"The trooper who showed up on the scene told the girl to stop walking. After she didn’t respond, he threatened to taser her twice. Two little red dots appeared on the small girl’s back, and then metal barbs. “She seized up, then she just fell face first on the ground. Just face first on the ground,” said Bednar. The Oregon State Police defended the officer’s decision to taser the 11-year-old, saying it was necessary to prevent her from wandering further and “putting herself in danger.” Bednar, on the other hand, says this explanation isn’t good enough. “She wasn’t going off the road, she was set on walking down the freeway,” he said. “And I think that, had [the trooper] waited for back up, they could have gotten her without the Taser.” The girl’s father says the local news reportage also wasn’t fair. His daughter was referred to as a “young woman,” a “woman,” and a “juvenile.” The report refused to give her age. The father said, “They keep calling her a ‘woman’ …she is 11 years old. Since when is an 11-year-old kid with the mind of a 3-year-old a ‘woman’? She is very gentle and non combative. If the police cannot apprehend a child who is cooperative without Tasing then what would be the alternative? Shooting her?” This entire situation is an absurd case of a police power-grab. Tasers are only to be used in emergency situations, as a last resort before lethal force."
Posted on: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 04:00:30 +0000
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