To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
In Seattle, police used a Taser on a woman who was almost 8 months pregnant. I'm sure they had a good reason, right? She's a drug dealer, or a bank robber who was resisting arrest, right? She'd just beat the snot out of a child or something equally evil, right?
No. She was speeding.
As far as I can tell, that's the extent of her fault in this matter. Last time I checked, you don't have to sign the ticket. She said she'd take the ticket. That should have been enough for the fine officer. But, nooooooo...
So, they finally get her out of the car. They take her to the ground and cuff her. She is then transported to the precinct where an EMT "confirmed" that she was pregnant. (Uh... if she's 8 months pregnant, there's not much confirmation necessary, is there?) She was then transported to the hospital for observation. Fortunately, the baby girl was fine (born healthy on Jan. 31st).
Here's a clue, gang. Tasers are a good thing, when used in the right situations. When you're trying to subdue a dangerous person, Tasers are a great alternative to lethal force. Using a Taser to try to arrest a very pregnant woman because she was speeding is not only not an appropriate use of force, it's just plain stupid. If you guys keep doing stuff like this, people will start yelling "police brutality" and have the dang things taken away from you. And that would be a bad thing.
No. She was speeding.
She was rushing her son to school. She was eight months pregnant. And she was about to get a speeding ticket she didn't think she deserved.So, let's see... she didn't deserve a ticket for going 12 mph over the speed limit? Wrongo, Chickie... you were running late, and you weren't paying attention to the spedometer. You're busted. Deal with it.
So when a Seattle police officer presented the ticket to Malaika Brooks, she refused to sign it. In the ensuing confrontation, she suffered burns from a police Taser, an electric stun device that delivers 50,000 volts.
As far as I can tell, that's the extent of her fault in this matter. Last time I checked, you don't have to sign the ticket. She said she'd take the ticket. That should have been enough for the fine officer. But, nooooooo...
Officer Donald Jones joined Ornelas in trying to persuade Brooks to sign the ticket. They then called on their supervisor, Sgt. Steve Daman.So, the supervisor, who wasn't there, told them to arrest a woman for... what? Refusing to sign a speeding ticket? Then they pulled out the Taser when she refused to get out of the car. The police completely and totally over-reacted. And now they might get sued for it. Lovely.
He authorized them to arrest her when she continued to refuse.
The officers testified they struggled to get Brooks out of her car but could not because she kept a grip on her steering wheel.
And that's when Jones brought out the Taser.
So, they finally get her out of the car. They take her to the ground and cuff her. She is then transported to the precinct where an EMT "confirmed" that she was pregnant. (Uh... if she's 8 months pregnant, there's not much confirmation necessary, is there?) She was then transported to the hospital for observation. Fortunately, the baby girl was fine (born healthy on Jan. 31st).
Here's a clue, gang. Tasers are a good thing, when used in the right situations. When you're trying to subdue a dangerous person, Tasers are a great alternative to lethal force. Using a Taser to try to arrest a very pregnant woman because she was speeding is not only not an appropriate use of force, it's just plain stupid. If you guys keep doing stuff like this, people will start yelling "police brutality" and have the dang things taken away from you. And that would be a bad thing.
