Police used taser on driver-woman 8 months pregnant

[freeplessinseattle]

Un-freaking-believable. and all because she refused to sign a speeding ticket.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/223578_taser10.html

[funflower]

1. And the cop hasn't been fired yet?

Unbelievable!

[jbnow]

2. They don't seem to use it to avoid

violent confrontations...they use it because they are angry, they use it to prove their power.
They could have given her another ticket or charge if it is illegal not to sign for the ticket. If he looked at her license for the ticket, they sure had her name and address if she didn't show up.
They don't want to use them on old people, children and pregnant women? They disguise that well. It is another form of abuse in many of the cases we hear about.

[Maddy McCall]

3. Best opposition post to tasers I've read yet.

:thumbsup: Concise. Excellent.

[sendero]

7. Exactly..

.... and this bullshit has to stop.

[freeplessinseattle]

30. kick

[sandnsea]

4. Oh, it's so simple

They just stick it on her driving record and suspend her license. No need for this nonsense at all.

[izzie]

5. It is all most funny. What do you say to your buddy's----

Well I got that women who was 8 months with her son. She was not going to get away with that. I put her in her place. Oh lets hope Jon Steward has this on the air. It has got to be fun to be a cop at times. Right?

[Horse with no Name]

6. I'm wondering what the high voltage shock did to the baby's

heart and circulatory system?
I'm sure the long-term effects of the taser haven't been studied in the fetuses of pregnant women.:sarcasm:

[booksenkatz]

8. I guessed it correctly: African American.

While I am fully aware that everyone of every age and every color has been getting tazed as of late (some with ensuing death), I can't help but feel that being a person of a certain color will get one tazed more quickly.

You will never convince me that an 8-months pg woman was a physical threat to this officer. And it's my layman's opinion that an 8-month fetus surely felt the shock fully as well. Welcome to the world, honey!

[elehhhhna]

10. My first thought: no way it was a white woman.

[Mairead]

28. My first thought was the same

And when I saw her given name is 'Malaika', that confirmed it before I ever saw mention of the school

[earth mom]

9. What the cops did to her was flat out wrong...

and he should get punished for it big time.

But...c'mon now. Where's this womans common sense? Why didn't she sign the ticket in the first place? She made the situation harder than it needed to be. She could have fought it in court.

I wouldn't mess with a cop no way no how-but that's just me. :shrug:

[Toots]

25. You do not have to sign the ticket. It is just a promise you will show up

in court. There is no law requiring your signature. This is America and you do not have to sign ze papers....

[Xithras]

33. Actually, in many states you DO have to sign.

In the old days, people caught speeding were immediately dragged down to the courthouse to face the judge. When the number of drivers reached a point where that system was no longer practical, the ticket was introduced. It's essentially a legal Promise To Appear. It's a legal order saying that you must appear in court on date X or face charges. In order for the Promise To Appear to be legally valid, you have to sign it..because without a signature they cannot prove that you actually promised anything.

You can refuse to sign the Promise To Appear, but in many states a failure to do so means that you revert to the old rules. If you won't agree to show up in court on date X, they're going to arrest you so you can see a judge immediately.

I don't know why they don't teach this stuff in Drivers Ed anymore, but it's the law in most of the country.

[Skeptic_All]

11. The article incorrectly describes the weapon

used on the pregnant female. While it is described in the piece as a "taser", this weapon is in fact a stun gun. Using the word "taser" evidently was meant to draw attention to what is otherwise a fairly bizarre application of non-deadly force. For those who are not familiar, the differences between a taser and a stun gun are quite striking. As most by now know, the taser shoots two electrical diodes into the body of the suspect at which time electrical current is allowed to run through the wires attached to the gun and into the body. A stun gun is nothing more than a hand-held light show wherein electricity archs across two contact points on the top of the device while it makes a rather scary crackling noise. This device must be applied to the surface of the suspect's body manually and yes, it hurts like hell. The effect in this case is for pain compliance as the electrical current only stimulates the area of the body the stun gun comes into contact with. There is no "absorption" of electrical current as with the taser and there is no ill effect from this device, other than some minor local burns if the device is applied for longer durations. Not endorsing this weapon's use on pregnant women so please, no sniping about that please!

[aeolian]

12. Ummm...

Your claim: Two electrodes, on the skin, at a voltage high enough to arc in air, that "hurts like hell." ...but no "absorption" (whatever that means) of electrical current.

If current were not introduced into the body to some depth, there would be no pain, and no burns.




And tasers do not shoot diodes.

[lumpy]

20. "The article incorrectly describes the weapon"

Sure like to know where you got this bit of information. ??????? No where in the article does it say the weapon was "incorrectly described". ????????

[aeolian]

23. I think you miss his (shaky) point,

he's claiming that the article itself was incorrect in its description of the weapon.

But he's splitting hairs, and, IMHO, needs to brush up on his electrodynamics.

[Skeptic_All]

27. Obviously you failed to grasp the point of my post......

It was I who pointed out that the weapon described in the article was misidentified. What was used on the woman was a stun gun, not a taser as was quoted in the article itself.

[lumpy]

42. OK Where do you get your info

that the weapon was misidentified? Can you give us a source?

[indepat]

13. The use of a taser-type weapon for any purpose other than to subdue

a dangerous person should be a felony IMHO.

[TX-RAT]

14. Why didn't she just sign the ticket?

[LizW]

15. She doesn't have to

There is no requirement that you sign a traffic ticket or be arrested. The supervisor who ordered her arrest was wrong.

This was a battle of wills. The policeman was pissed that she wouldn't do what he said, and he was going to force her to.

This happened in November and fortunately, the baby was born healthy in January. Had anything been wrong with it, this jusrisdiction would be paying big bucks.

You don't force a confrontation with a pregnant woman and shock her and put her on the ground just to prove you have the power. The cop should have handed her the ticket and said, "Ma'am, slow down and drive carefully."

[TX-RAT]

21. You might need to check your sources.

In some states, failure to sign a ticket is an arrest-able offense.

[LizW]

29. It's discretionary, then?

An officer can arrest you if he doesn't like how you talk to him, or if he thinks you don't show proper respect?

I know people who have refused to sign and haven't been tasered and dragged out of the car and taken to jail.

This woman said she had refused to sign before and had not been arrested.

Does it just depend on the mood of the cop?

[TX-RAT]

31. I repeat

Failure to sign a traffic ticket is an arrest-able offense in some states.
Not discretionary.

(I know people who have refused to sign and haven't been tasered and dragged out of the car and taken to jail.) She was dragged out of the car and arrested because she resisted arrest.

(This woman said she had refused to sign before and had not been arrested) And I'm suppose to take her word for that? Don't you think it might help to get the whole story before making assumptions.

I choose to wait until the investigations over. Most officers wear a recording device, some have dash cams, and then theres always witnesses that can be questioned.

Had she just signed the damn ticket, she would have saved everybody a lot of grief.

[Xithras]

35. Not just some states, most.

As I said in #33, a ticket is typically a Promise To Appear, and by refusing to sign it you're essentially refusing to show up in court to face your charges. That is an arrestable offense in most states.

[TX-RAT]

38. I knew it was in TX and Calf, wasn't sure about the others.

I spent 22 yrs with the Sheriffs dept, and never had an individual refuse to sign.

[yella_dawg]

24. In Texas, signing the ticket is, in effect, posting bond.

It is a promise to appear. If you refuse this promise, you go to jail. Simple as that. I don't know what the law is in other states. I don't know how often the "go to jail" rule is enforced here. But it used to be absolute. Sign or go for a ride.

[MadHound]

16. Well, as far as I know, she didn't have to

I've received tickets, and known others who've received tickets, in various states and they didn't sign them. Cop shrugged and dropped it on our lap and we all went on our way. Not signing the ticket is just a little bit of rebellion, especially when you don't think that you were breaking the law, or were unfairly flagged(ie when you get busted for two miles over the speed limit as oppossed to the person in front of you going fifteen miles over).

Yes, it is a bit juvenile, but it isn't, or at least shouldn't, be a big deal. This cop wanted this woman to acknowledge his a-thor-i-tie, and got pissed when she didn't. And rather than just shrugging it off, he took offense and fried her. Sorry, but this is poor police work, and this cop should get a severe reprimand, if not fired.

[TX-RAT]

39. He wanted her to sign the ticket, she refused.

She made a poor choice and then made another by resisting arrest.

Try not signing a ticket in TX. You will be arrested and taken before the Judge.

[Pithlet]

41. There is a difference

Between being arrested and taken before the judge, and being tasered. There was no excuse for it. Even if the woman was wrong. The only reason a police officer should use harmful force is if the person evading arrest is a dangerous suspect. Not someone who refused to sign a ticket. Police officers don't get to beat and kill citizens because they didn't sign a piece of paper. This was abuse. The reason why I think tasers should be made illegal across the board, even for cops.

[WI_DEM]

17. Why was it so important that she sign it?

Is that mandatory? (never mind I see replies above) if she didn't have to sign it they should have just let well enough alone.

[Shell Beau]

18. Unbelievable! She really posed a threat.

:sarcasm: :wtf:

[lumpy]

19. Dangerous toys should not

be doled out to cops who can't seem to use commen sense. Power corrupts, you know.

[Beelzebud]

22. When do we get walking papers and the gulag?

[Javaman]

26. Isn't this some form of cruel and unusual punishment?

I mean if the person was strung out on crack, it would be a slightly different story, but this was a pregnant woman and it was poor judgment and total disregard for the womans welfare.

Also, is it just me or has the use of a taser as a police tool gotten completely out of hand, they seem to use it now at the drop of a hat.

It seems to me that instead of instructing the police on the finer use of the taser they should be giving them interpersonal skills. This whole situation could have been avoided if the police involved had simply spoken to the woman with respect.

They treated this woman as if she was an escaped convict rather than someone that was in a rush to drop their child off at school. Lack of perspective, misuse of force, gross use of power and racial profiling is at hand here, as it appears that this woman was African-American.

The misuse of the taser is now the latest weapon by which people are put in to submission without the ability to explain themselves or are suddenly defaulted of their civil rights.

I hate the damn things.

[Karenina]

34. Javaman, ever spent time around a

Countdown-to-delivery woman? Speaking ONLY for myself, I can tell you I was uncomfortable, cross, stressed and non-compliant. Both times around 8 months I recall conversations with myself along the lines of

K1: You're quite cranky, eh?

K2: FUCK YOU.

K1: CAN YOU CHILL? This is NOT necessary.

K2: FUCK YOU.

It's clearly a lack of training on so many levels.

[Javaman]

40. LMAO

[shesemsmom]

32. I recieved a shock while pregant from an electical appliance

and spent 3 scary hours in the hospital. This woman ought to sue their pants off.

[Swamp Rat]

36. Attempted murder of an unborn child

Lock those "police officers" away for good. They are a danger to Americans and babies everywhere.

[FreedomAngel82]

37. They're now being abusive

These people aren't being cops at all but they're being abusive bullies and should be fired.