New Mexico Teen Girl Tasered In The Head By Police Chief (VIDEO)

The use of tasers by law enforcement is becoming increasingly controversial as more examples emerge of them being used improperly and causing victims serious harm. This New Mexico teen was arguing with her mother, so her mother brought her to a police station to get help (it's unclear what kind of argument they could have been having that would warrant police intervention).

The girl ran off and the police chief chased her and ordered her to stop. When she didn't, he tasered her in the head. The giant scar and stitches in the teen's head show the tasering was terribly brutal, and it's difficult to see how this could in any way be justified.

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Comments

[MDinOK]

This cop showed abuse of power. This teen committed no crime; the parents just wanted help. He should be fired.

[cowboyx]

http://carlosmiller.com/2009/07/14/new-mexico-police-chief-tasers-girl-leaves-gaping-wound-on-her-head/

They have the dash-cam, that show the apprehension.

The chief has now also changed his story.

[AndyWright68]

Full story and the dash cam here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/CopsOutofControl

[skantea]

Question:
Does this guy have kids?

[MDinOK]

If he does, he's probably abusive!

[tigerlyly]

Officers are NOT responsible for punishing criminals--in fact, an arrest IS NOT a conviction--the COURTS determine a) guilt and b) punishment. Officers are responsible for apprehending suspects.

Officers, like citizens, deserve the right to protect themselves--but they do not reserve the right to punish someone for resisting arrest--They may apprehend them and then add the charge of resisting arrest for the courts to examine.

Furthermore, the girl in question was NOT under arrest and was not brought in by an officer.

[AndyWright68]

You're right but that is not the case. Police punish people all the time for any type of disobedience. It's sad but that is the way it is.

[tigerlyly]

No it's not the case--and it's wrong.

[billinmodesto]

I gotta take this story with a grain of salt. I can't envision a circumstance that would result in the picture shown. Think I'll wait a bit for more investigation before running down the chief.

[AndyWright68]

Here is the full story and dash cam video

http://www.youtube.com/user/CopsOutofControl#play/all/uploads-all/0/fizo-sOSE6o

[TurnToTheLeft]

Wow, billinmodesto needs more of a story when he sees the scars left from Police brutality inflicted on an 80 pound 14 year old unarmed girl who is epileptic. Has the USA really devolved to this state?

[dopamineboy]

While in front of police headquarters, the girl ran off and was later found at a park by Chief Roger Hatcher. Hatcher said he got out of his vehicle and called to her but she ran in front of his patrol car across a street without looking for traffic.

He said he tried to catch up to the girl by foot but couldn't and believes he had no other option than to fire a Taser dart to stop her.

Akin said the dart entered her daughter's skull and she remains in pediatric intensive care after undergoing surgery Friday morning at University of New Mexico hospital in Albuquerque. The girl's parents now are questioning whether excessive force was used by police and whether the department should review its policy on Tasers.

[TheUnnamable]

completely unjustifiable!

i respect what law enforcement does as a whole.. but, there are way too many "bad apples" in the bunch.. it's as Plato says, [and i'm paraphrasing here] "no government will ever be perfect, as man - the creature which inevitably must run said government - is imperfect."

the same applies to law enforcement as it's an arm / extension of our government. "we the people" supposedly control our government, and supposedly don't condone this in the slightest.

this type of over-reaction by an officer MUST be punished in the EXTREME to make a point.

[AndyWright68]

Police should be punished twice as bad as a citizen. They are in a position of trust and when they break that trust they need severe punishment. If we hit someone and get one year a cop should get two if he commits the same crime. However it doesn't work like that at all. In that case the cop usually gets paid administrative leave or at worst a short suspension. This is completely backwards and we desperately need police reform.

[PepperzMom]

Charge the Chief with assault at the very least and suspend him without pay until a formal investigation by outside law enforcement is completed.

The back of girl's head is clearly the damaged area, proving she was facing away from him. He cannot claim that he was in imminent danger, so self-defense cannot be used as a crutch or as a defense.

[Christaic]

When are we going to stand up to this! This cattle prodding has to stop, we aren't cattle dammit!!!

[MamaBird62]

I don't think even cattle get tased.

[AndyWright68]

Never when they run away. They just get them later.

[Kris in Tampa]

We as a society HAVE to start standing up to this. It is total abuse of power!

[ArgyleSlim]

"Oh my God," I said breathlessly, "it is so incredibly shocking that this is happening in American in this day and age, Just shocking. I am so shocked. And sad."

[doug108]

I can't believe how many knee-jerk cop-haters there are here. Hasn't anyone in any of your families been a cop? Was he/she some kind of thug, or did they go to work every day, like virtually everyone else, wanting and trying to do a good job?

What would the world really be like, if the system were as broken as so many of you want to believe?

[amdezurik]

as long as any one of them covers up for another then no cop can be trusted.

[doug108]

And, so long as one person in the ghetto covers up for another, none of them can be trusted?

[emncaity]

As a cop myself, I can tell you that it sickens the rest of us when one of our own abuses his/her position. That's not what we signed up to do. We took an oath to protect and serve. So for those of you who think that a few bad cops make the rest of us bad...if you think all cops are bad, then the next time you need a cop, call a crackhead. See where that gets you. Despite what you might think, there are bad apples in every field of work, but it doesn't make everyone that way.

[Meggie]

Two of my brothers-in-law were state police - in NY and TX. Neither of them were lazy losers who would have to taser a 14 year old girl who was trying to run away from them. I didn't see a pict of this "police" chief, but I'll bet he's too old for his job, too fat, or never works out. Using a taser in this situation is not even trying to be a good cop. Or at least a good cop with any sort of standards of conduct and fitness anyway.

[amdezurik]

lots of young fit cops use tasers to torture folks while in uniform. it is the attitude that "citizens" are to be killed or pushed aside that is the problem.

[tigerlyly]

Thank you!

[dzent1]

The apparently insurmountable problem with police is that they WILL NOT POLICE THEMSELVES.

Case after case, department after department, lawsuit after lawsuit shows that the police can no longer be trusted to tell the truth. And we're getting fed up enough to hit back.

Want to go to work and do a good job? Then RAT OUT THE B*STARDS who look the other way, plant evidence, beat up minorities, stop vehicles just to pick fights, smack around young girls and teenagers not even half their size, throw credentialed journalists to the ground and break their cameras, arrest legal protesters, and on and on and on.

Because if so-called good cops won't throw out the bad apples, they can rot in Hades as far as public trust and respect.

My mom worked for the Juvenile justice system until she retired, and have I heard things that chill my blood...

And even Hitler petted the dog on his way out the door to the Nazi rallies.

[SpaghettyIrish]

I know a cop. He's a woman-beater.

[simplify]

Like the Rolling Stones song says ...."every cop is a criminal".....

[Harold Stone]

I believe that they were trying to express a hypothetical Satan's apologia for a Manichaean worldview, instead of a general truth about the constabulary.

[amdezurik]

accidental truth is truth none the less.

[starrianna]

And we get upset with parents who merely slap a child?

THIS IS A CRIME! That police chief should go on trial!

[Meggie]

When you send your kids to school in NM, are teachers and school officials allowed to hit, beat or "discipline" your kids with physical punishment?

[kentj]

The only criminals in the world, that are allowed to investigate themselves, and always find themselves innocent, are the police in America.

When a policeman rapes, murder, steals, assults, or commit a crime, against an American Citizen, it seems, that the police always claim to do a full ,so-called investigation. In which they are always find themselves innocent.


Wake up America, to who the real criminals are!

[AndyWright68]

AMEN!