Miami-Dade police said Tuesday that an officer
fired her Taser stun gun repeatedly at a 16-year-old car theft suspect,
including two electrical discharges administered after he had been
knocked to the ground but continued to resist. The incident, which took
place Nov. 17 in South Miami-Dade County after the teen was caught
driving a stolen car, prompted a police brutality complaint on Monday.
Police said the teen was Larue Stokes III of Homestead. While the
police statement confirmed Stokes' allegations -- that he was zapped
several times while on the ground -- it did not say when he was
handcuffed. Stokes claimed an unidentified female detective zapped him
after the restraints were placed on his wrists. In their account of the
incident, police said the use of the Taser, which delivers a
50,000-volt charge, was justified. According to their statement,
detectives chased Stokes and two others after the three bailed out of a
stolen car near Southwest 236th Street and 127th Avenue. Stokes ran
into some woods, ignoring commands to stop. The woman detective fired
her Taser at him, but the two electrical probes that carry the charge
didn't make a connection. She reloaded and fired again, this time
striking the teen in his chest, according to the police account.
Stokes' father said Tuesday he didn't find the police account credible,
and he denied his son didn't respect officers' commands. ''How are you
going to be shot in the chest while you're running away?'' said Larue
Stokes Sr.''My
son has no reason to lie about being handcuffed,'' Kelly Stokes said.
``They have totally shattered him. He is willing to take a lie detector
test. Are the police?'' Larue Stokes said he has 18 burn marks on his
body. He said he was also hit in the leg by a police cruiser after
bailing out of the stolen car, which he was driving. [more]