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.

WATCH:

Send us tips! Write us at [e-mail] if you see any newsworthy or notable TV moments. Read more about our media monitoring project here and click here to join the Media Monitors team.

Comments

[gle helle]

America: land of the sheep, and the home of the Tazed.

[Stewey2112]

sad, but true.

[twb1951]

first, what in the world is this kid's mother doing with a kid if she requires police intervention to deal with her 14 year old. Second, cops across the nation need to be scrutinized for hyper aggressive behaviors,

[Czoe]

Apparently you were never blessed with a 14 year old daughter.

[KT8711]

Um when I was 14, I never would have dreamed of being aggressive towards my mother... but that's because I was raised correctly.

[brainpower]

LOL!! I have one of those who is a terrific kid in all ways, but even I, who am known for my patience, have entertained visions of strangling her with my bare hands when that mouth gets going to push all of my buttons so well! Girls that age have special skills in that regard ;)

[pokemon]

14 year old attacks me, would you rather I taser her, or slam her to the ground?

[AndyWright68]

I'd rather you get away, reason, calm her down, talk it out. Why do have to hurt her at all? Do you enjoy causing someone else pain?

[DannyRose]

Exactly who did this 14-year-old attack?

[Lolly]

The question is not what you'd do if a 14 yo attacked you (wahhh! she scratched me and pulled my hair!) but what you would do if a 14 yo ran away from you.

Apparently, your answer is tase her--although you seem to believe you would have been justified in shooting her if you didn't have a taser handy.

[tbone99]

she had her 12 years before she found out she was not up to the task, as so many of us do.

[KT8711]

Usually I'm willing to give the police a lot of slack when it comes to how they do their jobs, because they are putting themselves in danger to keep the rest of us safe.

But this recent wave of taser-happy cops has made me sick. Were some of these cops former school bullies who joined the police force because they enjoy the thrill of hurting someone smaller and weaker than them? Do they even get a training course on when to use their taser prior to getting one?

[Usama]

The state killed the family- no wonder this mother went to the police to discipline her child, the father is now obsolete. In most states, its illegal for a parent to even raise a hand against the child despite the increasingly unruly and violent tendencies found in children, boys and girls.

Meanwhile, policing is now supposed to include social work. In most urban and suburban police depts, recruits have to have degrees related to social sciences. The days of Billy Bob becoming a cop because he likes guns and cant get into college are gone in most regions. Perhaps this police chief is a leftover from the good ol' boys system of policing. Give Billy Bob a new tool like a taser.

In reality, if a father isn't around to instill some discipline, grandpa or an uncle is the next best thing. Quite frankly, all a dad has to do is hold an unruly girl like that in a hug until she calms down.

I just don't see America getting better.

[kitsinu]

When did this happen to our nation?

[24hours]

Around the same time that our gov't and its people thought it was acceptable to imprision thousands of Japanese Americans simply b/c they were Japanese. Or perhaps it was when Lincoln suspended habeas corpus to get accomplished what he thought was right.

People: the end does NOT justify the means. If we continue to allow the government(s) that we elect and whom we pay to protect our laws to then go and BREAK the laws, then we need to revolt.

The cops are the worst manifestation of how power corrupts.

[gle helle]

Absolutely.

[BassguyGG]

Police are getting too trigger-happy with their tasers. First the old lady in Texas and now this.

[RightWingMarine]

I have to take the cops side on this and not just because most other posters on here are blaming him. Mrs. Akins (the mother) had been assaulted by her daughter and had a bloody lip and scratches on her face and felt that she needed police assistance. Once arriving at the station an officer (Chief Hatcher) was called from another incident to take the report. When the officer arrived the girl fled, breaking into a run. A person is behaving suspicously when they run away at the sight of a police officer and the police have a duty to apprehend that person and find out why they immediatly ran away. In this situation the officer was chasing a suspect that was already known to have assaulted one person and there is no reason to believe she wouldn't assault another.
In the pursuit, since the suspect ignored orders to stop, the officer had limited means available to him to detain this suspect. Since the suspect is running away from the officer pepper spray would have been of little use, tackleing the suspect would have lead to greater injuries to both the suspect and the officer and shooting his pistol would have been exessive. The taser is designed to immobilize a suspect but cause very little lasting damage and from the reports available it is not clear why the taser produced such a large injury, but in light of the evidence it would seem to be the best course of action.

[NavigatorOne]

It was obvious that the girl was a threat to the policeman as she was running away. You don't know how many times I've been assaulted by unarmed civilians who are opening up the distance between them and myself. The officer was just trying to prevent injury to himself having to chase after the young woman after finishing off that box of Crispy Kremes. Or maybe this was just colateral damage.

[Radarman]

In my town any self respecting cop would be ashamed to admit they felt threatened by a 14 year old girl.

They would still taze her, but they would come up with a better excuse.

[ignorantwillyharper]

I fully agree, as we were not there and do not know all of the circumstances. I'll go on to bet the next time she is given a order to stop, she gives the order more consideration.

[AndyWright68]

We don't have to follow their orders. We are not their slaves they are not our masters. Please stop supporting police brutality.

[AndyWright68]

You are one of many people that support police brutality. I just don't understand how you justify electrocuting and torturing someone who posed no threat. These tasers were sold as a tool they could use instead of deadly force. So if tasers did not exist I guess this abusive cop should have pulled his pistol and gunned her down in the back, right? Stop supporting police abuse. People are terrified now a days to even disagree with a cop for fear they may be tasered, tortured and arrested. the british police don't have tasers or guns and they do a better job of actually keeping the peace. America's police are out of control.

[iSeeDumbPeople]

The only people that are in the military are either psychos or suckers; or as in RWM's case, some combination of both.

[RightWingMarine]

I contend that the girl did represent a threat. She had already assaulted one person and was evading arrest. We have police to apprehend law-breakers. This girl broke the law. Without the taser the officer would have either let her go and the violent criminals of that city would know that they merely needed to run away and the police would not pursue or he could have tackled the girl and use physical strength to subdue her. I believe the taser was the best option.
I don't buy your ancedote that the people are terrified of police. While there certainly are instances of officers unquestionably using excessive force I believe given the total number of police in the country compared to the acts of excessive force, those acts are incidents and not wide-spread.

[cowboyx]

"the officer had limited means available to him to detain this suspect. "

That cop must be in terrible shape if he couldn't outrun a 14 year old girl.

[RightWingMarine]

it wasn't a race, if he could run faster than her that doesn't mean that she stops and complies. She had already assaulted one person why should the officer believe that if he simply catches up to her that she won't assault him too?

[Gunfighter]

Few people on the far side of 40... or 30, for that matter, can outrun a 14 year old.

[iSeeDumbPeople]

Did you hear that? If the cop had to chase her, he might have gotten a booboo.

[AndyWright68]

Funny! If they weren't cops they'd be criminals.

[Zenfull]

Tucumcari is a small, dusty Old Route 66 rest stop near the Texas border. It's not the kind of place that attracts well-trained law enforcement officers. In fact, most New Mexico towns are small and staffed (if at all) by minimally qualified (or not) ex-military types who have found law enforcement to be the best-paying job they can find (salaries are usually in the $20K range). http://www.pntonline.com/news/tucumcari-17846-year-chief.html . While most of their day is spent dealing with drugs, theft and burglary, drunk driving, juvenile delinquency, domestic violence (here's a list of police dispatch calls for one day in June: http://www.qcsunonline.com/news/department-7250-fire-female.html) they may suddenly have a situation that requires good judgment and excellent negotiation skills that they don't have. Very sad to see this kind of over-reaction by the police. We see this too much in New Mexico where a family calls the police for help with an out-of-control family member who then gets brutalized or killed by the cops. Tucumcari needs to fire this cop. The child and mother have been horribly traumatized by his impulsive act.

[luckylily88]

this was a very insightful comment. the cops in new mexico are pretty notorious for overreaction, especially in smaller towns. unfortunately, it tends to lead to a situation where the cops are not trusted. the state cops, specifically, are far less capable and qualified than most state law enforcement. the state should stop paying for erik estrada commercials and start paying for better cops!

[tbone99]

The dispatch calls are so interesting . Are they availble for all departments . If so how are they accessed?

[jymfrancais]

I think this officer is ready to take on a bigger job
..............with the Iranian police...

[ignorantwillyharper]

Or maybe working for Bush and Cheney? I doubt they would have hired him, as he is to mild a guy.

[luziannagirl]

My first thought was "What the hell does anyone suspect, it's a near- Third World narco-state!"

I misread the headline & thought it said, "Mexico".

Geee. Shades of post-Hurricane Katrina. Yeah. When the TV was on mute & we were too far away to read the "crawlers", nobody in these parts could tell if the news story was about the war in Iraq, or the disaster down the road in New Orleans. They looked EXACTLY the same onscreen!!!!!!

Seriously.

That's what we've come to.

[RightWingMarine]

I'm guessing you didn't spend a lot of time in Iraq.

[iSeeDumbPeople]

I'm guessing you didn't spend a lot of time watching the aftermath in New Orleans.

[Bushisgone]

Any parent who needs to bring their child to a police station to control them is a bad parent

This lady should lose her child, to many people have adults just to have them

And second, fire the cop. Who the hell would taser a child

[Skepticat]

I used to teach 14 year olds and later worked in public safety with law enforcement training and authority. Adolescents in the process of growing up often have disputes with their parents, and some parents expect the police to be mom and dad and make the kid behave. Unfortunately the para-military, enforce, control, subdue, arrest, handcuff and jail skill set of police culture is ill suited to dealing with most interactions between police and the citizens they are supposed to be helping. What is needed is far more training in problem solving, better screening, and much better judgement.

[iSeeDumbPeople]

When are we going to stop teaching kids about the Constitution and Bill of Rights? Citizens in America have little more than a few temporary privileges.

[rtb61]

In some other countries it is not that unusual for parents to take an unruly child to the police station. The police officers who are fully trained and have far better relationships with the general public ie. civilians are quite happy to provide a reinforcing role for the parents and assist in educating the child about their responsibilities. This is obviously all upon a non violent peaceful negotiation basis where the parents do trust the police and know they will not abuse the child or even the parent in any way. No use of electric or chemical 'whips' to force obedience through pain and, humiliation, basically torture. Police are never entitled to punish anyone, that is for the courts to decide once the person has been proven guilty.

[lisakaz2]

Wasn't tasering sold as the humane alternative to lethal force? Well, here are the questions:

1) What could this girl have done to justify lethal force?
2) What could this girl have done to justify any force. really?
3) Is this girl charged with a crime?
4) Will the police chief be charged with a crime, as he should be?

I hope mom loved the results of her actions.

[AmericanWarrior]

In regards to question number 4), we can only hope and pray.

[smarternu]

Cops = thugs with guns and low IQ

[iamvalid]

Let me add, typically overweight and bald.

[BBackSoon]

I have to object to your statement.

I have known almost 100 cops thru the course of my life and at least 2 or 3 of them were not arrogant jerks.

[Logistics]

Great in the sack, though :)

[CommonNonsense]

lol. wow....

[CigarGod]

Looks more like a scar on King Kong.
Have a hard time believing anyone would stitch up someone that bad.

[thaneb]

Because of little free movement, the skin of the scalp is notoriously difficult to suture in a cosmetically pleasing manner. {Pinch your cheek or arm and then your scalp to perceive this.} The picture also appears to be immediately after the procedure and includes surgical staples in addition to sutures.