AR: Arkansas Cop Tasers 10-Year-Old Girl

Girl's Mom Said She Refused to Take a Shower; Town's Mayor Calls for Investigation

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/18/national/main5697860.shtml

(AP) The mayor of a small Arkansas town wants an independent investigation on whether it was appropriate for a police officer to use a Taser on an unruly 10-year-old girl who kicked him in the groin.

Mayor Vernon McDaniel says he wants Arkansas State Police or the FBI to look into whether the use of the Taser was proper. The girl, who hasn't been identified, wasn't hurt and is now at the Western Arkansas Youth Shelter in Cecil.

Ozark police were called to the home Nov. 11 after the girl's mother couldn't get the child to take a shower.

Ozark Police Chief Jim Noggle, who has defended the officer's action, didn't immediately return a call for comment Wednesday morning.

VIDEO: FL - 11 Year Old Girl Tasered At An Elementary School

Story about an 11 year old girl in an Orange County Florida Elementary School who was tasered by a School Resource Officer (SRO):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcWPT7Ec1kg&feature=related



Follow Up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYs9Shk9odU&feature=related

IN: Cop Tasers autistic boy unconscious

Family sues police, school after 9-1-1 called during outburst
http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=89890

Posted: February 24, 2009
11:11 pm Eastern

© 2009 WorldNetDaily


The TASER X26, a top law enforcement model

The family of a 14-year-old autistic boy is suing police and his school after authorities Tasered him until he lost consciousness.

The student attended Creekside Middle School in Carmel, Ind., and remains unnamed in the complaint. He is described as having "affective disorder and has been diagnosed with autism, manic-depressive disorder and bipolar disorder."

According to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis, the boy's mother, Dianne Bell, was late dropping him off for school and called to tell the administration. However, the student received detention and became "frustrated and began to act out."

"During this outburst he is saying outrageous things," Bells' attorney, Ronald Frazier, told the Indianapolis Star. He said the student said he would call his gang as retaliation against his teachers.

"They know there is no gang there," Frazier said. "They know he has no way of acting on what he is saying. They are taking these idle threats and calling police."

The family claims the school district did not abide by established procedures for dealing with the outbursts

"When a child like (the Bells' son) starts to have emotional problems, the (individual procedure) is supposed to be followed," Frazier told the Star. "It has specific steps that are to be taken in order to keep the child from melting totally down."

The administration dialed 9-1-1 instead

The family claims Carmel police officer Matthew Kinkade restrained the 5-foot, 90-pound boy and forced him onto a bench in the school lobby. When his outburst continued, the officer allegedly Tasered the boy two times – leaving him unconscious.

"Officer Kinkade used unreasonable and excessive force by failing to follow policies and procedures that were in place for dealing with autistic children," according to the complaint.

The Police Department claims the school never notified officers of the boy's condition, although school officials say they did.

"Autistic children have a great difficulty interpreting what others are thinking or feeling because they don't understand social cues," Frazier told the Star. "(The Bell child) gets confronted with violence, with Tasers, and he is flipping out because of his sensory overload."

Noblesville Police Department Lt. Bruce Barnes trains officers in the use of Tasers.

"You can use the Taser anytime anybody is punching, kicking or threatening to punch or kick," Barnes said. "We can use it when we tell someone to do something, they refuse, lesser-force options are not available and they are a credible threat to you."

Barnes wouldn't speculate about whether the autistic boy actually posed a legitimate threat to police, according to the report.

Sheila Wolfe, director of the Indianapolis-based Autism Education and Training Center, told the Star school officials and police who responded to the outburst actually made it worse.

"You need to step away and leave them alone so that they can decompress," she said. "I have a hard time believing that a trained officer would Taser a child with a disability if they fully understood the situation they were walking into.

"I know from experience that the people in Carmel (Clay schools) know better. As a school system, they have the expertise and they have the people available that know better. I'm surprised."

The Bell family is now suing the Carmel Police Department, officer Matthew Kinkade and Carmel Clay Schools. They are seeking damages for medical expenses, pain, suffering and mental anguish.

Amnesty International Report: Tasers – potentially lethal and easy to abuse

16 December 2008
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/tasers-potentially-lethal-and-easy-abuse-20081216

Amnesty International has said that industry claims that Taser stun guns are safe and non-lethal do not stand up to scrutiny. The organization called on governments to limit their deployment to life-threatening situations or to suspend their use.

The call came as the organization released one of the most detailed reports to date on the safety of the stun gun. The report "USA: Less than lethal?" is being published as the number of people who died after being struck by Tasers in the USA reached 334 between 2001 and August 2008.

"Tasers are not the 'non-lethal' weapons they are portrayed to be," said Angela Wright, US researcher at Amnesty International and author of the report. "They can kill and should only be used as a last resort.

"The problem with Tasers is that they are inherently open to abuse, as they are easy to carry and easy to use and can inflict severe pain at the push of a button, without leaving substantial marks."

Amnesty International’s study – which includes information from 98 autopsies – found that 90 per cent of those who died after being struck with a Taser were unarmed and many did not appear to present a serious threat.

Many were subjected to repeated or prolonged shocks – far more than the five-second "standard" cycle – or by more than one officer at a time. Some people were even shocked for failing to comply with police commands after they had been incapacitated by a first shock.

In at least six of the cases where people died, Tasers were used on individuals suffering from medical conditions such as seizures – including a doctor who had crashed his car when he suffered an epileptic seizure. He died after being repeatedly shocked at the side of the highway when, dazed and confused, he failed to comply with an officer's commands.

Police officers also used Tasers on schoolchildren, pregnant women and even an elderly person with dementia.

In March 2008, an 11-year-old girl with a learning disability was shocked with a Taser after she punched a police officer in the face. The officer had been called to the school in Orange County, Florida, after the child had become disturbed, pushing desks and chairs and spitting at staff.

Existing studies – many of them funded by the industry – have found the risk of these weapons to be generally low in healthy adults. However, these studies are limited in scope and have pointed to the need for more understanding of the effects of such devices on vulnerable people, including those under the influence of stimulant drugs or in poor health.

Recent independently-funded animal studies have found that the use of these kinds of electro-shock weapons can cause fatal arrhythmias in pigs, raising further questions about their safety on human subjects. It was also recently reported that nearly ten per cent of 41 Tasers tested in a study commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, delivered significantly more current than the manufacturer said was possible, underscoring the need for independent verification and testing of such devices.

Although most of the 334 deaths nationwide have been attributed to factors such as drug intoxication, medical examiners and coroners have concluded that Taser shocks caused or contributed to at least 50 of these deaths.

"We are very concerned that electro-shock weapons such as Tasers have been rolled out for general use before rigorous, independent testing of their effects," said Angela Wright.

Officials: Deputy Shocks Girl, 11, With Taser At Elementary School

From Local6.com

Girl, Deputy Taken To Hospital
POSTED: 10:34 am EDT March 27, 2008
UPDATED: 5:57 am EDT March 28, 2008

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- An Orange County sheriff's deputy on Thursday shocked an 11-year-old girl with a Taser gun at an elementary school after the girl punched her in the face, authorities said.

The altercation happened during announcements at Moss Park Elementary School, located at 9301 N. Shore Golf Club Blvd. in Orlando, Orange County school officials said.

According to the Orange County Sheriff's Office, the girl, identified as Thaliamar Jiminez by Local 6 News, pushed another student into oncoming traffic, and the student who was pushed reported the incident to a teacher.

The teacher approached Jiminez, but the 11-year-old ignored the teacher and walked to her homeroom class, according to the sheriff's office.

The homeroom teacher also tried to talk to Jiminez, who became agitated and began to shove her desk and chair, Orange County sheriff's deputies said. Jiminez was asked to go to the office but refused and yelled and spit at the teachers, deputies said.

The school resource officer, Orange County sheriff's Deputy Donna Hudepohl was called to remove Jiminez, who pushed Hudepohl and punched her in the face, causing her nose to bleed, according to the sheriff's office.

Hudepohl attempted to secure Jiminez, but she continued to fight, so Hudepohl shocked her with her Taser gun, the sheriff's office said.

Hudepohl was transported to Florida Hospital East and treated for a bruised sinus cavity, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Jiminez was also taken to Florida Hospital East to have the Taser prongs removed, but she was not injured, deputies said.

Jiminez was arrested and faces charges of battery on a law enforcement officer, disrupting a school function and resisting with violence.

Jiminez was transported to the Juvenile Detention Center.