In California, cartwheels are too much for kids, but in Miami, the police figure Tasers are necessary?
Police in Miami-Dade County, Fla., say they used a Taser gun on a 6-year-old boy to keep him from hurting himself. The boy, who wasn't identified, was shocked with 50,000 volts on Oct. 20 at Kelsey Pharr Elementary School. The principal called 911 after the child broke a picture frame in her office and waved a piece of glass.
When two police officers and a school officer arrived, the boy had already cut himself under his eye and on his hand. Police said the officers talked to the boy without success. When the boy cut his own leg, one officer shocked him with a Taser gun and another grabbed him to keep him from falling.
Um, wouldn't getting close enough to use a Taser necessitate getting close enough to the child to just grab him? This seems unneccessarily harsh - but, interestingly enough, Joanne Jacobs' commenters are on the side of the police on this one.
Posted by kswygert at November 14, 2004 04:31 PM