Jacksonville officer investigated for using stun gun on teen

State Attorney Harry Shorstein said today that excessive force may have been used by police officers who used a stun gun on a 13-year-old girl who was being uncooperative after they took her into custody for fighting with her mother. The 65-pound girl was handcuffed in the back of a patrol car Feb. 7 when she was shocked twice with a 50,000-volt Taser, according to a Sheriff's Office report. Police departments in Florida and nationwide have been criticized for their use of Taser guns, which some say have caused deaths. Shorstein said he met with Sheriff John Rutherford and Undersheriff Frank Mackesy, who assured him an internal investigation was being conducted. "I expressed my concern. They were generally defending the use of Tasers, even against smaller children," the prosecutor said. "It's not the age, but the size of the child and the fact that she was handcuffed," Shorstein said. Shorstein said an assistant state attorney called the case to his attention and thought it was a questionable use of a Taser. The child was originally charged with domestic battery, but the charges were later dismissed. "We did not think it was an appropriate case to prosecute," he said. According to the police report, officers were called to a Jacksonville apartment complex after the girl struck her mother in the nose and kicked her in the face. The girl was handcuffed and placed into a patrol car, but she managed to slide her cuffed arms to the front of her. Police said the refused requests to put her arms behind her back and began kicking and screaming. An officer attempted to subdue the girl with a neck lock, but was unable to get control of her. Officer G.A. Nelson then used his Taser on her. When she continued to fight, and she was stunned again, according to the police report. She then complied and placed her arms behind her back. The action occurred two weeks before Rutherford announced a moratorium on use of Tasers by his department. Mackesy said the technique used on the girl -- putting the Taser directly against the body -- was vastly different from the common shooting of barbs into someone. "It's a localized application that doesn't seize the body. It only hurts the area where you put it." Mackesy said an internal police investigation is not complete. "The reason I did this is because of the age and size of the suspect. Just because she was small does not mean she was frail," he said. The girl's mother told police she had called police because she was afraid the girl was run away and hoped to get medical attention for the girl. The Sheriff's Office, which has spent $1.8 million for the Tasers, suspended their use Feb. 22, until officers are given more training. [more]

Comments

[JUANITA MOBLEY]

This case is another that JSO using unecessary force on an African American. The case that is going on with Otis Williams please investigate. This 25 yr old aftican american is now dead because of force used by the JSO officers. The option of a taser could of been used if the young man was fighting. The family and friends of the late Otis Williams would like to receive justice for him for his death to not be in vain. He was a person of love not a fighter he inspired lots of inner city youth when needed in there lives.

[JUANITA MOBLEY]

This case is another that JSO using unecessary force on an African American. The case that is going on with Otis Williams please investigate. This 25 yr old aftican american is now dead because of force used by the JSO officers. The option of a taser could of been used if the young man was fighting. The family and friends of the late Otis Williams would like to receive justice for him for his death to not be in vain. He was a person of love not a fighter he inspired lots of inner city youth when needed in there lives.

[C]

Someone does need to look into this case. Otis's family was devistated by his loss and hope that someone will help them shed light on what exactly happened. He was unconscious after the police beat him and was never able to tell his side of the story. He died a few days later. When his family tried to take pictures of Otis in the hospital because he didn't look like himself, their cameras were taken away by a guard placed in his room. His brain had swollen up with fluid from the beatings. It appeared that he was beaten into unconsciousness and more after he was already unconscious. He deserves a fair trial and his family deserves to know why it happened.