Police chief tasers teen over girl's disagreement with mom

July 8, 11:06 AMCivil Liberties ExaminerJ.D. Tuccille

Previous Next

3 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Civil Liberties Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

From Tucumcari, New Mexico, comes word that a 14-year-old girl ended up in the hospital after being tasered by the local police chief -- over a disagreement the teen had with her mother. Apparently, Stacy Akin drover herself and her daughter, Kailee Martinez, to the police station seeking help settling a dispute over a cell phone. After the girl ran off, Chief Roger Hatcher tracked her down and resolved the matter -- with a paralyzing jolt of electricity. Martinez reportedly needed staples to close the head wound left by the Taser and surgery to remove a stick that lodged in her face.

As I've written before, a Taser is a potentially useful tool, but it's not a hammer in a world full of nails. While a helpful alternative to a firearm in situations that would otherwise require the use of deadly force, Tasers are dangerous; occasionally, they can kill. In fact, Amnesty International reports that "more than 351 individuals in the United States have died after being shocked by police Tasers" since June 2001.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation found that some Tasers deliver a bigger jolt than intended (PDF), with all the danger that implies. The Heart Rhythm Society says Tasers can interfere with pacemakers. Other preexisting conditions may also elevate risks -- such as the epilepsy Martinez is said to have. (Many epileptics are especially worried about Tasers because people having seizures have been Tasered by police misreading the situation, and because the effects of Tasers are similar to their medical condition).

Which is to say, jolting a teenage girl with tens of thousands of volts of electricity is not the appropriate way to resolve a tiff between the girl and her mom.

Chief Hatcher says he dropped the girl because she was running away from him and into traffic, but it's hard to see how rendering her unresponsive on the pavement could possibly improve her safety. Tucumcari officials may also have doubts -- Hatcher has been put on administrative leave.

Incidentally, Tucumcari City Manager Bobbye Rose appears to have her hands full. Even as she's fielding inquiries about Hatcher's actions and facing a likely lawsuit over the incident, she also has to worry about the mayor. Mayor Antonio Apodaca has been charged with cruelty to animals for dragging a dog alongside his car.

Maybe he should have borrowed Hatcher's Taser.