Tasers Not Recommended To Subdue Small Children

eebowler

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"The panel noted that Miami-Dade schools security officers used a Taser to subdue a 6-year-old boy in October 2004 after consulting with their supervisor. The boy was holding a shard of glass and had cut himself. "

WOW! I would EXPECT that a security officer weather male or flemale would have the training required to subdue a 6year old! Reading that was upsetting.
 

Greta

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In Somalia, 4,5 and 6 year olds were used to run up to our soldiers and blow them up. Does age really matter? :ironic:

If the officers jump in and grab the kid, they'll be brought up on charges of child molestation. Damned if they do and damned if they don't... :shakehead:
 

markdi

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If my mom had a tazer when I was growing up

or a remote controled shock collar

I would be a better person

she would have less grey in her hair

ha ha


I remember seeing the video

in my opinion it was a inappropriate use of force.
 

ACMarina

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It's a touchy situation, I'm with Sasha. If a small child is cutting themselves purposefully with glass or some other sharp option, what would you do? Letting them do it isn't a good idea, but how do you stop a child? Most adults would understand the consequences of disobeying a LEO, but children often won't think in this way. It's not like they're trying to apprehend someone who is running, generally, there is a realized threat towards the individual themselves or others. How do you deal with that when the individual is a young person? Pepper spray? Baton? Having seen them all in action I'd take the Taser...
 

wasabe64

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Sadly, the world is changing.

As Sasha has mentioned, children are capable of hurting others, and they are learning how to do so earlier and earlier in their lives.

The ruling cites small children, so they must recognize that there could be occasions where Taser use on a child may be necessary.

The police should be allowed to use whatever force is deemed necessary. The abuse of any use of force is hopefully curtailed by how accountable an officer will be for their actions.

The police have always had to keep their eyes on the 'huge gray area' between talking and using their guns. Tasers, batons, pepperspray and a host of other non-lethal weapons have offered them an alternative to the latter for resolving an incident.

Let's not make our officers live in fear of using any of their tools, that would be counter-productive, possibly putting all lives in the vicinity on an incident at risk.
 

turbodog

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However, I believe the real issue with this is going to be that the taser is designed for an adult.

You want to risk giving a child a heart attack?
 

greenLED

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Children's physiology is completely different than an adult; tazer effects may be different.

That said, how do you "safely" stop a kid from being a serious danger to himself and/or others? ...damned if you do, damned if you don't, like someone else already said... :(
 

cobb

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I think its a great idea. Its nonlethal right? This would solve a lot of cass of child abuse. Who needs to worry about spanking your kid when he is doing something wrong when you can just taser them?
 

greenLED

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I've done a couple of ride-alongs with my local PD. It really is a great experience (and an eye-opener for some people who may not otherwise be exposed to what police deal with on a daily basis). I try to go on the busy nights to get more exposure (as dispatch about when these are).
 

Nitroz

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greenLED said:
I've done a couple of ride-alongs with my local PD. It really is a great experience (and an eye-opener for some people who may not otherwise be exposed to what police deal with on a daily basis). I try to go on the busy nights to get more exposure (as dispatch about when these are).

So how do you manage to get to Ride-along?
 

Topper

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O-Tay I will jump in on this. The Title makes it sounds far worse than the little bit of info given in the link posted. If a 6 year old is willfully cutting away with a chunk of glass?? Shoot them? Let them cut away? Taser them?
Seems like a no-brainer to me. You do not stand by and let that happen. Other options? Might have been a ton of them I am going based on the link.
12 year old about to jump into traffic? Shoot them? let them jump? or taser them? I am forced to pick a lesser evil. Also smaller children and young children is a bit missleading. I have in fact seen Young kids that were anything but small so it is a tough question but it seems hyped up at this point based upon the link provided. No offence intended.
Topper
 

greenLED

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Nitroz said:
So how do you manage to get to Ride-along?

Call your local PD to inquire. You'll have to submit an application and agree to a background check. They'll let you know if you're allowed into the program, and you then schedule a ride-along. Thursday-Saturday nights are the busiest, if you want that kind of exposure (double-check with the office in case you do or don't want this). The day/time of the ride-along, you go to the assigned police station, call the dispatch office, they page the officer, you shake hands, s/he tells you the rules (which you had read before and agreed to already), and off you go!

If the "situation" is in any way ever so slightly dangerous, you won't be allowed out of the car at all. In other cases, you're allowed to step outside the patrol car, but must remain behind the door and in view of the officer, sometimes you're allowed to follow the officer and watch what they're doing, etc. It just depends on what's going on. Some nights are *really* busy, some others are kinda quiet and you can actually talk with the officer. You'll get to see the jail too if someone is arrested.
 

Samuel

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I remember reading about that incident. Tough Call!

Bill Cosby does a funny bit about how difficult it can be to remove something from the clutches of a small child (he/she being naturally good at playing keepaway).

I wasn't there so I don't know how agitated/violent the kid was, how big the piece of glass was, how much injury he had already sustained, etal. In my mind, what made that situation difficult (besides the fact that it was a kid), was that "too little" (too nice - e.g. simply trying to grab the kid's hands/arms and taking the glass away or perhaps trying to throw a blanket over him) and the officer could suffer significant injury [besides the veins along the insides of the wrist, there are many tendons/ligaments in the hand and forearm which, if cut, affect the ability to use your fingers and/or open/close your hands] OR the kid would still be able to cut himself further. "Too much" (e.g. a strong kick from a grown man with a booted foot could rupture internal organs) and the kid could suffer permanent injury.

I have been Tased before - more than a few times. (being a Taser instructor and having mischievous force instructor partners will do that to you). What's nice about the Taser is that typically, the person tased will completely lock up catatonic-like (the larger the spread and bigger the muscle groups, the more effective it is) - allowing you to more safely make an approach and go hands on. Once the juice shuts off, the after-effects are minimal to none (the problem with that is the hostile/aggressive types are immediately able to start fighting again). www.taser.com - search videos

So in this case, as shocking to the senses (no pun intended) as the usage was to many and considering some of the alternatives and possible outcomes, I believe it wasn't a bad choice at all. Apply the Taser, secure the kid's weapon hand/arm, turn off the juice (I'm guessing maybe 3 seconds worth), and resolve the situation. A couple of concerns might have been if the darts missed or if the kid might get injured from falling down.
 

Nitroz

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greenLED said:
Call your local PD to inquire. You'll have to submit an application and agree to a background check. They'll let you know if you're allowed into the program, and you then schedule a ride-along. Thursday-Saturday nights are the busiest, if you want that kind of exposure (double-check with the office in case you do or don't want this). The day/time of the ride-along, you go to the assigned police station, call the dispatch office, they page the officer, you shake hands, s/he tells you the rules (which you had read before and agreed to already), and off you go!

If the "situation" is in any way ever so slightly dangerous, you won't be allowed out of the car at all. In other cases, you're allowed to step outside the patrol car, but must remain behind the door and in view of the officer, sometimes you're allowed to follow the officer and watch what they're doing, etc. It just depends on what's going on. Some nights are *really* busy, some others are kinda quiet and you can actually talk with the officer. You'll get to see the jail too if someone is arrested.
Thanks! This sounds like somehting that could be quite interesting. Now to find the time to do this.
 
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Samuel

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cobb said:
I think its a great idea. Its nonlethal right? This would solve a lot of cass of child abuse. Who needs to worry about spanking your kid when he is doing something wrong when you can just taser them?

Cobb, not sure if you're being playful or sarcastic. The website says "non-lethal" as classified by the US DOD. Suspects have died after being Tased (sometimes hours later) but I have yet to be informed of an instance where someone died primarily due to being Tased - all the ones I know about were due to the excessive amounts of illegal, controlled substances in their bodies or pre-existing medical conditions.

Btw, Tasers are very expensive (compared to my pay anyway). You can get the same effect from a 20-30 dollar stun gun... :p
 
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Samuel

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re: Ridealongs

If you can do so tactfully/diplomatically, try to request someone who doesn't mind having a ridealong with him/her. Riding with someone with an amiable personality and who is open and willing to answer questions will make all the difference in the world when it comes to you enjoying the experience and learning things from it! If you're really lucky, maybe you'll get a gadget freak/closet flashaholic... :)
 
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