No, it's about taking Charlene E Bratton, convicted felon at her word when she tells us her tale of woe about an arrest. It's much more likely that the 12-year old and the accompanying adults were refusing to obey lawful orders and acting in a threatening manner than the officer tazing a little girl for "just standing there." You've picked the wrong side of this fight and probably because of the skin color of the alleged victim.

No, this thread is about a 12 year old being tasered. That is why it is titled "12 year old tase(re)d by police officer."

But let's not pretend that no thread ever gets derailed. Although, I'm not really sure I'd consider this a derailment. I think the train is just headed in a different direction.

:confused: Whatever... I was just trying to answer the question that you asked about the mother.

Read the information in the article from the officer's report. That's probably what happened. A 12-year old girl can be as much of a danger to an officer as anyone else. Especially when other adults are involved.

And since some of you do not think this is a derailment or a mere clarifying the details, I again state that this thread is about a 12 year old child being tasered.

Kevin does not care about age. I do. I would like to read what other GCers think instead of reading about Charlene E. Bratton's charges and whether she is being completely honest about the details of what happened at Victoria Secrets. What is fact is that a 12 year old child was tasered by a police officer. No debate there.

Actually, no, you stated that the article(s) was inaccurate. I appreciate your attempt to clarify however (1) the article(s) may very well be accurate; and (2) it only highlighted the mother's history with the criminal justice system as Kevin was doing.

Are there instances where GCers besides Kevin believe children should be tasered?

I work with 11-15 year old "children" every day. They can be extremely violent, think that they are grown, do not listen to instructions in the heat of the moment and are full sized humans. I can completely see an officer using a taser to subdue an unruly 12 year old. Based on my experiences in physically subduing persons this age, the taser will likely result in less physical damage to both participants.

To give one example: I am still dealing with a back injury that happened in November resulting from a 12 year old who was determined to get through me to finish bloodying another one who gave back her sweater smelling "musty." I can imagine that the rage of the 12 year who feels she is protecting her mother is far greater than one who is unhappy about her sweater.

Thank you for your opinion, tcsparky. I know all about unruly and violent children ranging in age from 4 to 17. I went to school with kids like that in the 1980s-1990s and see kids like that today. I also have experience with youth offenders and experience with law enforcement and tasers.

The issue is whether a child's unruly and violent behaviors warrant certain types of responses. When it comes to tasering ADULTS (including those with mental and physical conditions) people can definitely understand it but there remains ongoing debate, extensive research, and challenging of law enforcement procedures. There is research and community involvement regarding tasering adults (and children) with autism and other conditions based on the premise that someone's strength and behavior alone are not the ultimate determinant.

Why is it then unquestioned (by some people) to taser CHILDREN even if the children are being unruly or violent? I can understand there are instances where an officer tasers a child as a last resort but even then, where are the boundaries? Does age not matter as Kevin believes? I also wonder whether the police officer in this instance warned this 12 year old that she will be tasered if she (and the third person) doesn't chill out.

She is a 12 year old, technically still a child. However, she is certainly old enough to know right from wrong. By the age of 12, not 3, not 6, not even 8, but a 12 year old should know better. Trust me, cops do not like having to restrain or taze a child! It is the officers responsibility to do his job to the best of his ability, and sadly this time that meant arresting a mother in front of her child. That is traumatic. That is heartbreaking. I do not doubt that the officer tazed her as a last resort.

I hate how race has been made an issue. Does the race of the officer matter?

Yes, it is widely held the age at which children learn right from wrong. It is before the age of 12. I will keep this in mind the next time people talk about kids just being kids and kids and their silly behaviors. LOL.

Also, please remind me what this child was doing wrong beyond perhaps thinking that she was protecting her parent? Adults sometimes react that way when they feel a loved one is being unfairly targeted. Certainly a child would.

I do not know the race of the officer. Was that mentioned in the articles? I missed it.

HP says (the officer says) the girl and an "unidentified female" charged at him. A 30 second google search says that tasers are not super accurate. If the officer's report is true, then he may have not been aiming for the child, he was just acting in self defense. Or he's a racist pig and he enjoys torturing children in his spare time. Since none of us were there, we have no way of knowing what went down between the sensationalist, i-love-getting-upset-at-things extremes of ZOMG HE TASERED A CHILD and the police-talk report. Like what constitutes "physically interfering"? What happened between the officer trying to arrest the woman and taser time? I have no idea and both sides are going to manipulate the truth in their favor, intentionally or unintentionally.

I'd like to think that, but my experience is that it may have been a last resort or it may have been an over-reaction on the part of the police officer. It happens.

In my opinion, a taser should only be used on a 12-year-old as a true last resort and after a clear warning. Whether that happened here I can't tell from any of the news articles I've seen.

Fucking with a cop is far from being a "silly" behavior where kids are being kids.
Do you have any suggestions what the officer should have done, DrPhil?

He tasered a 12 year old child. There is nothing sensationalist or I-love-getting-upset-at-things about that FACT. There is perhaps something extreme about tasering a child and that is what this thread discussion is about.