forumulate a plan, they could have easily used anything to distract this child...that includes throwing an object at him (sounds funny but its true), throwing water on him (sounds funny but its true) or the two officers could have merely over-powered him....hell, they could've used Silly String to confuse him....I would have preferred mace on the child rather than the improper use of a Taser.

Its my thought that those officers exercised poor judgement in subduing this child....I mean, come on, you think they went in there with a taser gun....probably not...in those minutes it took to secure the taser, they could have formulated a plan..."hey, you take him high, I'll take him low and he'll be crying for his chocolate milk in 5 seconds...."

Even the use of nightsticks would be too abusive...glass or not...

And besides, they took that Sworn Oath to protect and serve, that includes taking a couple scrapes in the process..I oughta know, I've got the scars to prove I did my time...and I didn't hurt anyone in the process...I'm ranting...and yes, I confess, I wasn't there...but when I read this shit, I wish I was.....