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Main Page Police use stun gun on 6-year-old
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Posted by: kateykakes

CNN.com article

Excessive force? Did the officer make the right decision? Do you think there could have been another way to handle things?

Police use stun gun on 6-year-old
Officials: Child was cutting himself with glass

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.

Posted by: 2-Delta

What a psycho kid. I think they did a great job and service to the kid by not letting him do any permanent or real harm to himself.

Posted by: topcop14

Nobody got hurt this time but I am sure if we give the little psycho a chance he will do some damage some day.
The media is all over the Tazer lately. Kinda reminds me of when peperspray was getting popular, they wanted to ban that too.

Though I don't know if I would have done that myself, then again it would not be an option as Tazers were illegal in Ma up until a few month ago and no one is using them is Ma as far as I know. Though I am looking forward to it but I will try not to zap the shit out of toddlers and elderly.

Posted by: michaelbos

I'm sure this got bad press. But it may have saved the boy from serious injury.

Posted by: Sgt.berniedo

That six year old can probably handle it better than older people. When I was six, I was Superman, it wasn't until I got a bit older that I became human.

Posted by: frapmpd24

Waving a glass, holding a security guard back, already cut himself twice...at six years old? I would love to see the parents of this kid and when they lost control, if they ever had it. If a tazer needed to be used to control a six year old from harming others and himself than I would guess there is a long road ahead of him in the criminal justice system. I would definately like to see where this kid is in 10 or 20 years...

Posted by: stm4710

Held a security guard back? Who? Gary Coleman? My god, the kids 6........just freaking kick him.

Nice call on the Tazer though.

Posted by: darkknight750il

Wow damn kids today! Good call on the taser,here in the Commonwealth we wold have had to use pepper spray or a baton.

Posted by: DoD102

A taser. I don't know guys. Come on, he's six years old. I've been on 24 years and have had to deal with my share of armed out of control kids. Now before anyone gets upset, I will say this, I wasn't there in Miami, so I'm not trying to second guess those guys, but I keep going back to the kids age. Six years old, and a taser. There were at least four adults, three of them professional LEO's. I'm sure there were other options that to zap this kid. Think about folks. SIX Years old! :/

Posted by: Officer Dunngeon

Yeah, I'm with Sarge439 on this one. I think a taser is a bit extreme, whether the kid was holding a big shard of glass or not. He's just a 6 year old. He obviously already has enough problems!

Posted by: Irishpride

Option A. Watch the kid cut himself from ear to ear right in front of you

Option B. OC, but bear in mind that Option A may happen anyway.

Option C. Rush the kid and attempt a baton strike. May work or may end with you or your partner getting stabbed in the abdomen, neck, or God knows where else.

Option D. Use the taser do no long-term damage to the kid, go home in one piece, and have to deal with the media and your fellow Officers Monday morning quarterback you

I don't fault these two Officers one bit they were seriously between a rock and a hard place there in no reasoning/negotiating with an adolescent EDP (if you don't believe me visit an adolescent psych unit one day during a code). They made a snap decision that may look bad from a third party perspective but in reality it easily could have saved someone's life and there was no long term harm done and the kid is going to get the psychiatric help he needs.

Posted by: PBC FL Cop

The good thing about a taser is that once it delivers its shock, the recovery is immediate and the kid would not have received any injury. If they all jumped on the kid holding the glass, the likelihood of injury to the 6-year-old would have been significantly higher, not to mention possible injury to the officers and staff. Every officer in Florida who has been issued a taser has been tasered him/her self and knows the feeling as well as the recovery, which is why it is very low on the use of force continuum. Tasering the kid was probably the least amount of force they could have safely used in this situation. The only thing this little guy came away with here is a learning experience that he'll never want to go thru again.

Stay safe!!!

Posted by: topcop14

This is difficult one. I think the taser was a better choice than to stick the little shit. Can you see the head lines.

"POLICE SHATTER CHILDS ARM WITH METAL PIPE"

I think the taser worked well here. The police and the little pshcho are in one piece and no one was leaking. That is a good thing.
It this kid was a little older and if it were in Massachusetts he may have been shot so I would call this a happy ending, and because the little nut is alive there is job security for all of us as I am sure this won't be the last time he has a run in with the police.

Posted by: kateykakes

Being a parent, I can't help but feel for the little guy. He's only 6. WTH happened along the way that led to this? Was he abused physically? Sexually abused? It's hard reading some of you call him a psycho when I factor in the child's age. I'm just hoping he can be saved and get the help he so desperately needs.

Posted by: mopar6972

Heres my solution from my comfortable monday morning quarter back chair, either wave a GI Joe at the kid, or throw something at him and then bullrush him... OR... perhaps somebody should have called one of the local ninja turtle teams!!!!!

Posted by: dcs2244

To taze, or not to taze...that is the question! A difficult choice, but just think of it this way: it's just the start of the child's journey on the road of the electro-shock therapy that awaits him in the future!

Any word on momma/dadda and whether or not the kid is still (technically) in their "able" custody?

Posted by: topcop14

My best friends step son is going down a simmilar road. His problems like most are complex. Some I think were caused by the fact that the gene pool may have been shallow, Others because the word NO was not introduced until he was around 7 or 8 years old and then it was NO will become yes if I throw a larg enough fit. This child has spent several monthes in a secure home for troubled youths and they have tried the better life through chemisry routine as well. But I fear he is worse the a pscho. The child is on his way to being a sociopath. If he has a melt down and his parents try to dispipline him he goes to school and tells whoever will listen that he beaten by his parents. Then follows the 51A. This has happened several times and the state has opened a case every time.
The last time he had a melt down was at school and one of my comrads had to drag him out to the waiting ambulance so he could spend some quality time in the rubber room.

Posted by: Sgt.berniedo

Children can become dangerous- I read a case in Court TV.com about a young girl, maybe 10 or 11 that had killed a couple of toddlers in her neighborhood. She would have been a serial killer if they didn't catch her. Her name was Mary Bell, the story is in the Crime Library.

Murder isn't that bad, we all die sometime anyway."

-- Mary Bell to one of her guards

Posted by: Southside

Quote:

Originally Posted by Officer Dunngeon @ Sat Nov 13, 2004 5:29 am

Yeah, I'm with Sarge439 on this one. I think a taser is a bit extreme, whether the kid was holding a big shard of glass or not. He's just a 6 year old. He obviously already has enough problems!

Come on Dunggie, you of all people. The old Dunggie would've cooked the kid and fed him to Rosie. This new and modified Dunggie is boring, she needs to let loose and show everything she has got.

Posted by: BartA1

no matter what the guys in Miami did the DEMORAT owned media would be pissing in their lemonade. if they sprayed the kid and he cut himself even more because he couldnt see it would be the cops fault. If they used their expandable baton it would be Cops assault little 6 year old kid who weighed 55lbs with a metal pipe. if they had charged him the violins would play with mommy showing pictures of little junior with all the marks. on him. Oh well just another example of cops doing their job and everyone else armchairing the thing

Posted by: Irish Wampanoag

Wow! 6 yrs old wanting to commit suicide. The cops would have done a world of justice if they just let the little nut kill himself. I guarantee you will see this ass committing a Columbine High style mass murder when he is 16. Ya 6 yrs old and he has thoughts of suicide! Someone is going to die in the future by the hands of this kid.

Posted by: lancegoodthrust

My first question is, Is it safe to use a taser on a girl of that age/weight. I am think along the lines of protocol use with a defib. And I would have used the Bean Bag shot gun on her.

Posted by: dcs2244

Oh. What effect does the "bean bag" have on the developing bone structure of a six year old citizen? Better the "zotz" than a physical blow.

Posted by: topcop14

Bean Bag ? ? ? ?
I hope you are kidding ! ! ! I talked to someone who's department who uses them. The first time the bean bag shot gun was used they had to have the bean bag removed in surgery.
The Taser has no lasting effects, But I would like to know if there has been studies done on its effect on little people.

If I ever get to use one there is a midget I want to fry.

Posted by: PBC FL Cop

We have bean bag shotguns also, and a taser is a far better tool for this situation. I believe that any person over 60 lbs is fair game for the taser.

Posted by: lancegoodthrust

Yeah I was kidding about the bean bag. I think the taser was a bit much but I wasn't there.

Posted by: dcs2244

Why not both the bag and the taser? Kid would have a pretty good idea of what "no" meant after that!

Posted by: darkknight750il

I'd rather get suspended for excessive force for using the taser, than out of work for 6mos recovering from getting slashed rushing the kid.

Posted by: RPD931

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarge439 @ Sat Nov 13, 2004 3:33 am

A taser. I don't know guys. Come on, he's six years old. I've been on 24 years and have had to deal with my share of armed out of control kids. Now before anyone gets upset, I will say this, I wasn't there in Miami, so I'm not trying to second guess those guys, but I keep going back to the kids age. Six years old, and a taser. There were at least four adults, three of them professional LEO's. I'm sure there were other options that to zap this kid. Think about folks. SIX Years old! :/

Granted, I / We weren't in Miami.. But I agree with Sarge, unless this kid was holding the shard of glass right at his throat I think a good kick or whack would have been sufficient. While working at a Hospital and dealing with similar situations with little pukes, rushing them works just fine. Same thing with a 90 year old, their reaction time is much slower... I would be concerned about tasing a small child or old fart with 50,000 volts, the voltage could create some serious cardiac issues such as Cardiac arrest

.. although a good zap may teach them a good lesson too.

Oh hell, just shoot him.

Posted by: DoD102

Yeah, I gotta stick to my original thought on this one. Granted, I have NO experience with tasers. Maybe if I was more informed about them I'd think differently. I just keep getting stuck on this kids age. Maybe I'm just getting soft in my old age.

Posted by: SRRerg

I would have Tased the kid, and used the bean bag on the parents....

Posted by: Jeep

Tough call. Based on the info at hand, the Tazer would probably be a better choice than a kick. I'm not a big guy (5' 10", 170), but I think a kick from someone my size to a 40-50 lb. kid would do more damage than a quick zap.

I'd also rather have 2 small marks from the tazer darts photographed & shown in the paper than a bruise from my boot.

Posted by: dcs2244

Hey, if you want to get down to brass tacks...I'd have split the welp and to hell with pepper, tazer, etc. He'd learn that actions have consequences. And, no, I do not care what that would have meant for me...I got this job...I'll get another. Period.

I have no children (but I have nieces/nephews). I value a canines life highly...but people...hey, your choice...you call the tune...we are the stewards of the animals...but not so of our own off-spring! They will be what they will be...and they will reap what they sow...

Posted by: DoD102

Yeah. WOW.

Posted by: topcop14

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcs2244 @ Thu 18 Nov, 2004 18:55

Hey, if you want to get down to brass tacks...I'd have split the welp and to hell with pepper, tazer, etc. He'd learn that actions have consequences. And, no, I do not care what that would have meant for me...I got this job...I'll get another. Period.

I have no children (but I have nieces/nephews). I value a canines life highly...but people...hey, your choice...you call the tune...we are the stewards of the animals...but not so of our own off-spring! They will be what they will be...and they will reap what they sow...

Posted by: dcs2244

Now that I've got your attention...

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