O.C. Cops Taser 15 yr old AUTISTIC kid!

[Mrs Behavin]

Orange County sheriff's deputies on Tuesday defended their decision to use a stun gun on a 15-year-old autistic boy who ran away from his parents and later dashed into traffic.

Using the Taser in this case "was the right thing to do," said Jim Amormino, a sheriff's spokesman. "If that were your son, would you want him Tased or hit by a car? The deputy made the right decision. . . . It could have saved [the boy's] life."

But Doris Karras, mother of Taylor Karras, said deputies did not need to use the Taser gun, particularly since she had called various police agencies to alert them that her son was missing.

She said her son would have followed deputies' directions if he hadn't felt threatened. "This was a very aggressive response," she said. She said her son "didn't have any weapon on him. He didn't even have a pencil."

Taylor fled during a visit to the Regional Center of Orange County in Westminster about 11:30 a.m. Monday. The family had gone there for counseling, which the boy did not want.

About nine hours later, his mother saw him about one block from their home -- 16 miles from the center -- on the ground and handcuffed by deputies.

Amormino said Tustin police called the Sheriff's Department after a pedestrian reported a suspicious person. Taylor was pushing a shopping cart down Newport Avenue near La Loma Drive, near his home in North Tustin. With no money, he apparently had walked home.

Doris Karras said her son, who is 5 feet 10 and has a beard, looks older than 15.

Amormino said Taylor yelled something when approached by a deputy, then ran across Newport Avenue, causing two cars to swerve. It was then that a deputy shot him with a Taser gun.

The deputy handcuffed the youth to keep him out of traffic, Amormino said.

Taser guns use compressed nitrogen to propel two darts that attach to the body. The darts are connected to the gun by a wire and deliver a 50,000-volt shock at five-second intervals to incapacitate a suspect.

Deputies subdue autistic boy with Taser - Los Angeles Times

 

[Jersey]

i may be banned if i use the language thats running through my head right now...

 

[Boomer]

Now what do you think everyone? This one ok too?

 

[Jersey]

OK, I know too much about Autism to be unbiased here.. but I'm quite sure that when a frantic mother reports her child with autism is missing one of the lines out of her mouth would be "he's probably terrified, but I swear he wouldnt hurt a fly"

...or something along the lines..

 

[dt3]

Better to be Tazed than hit by a car.

Also, at the time did the cops know he was the 15yr old that was missing? The article says he's 5'10" with a beard.

 

[Jersey]

they knew it was him:
Using the Taser in this case "was the right thing to do," said Jim Amormino, a sheriff's spokesman. "If that were your son, would you want him Tased or hit by a car? The deputy made the right decision. . . . It could have saved [the boy's] life."

think about it from the kids point of view.. they are taught that cars are dangerous, and cops are here to help-- he could expect to get hit by a car, not tased by a cop...

 

[dt3]

they knew it was him:
Using the Taser in this case "was the right thing to do," said Jim Amormino, a sheriff's spokesman. "If that were your son, would you want him Tased or hit by a car? The deputy made the right decision. . . . It could have saved [the boy's] life."

think about it from the kids point of view.. they are taught that cars are dangerous, and cops are here to help-- he could expect to get hit by a car, not tased by a cop...

But he was running out into the street.

 

[hubersrj]

Not sure how I feel about this...I know just enough about autism that yes, the kid was way more scared than anything else...but sheesh, a taser on a minor? What if the kid would've made it across the street in time, but because he was tasered, he collaspsed in the street then got ran over? I'm not sure that the good outweighed the bad on this one...then again, the deputy had what, a couple of seconds to make that decision? I look at it like this: No one died, no one was seriously hurt...it's all good.

There, I covered all sides....

 

[GraceAbounds]

Not sure how I feel about this...I know just enough about autism that yes, the kid was way more scared than anything else...but sheesh, a taser on a minor? What if the kid would've made it across the street in time, but because he was tasered, he collaspsed in the street then got ran over? I'm not sure that the good outweighed the bad on this one...then again, the deputy had what, a couple of seconds to make that decision? I look at it like this: No one died, no one was seriously hurt...it's all good.

There, I covered all sides....

Yeah, I agree. It is hard call unless you were actually there on this one.

 

[Boomer]

These tazers have to be banned and removed.

 

[hubersrj]

I don't agree with that, Boomer. They've done a lot of good...but like all things in this world, 99% of the stories that get reported by the media are the ones that don't have a happy ending.

 

[Boomer]

I dont agree with you. I think it makes it easier to just subdue someone, rather than trying to see what the situation is about. And since its hard to kill someone with it, they fuckin use it like its going out of style. I have a butt load of stories I could go into, but I dont feel like it. Im just saying, FROM PERSONAL EXPIERIENCE, they are not being used correctly.

 

[hubersrj]

ok, so we go back to the "shoot first and ask questions later" mentality from before the days of the taser? Cops are human, they make mistakes...I'd rather it be a shocking experience than a deadly one. Don't mis-understand what I'm saying, I know there have been deaths directly related to taser use, but they're still a helluva lot less dealy than the old billy-clubs and of side-arms.

 

[Veronica]

i may be banned if i use the language thats running through my head right now...

same with me.

 

[Boomer]

ok, so we go back to the "shoot first and ask questions later" mentality from before the days of the taser? Cops are human, they make mistakes...I'd rather it be a shocking experience than a deadly one. Don't mis-understand what I'm saying, I know there have been deaths directly related to taser use, but they're still a helluva lot less dealy than the old billy-clubs and of side-arms.

Ive seen them tazer someone for asking them why they were arresting their friend. Right outside of The Buzz. This dood comes out. His arm was in somekinda brace thing. He walked up to the cop and asked him why he was arresting his friend, the cop told him to shut the fuck up and then the guy asked him where they were taking him so he could bail him out and the cop tazered him and took him in too. Sound a bit ridiculous?

Im not saying take it back to the old days of blastin on cats. Im saying, protectors of the peace should be peacful. They look really stoked to use those things and the smile they wear while they are doing it is fucking disgusting.

 

[hubersrj]

Ok, I feel ya on that...but it's an adrenalin thing. Same thing happens after they finish chasing someone.

Here's my perspective, right or wrong, I don't know: Let's say we're cops. We get called to a residence, club, whatever, and there's a guy there that's either being beligerant or just whatever, and we have to find out what's going on. It's pretty standard procedure to hand-cuff the guy while we're asking questions for his safety and ours. if his hands are behind him, he can't make any gestures that might be mis-construed as an attack.

Now, here comes his friend...maybe drunk, maybe sober...but definately wanting to be in the middle of this. Now, whether it was politely said or not, one of us tells him to back off while his buddy is being questioned. At that point, back the hell off! I realize that the buddy appeared to be harmless and somewhat crippled at the time, but they don't know that. Too many cops have been killed by the person that looked the most innocent, and was thus ignored.

Sometimes being nice to everyone just gets you killed because you're perceived as being weak by those that go out of their way to look for weakness.

 

[Boomer]

Did the cop have to tell the TAX PAYING citizen to shut the fuck up? Could the cop have said, back up! I will be with you in a minute!? Why do they have to treat the people they are protecting like shit? I agree to disagree with you on this one. We have walked our paths and seen different things in life, so our opinions are different. Plus I think we hijacked the shit outa this thread! lol :ninja

 

[hubersrj]

Hells yes, son!

 

[Peter Parka]

Well nice that the coppers have made any future dealings with this kid even worse now. Because of his autism, he'll probably be terrified next time he sees a cop and run or do worse. I totally feel the same way as Jersey and Veronica!:mad

 

[Jersey]

Well nice that the coppers have made any future dealings with this kid even worse now. Because of his autism, he'll probably be terrified next time he sees a cop and run or do worse. I totally feel the same way as Jersey and Veronica!:mad

thats what i was attempting to get at...