Justgowithit - I probably have your same assumptions for similar reasons. Still, I'm not comfortable coming down on either side of this until I've heard and seen more information i.e. store videos, witness reports, police reports etc.
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Like others on here, I worked with kids in the juvenile justice system, and saw some who were violent enough that if taser had been available, I would have seen it as a safe and appropriate option for our staff.
But this isn't a girl sitting inside a JD center and she apparently wasn't in the middle of committing a criminal act, so....
At what age would it always be the wrong decision? I'd probably lean towards assuming that if they're too young by state law to go to juvenile detention (12 in most states), and it's unlikely that anyone in that age group would be large enough to be a dangerous threat to an adult (typically under 12 or 13), they're too young to be tasered, but I don't hold that position with any certainty.
I was looking around for policies police are supposed to follow in order to use a taser. Couldn't find anything for St. Louis. I found this for Connecticut, but I'm sure it varies a lot by state, county and city, so I don't know that it's helpful:
http://www.cga.ct.gov/2006/rpt/2006-r-0166.htm
I assume all departments have a written policy, and it would concern me if I found out that isn't the case.
While looking for that I found this story on a
10 year old in Ark who was tasered. In this case the mother told the cop that he could taser the child if necessary. The cop was subsequently fired.
http://www.lineofduty.com/the-blotter/105625-ark-cop-fired-for-insubordination-in-tasering-of-10-yr-old-girl
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