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Police Stun Gun Pregnant Mom - US


unit731

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Was this woman a serious threat to society?

 

SEATTLE - A federal appeals court says three Seattle police officers were justified when they used a stun gun on a pregnant mother who refused to sign a traffic ticket.

 

Malaika Brooks was driving her son to school in 2004 when she was stopped for doing 32 mph in a school zone. Rather than give her the ticket and let her go, the officers arrested her. They used a Taser three times when she refused to get out of her car.

 

A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 Friday that the officers were justified in using force because of the threat that Brooks could have picked her car keys off the floor, started the car and driven away erratically.

 

The dissenting judge called the ruling “off-the-wall,†and said the police officers had no authority to arrest Brooks - let alone the authority to use a Taser on a nonthreatening woman who was seven months pregnant. Officer Donald Jones jolted the woman with a Taser three times “in rapid succession,†according to police reports. Brooks was seven months pregnant at the time and weighed 240 pounds.

 

© Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

 

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Some things to consider:

 

1. A 240 lb. woman could give one or two officers a battle.

 

2. We don't know if it was apparent that the officers even knew the woman was pregnant. (If she was 5'2", it might not be obvious.)

 

3. Does a taser actually have any effect on a fetus?

 

4. The officers were within their rights to take the woman into custody when she refused to sign the ticket. An alleged violator's signature is a form of "bail", promising to appear in court at some future date. It is customary for officers to take an alleged violator into custody if the alleged violator refuses to make that promise.

 

I'm sure, as usual here, we're tempted to make judgements on scant info from some news article.

 

HH

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