Pregnant Woman Stun-Gunned In Ohio

Officers Were Not Aware Of The Woman's Condition; FBI Is Investigating The Arrest

(AP)  A policeman forced a pregnant woman to the ground and used a stun gun on her when she refused to answer the officer's questions and resisted being handcuffed, authorities said Thursday.

The incident is the latest in the U.S. involving stun guns, which have been used recently in several high-profile case, including on an 82-year-old woman in Chicago and on a university student in Florida who refused to yield the microphone during a forum featuring U.S. Senator John Kerry.

In this latest case, the pregnant woman went to the police department on Nov. 18 to ask officers to take custody of her 1-year-old son, said Michael Etter, Trotwood's public safety director.

The woman told the officer she was "tired of playing games" with the baby's father, Etter said. The woman refused to answer questions, became frustrated and tried to leave with the child, Etter said. The officer feared allowing her to leave could jeopardize the child, and he decided to detain her to get more information.

He said the officer grabbed the woman, got the child away from her and forced her to the ground. When she resisted being handcuffed and tried to get away, the officer used the stun gun on her, Etter said.

The woman wore a winter coat and did not tell the officer she was pregnant, Etter said. "She was totally uncooperative," he said.

The woman was arrested for obstruction and resisting arrest, Etter said. When she arrived at the jail, it was discovered that she was pregnant, and an officer took her to the hospital, he said.

The condition of the woman and the fetus was not known.

The FBI is investigating the arrest, and Etter said the police department is conducting its own probe to determine whether excessive force was used.

He said the officer remains on duty.

A report by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics last month said arrest-related deaths involving stun guns or other conducted-energy devices are rising. From 2003-2005, there were 36 such deaths, with a jump from 3 cases in 2003 to 24 in 2005.

[billpl-2009]

forget the stun guns and let police go back to using the choke hold

[usgeneral-2009]

.
The US Congress needs to immediately BAN STUN GUNS.

Police are clearly out-of-control with these deadly weapons, and don''t have the self-control or reasonableness to use them only when absolutely necessary.

They have become a way for lazy, donut-stuffed police to make their jobs easier - at the cost of many unnecessary deaths.

.

.

[mswolfestock]

Oh, wonderful. What is this idiot woman using for brains? What did she think the cops would do, take her kid and give her a receipt? And she''s got another kid on the way while she tries to throw away the first one. I am absolutely terrified about this country''s future. I cannot believe that this woman was raised to believe that you can give a kid away, like putting your old clothes in a yard sale. And as for her having trouble with the child''s father, maybe they ought to arrest him, too. The charges - Terminal Stupidity and Breeding Without a Brain.

[cheddarboy82]

What a dumb mom acting like that while pregnant..they should have pistol whipped her instead..stun guns are great too tho

[gunownerdan]

Being hit by a stun gun is still better than being shot.

[luvcomments]

So, just a few years back, before they were allowed to use stun guns, what would they have done to this woman? Shot her to death? Or would they simply have overpowered her - as they did in this case? Surely these big men could have managed to put handcuffs on an already overpowered woman? It does seem (from reading and watching the media, of course) that some people are all too anxious to use the stun guns when not required. It''s not as though this woman was holding a gun or knife on them.

[yoopermom]

Once again, an idiot refuses to take responsibility for her actions, but someone else is to blame. SHE refused to cooperate. SHE tried to leave with her child. SHE tried to resist arrest. SHE tried to get away from them. SHE knew she was pregnant. She made these choices on her own. But hey, it%u2019s the cops fault. If she would have left with the child and he was hurt buy her that too would have been the Officers fault. Sounds like they were scr*wed no mater what they did!

[michellem99-2009]

Ban tasers, USGENERAL YES. To the poster no choke hold. I was done that by a male and I WAS PISSED. It was a nut.

[susanhelit]

Without a stun gun, when she resisted, he''d have to fight her physically - maybe an accidental knee to the belly, maybe a choke hold that would cut off the baby''s oxygen - no, this one is all on the ''mother'' - she''s the one who put her fetus''s life at risk because she wanted to pointlessly resist.

[Redoubt]

Tasers have become the bridge of preference for police when force might otherwise not be required. In other words, they now have a stop gap between guns and fists. Works quite well too. We may be on the verge of becoming a tasered nation of the owned.

[flreason]

Why the heck didn''t the officer call for back-up...particularly a female officer who might be less threatening. If this woman was in an abusive relationship with her husband, the officer getting aggressive may have triggered a fight/flight response. It seems that tasers have become too convenient a short-cut for police who find confrontation and tasering more time-efficient than negotiation. The woman came to them for help. She shouldn''t have been treated like a criminal.

[dan9111]

Violence is wrong. What the cop "knew" is as irrelevant as what a murderer knows about their victim''s preference in interior design.

[itgranny]

If this was a battered woman, she probably walked in there confused as all get out. When she walked in, she probably thought that it was a way to keep her kid safe. Then upon encountering a bunch of jerks (obviously a good call), found that she didn''t want to leave the kid.

Something needs to start happening to these officers that are too quick to bring out the stun guns. When they first started out, the argument was that they saved officer''s lives and that''s how they got around legislation, but right now they are abusing their privilages. I don''t want to see them outlawed, but there needs to be some clear cut rules on their use.

[scottyusa]

Cops are gettimg too trigger happy with these things. There will be three cops on a guy and they will taser him because its easier. In this instance the story focuses on her being pregnant. It doesn''t sound like she commited a crime. She goes to the police for help and gets tasored instead for not coorporating in an interogation. This cop should be fired for that alone. I say take the tasors away and let them use pepper spray. If nothing else, every cop that carries a tasor gun should be shot with one as part of training. Then maybe he would think twice about tasoring some poor lady inside a police station trying to get help. I am sure he was the only cop within miles so he just had to do that.

[shanev137]

People who get tased for no good reason need to start fighting back and suing people.

[ingie912]

YOOPERMOM -- Did you even ''read'' this article? She went to the police station for help! She was not brought in because of something she did!

Far as I''m concerned I will make sure that my children DO NOT go to an officer for help in any way if there is an emergency! God help anyone who does!

[Netterz]

I think that alot of the people who have commented have not thought of the reality of what happens to people usually before they are tasered. Adrenalin Rush. When these people engage in a physical fight, the adrenaline rush kicks in, and no matter how big or small a person may be, its been proven that a 105lb woman picked the front end of a car up to get it off her child. An officer never knows what hey may be up against in a fight against anyone who becomes confrontational or combative. They could be armed, o a 5 star black belt. They face far more dangerous people and situations every day than most of us will in a lifetime. Drug dealing grand mothers, gun toting children in school, I guess dont resist, and have your day in court if you know your innocent.

[kansas1946]

Gosh, there weren''t enough cops at a police station to subdue a woman?? I think they just like to play with their new toy, instead of using their heads.

[pepperp1]

The woman was inside of the police station, the officer should be charged with assault. If he can not handle a distraught female inside the police station he can only cause more problems outside on the loose.

[jetranger7]

This is ALL part of the "NEW WORLD ORDER", otherwise known as the Police State, which if you pay attention to, Alex Jones the last several years, he''s been trying to tell you people this, but then you have the "NEO-CONS", who want to spin it, Alex Jones has been warning people about this for years, and NOW its here to bite us in the Keister !! read more at : WWW.INFOWARS.COM /// WWW.INFOWARS.COM /// WWW,INFOWARS.COM

[puzzler125]

I don''t recall a single instance of a female Police Officer using a stun gun or taser inappropriately. Hmm...

[gamayrouge]

If this is what they do to a pregnant woman who goes into a police station for help...I can only imagine what they do to criminals. Can you say "power crazy"??

[luvcomments]

oldThought

No idea why you assume :) that commenters must be stupid and unaware of "adrenalin rush". Sounds like you, yourself, are utterly unaware that some, only some, cops get an adrenalin rush, too, in altercations and chases - followed by another rush/momentary blood lust when they get to use their power tools. I''ve even heard them discussing it - in between excited giggles. Cops'' mentalities are as varied as the human sector they come from.

[michellem99-2009]

New World Order. What the hell are our boys and girls in combut fighting for. A Police State. This is America. US of A. My father is a vet and 72. Yer put a man in the white house that said *the constution is just a piece of godd@mn paper.* He raised his paw and TOOK the oath of office. I know what an oath is. BULL. I am a small woman and can''t lift 10 lbs. This lady can''t. I am 53. May be some can that are in great health.

[denn034]

Stunning a pregnant woman risks the life of her child. Those cop(s) should lose their jobs.

[feelfree1]

Torturing the unborn, by way of electrocution?

Where do these abusive pigs draw the line?

[likeitis5050]

Far as I''''m concerned I will make sure that my children DO NOT go to an officer for help ...


That''s a terrible thing to say and sadly, I agree. Cops are under a lot of pressure, but if there is any profession that should be able to cope with stressors without going from 0 to 200 in a matter of seconds, it should be cops. If they are not able to control their impulses to inflict physical harm because of their issues with adrenelin, then they shouldn''t be on any police force.

I''m sure this woman was not pleasant to deal with, and probably p.iss.ed every one off within ear shot...she was p.iss.ed about what she perceived as having no emotional or financial support in her struggle to provide for her child. Lesson learned...don''t ever expect the cops to actually defend or help and what ever you do...never allow yourself to be emotional. "She shouldn''t have resisted...she shouldn''t have tried to leave...blah blah blah.'' No...she shouldn''t have gone to the cops in the first place.

Barney wasn''t allowed to carry a gun with bullets in it for a reason. We need more Andys making sure the Barneys aren''t doing more harm than good on the job.

[ssm9451]

I saw the video of this incident. He had her pinned to the ground, on her stomach, she appeared smaller than the cop to, she didn''t appear to be putting up a fight. But after he had her pinned down, he then tased her on her neck. Cops are getting out of hand with these tasers!

[luvcomments]

likeitis5050 - "Barney wasn''t allowed to carry a gun with bullets in it for a reason. We need more Andys making sure the Barneys aren''t doing more harm than good on the job."

Bravissimo !!! Well said!!! And this goes for a number of other bureaucratic occupations, not only police.

[hedonist3]

While I haven''t seen the video, as this article is written, the woman put her own child in harm''s way when she became unruly in a police department. What is the answer to keeping an obviously unstable woman (she had, after all, come to turn her child in...tired of playing games with the baby''s father) from leaving with the child? The woman, for whatever reason, instigated the problem; the police responded accordingly. Sadly, that''s a concept known only to a precious few these days. It was known as being responsible for one''s own actions.

God help us.......

[rillifane]

One can only marvel at the stunning heroism of this stalwart protector the peace in facing down a pregnant woman with nothing more than 50,000 volts of electricity. Such courage! Such Bravery! Another example of how the polic place their lives on the line on a daily basis. No doubt his department will give him a medal and fling the miscreant pregant woman and her fetus in prison to make an example of them.

[toolmangler-2009]

Where do these abusive pigs draw the line?

Posted by FeelFree1 at 08:44 PM : Nov 29, 2007



If they know what they are dealing with, they act accordingly. The few that act other wise are exposed in the papers. but you are saying that ALL cops and ALL soldiers and ALL priests are evil sadistic sexually depraved murderers, really feely thats what you say.

[dmhphils]

Torturing the unborn, by way of electrocution?

Where do these abusive pigs draw the line?


Posted by FeelFree1 at 08:44 PM : Nov 29, 2007
--------------------------------------------------
For once we agree.

[hereticzero-2009]

Moral is: Don''t ask cops for help. If you need services for your child, take it to family services, and not the police station.

[bb19631]

All a cop is a hired thug with a gun and badge, and can get away with more illegal things than any other person. After all it''s she said, he said- the cop will always win!!

[ireanna-2009]

She walked into the police station with her kid, commits no actual crime, so why not walk out with him? Who are they to attack her from behind with handcuffs like a criminal in front of her kid just because they weren''t finished talking? My guess is she got tired of waiting and walked out.

If he claims "obstructing justice" -- what investigation was underway, and when did he let her know this, or read her some rights before questioning her? This is just ridiculous and has me sick! They are paid by our tax dollars to protect the people, right?

It seems the reason this made news was that not only was she stun gunned but she was pregnant. Even without being pregnant, I couldn''t understand anyone who would think this was appropriate under the circumstances provided thus far.

[ireanna-2009]

...Kudos to luvcomments, bb19631 and USGeneral...

The only one posing a danger to this child was the cop! He had many other choices, but he chose his handy dandy stun gun because it was easiest. Meanwhile, a nice-guy approach may have made all the difference in the world (i.e., "Please let me help you", "what can I do", or "let me escort you home").

"Nah, thats just too much trouble man. I don''t feel like working or playing like some pansey "nice guy". Lets be my usual thrill-seeking, immature, arrogant self, who doesn''t have any real people skills. I show no sympathy or concern towards anyone. Yup, I''ll really heat things up by trying to tackle and cuff her. Then when she tries to defend herself, I''ll just ZAP her real good. Yes, all because she''s aggravating me. Don''t worry, I''ll think up something to charge her with afterwards, and have my buddies back me up on it. I''ll even have our lawyers help with a statement and mention the kid as my excuse (yeah I was concerned for him, that''s right, thats the ticket). They boy who I almost forgot was even there when I fired my sparks. That outta teach her to answer me when I ask a question. Yep, I''m a big bad a** cop who lived for this power all my life. Yeah thats right - I love my stun gun! Don''t even look at me wrong, or you''re going down Ladies!" O------u--- what a man.

Freedom in the USA - all the way!? (ha ha) We should really be

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[luckygirl042]

I fear the "Police State" is here.

[griking]

Does every instance of a person being tazered need to be considered news nowadays? Every story like this that I read seems to describe the person as resisting arrest, violent, etc.. I have not yet read a story of a police office just walking up to a random person and tazering them. The lesson here is listen to the officer (duh) and we won''t have as many of these issues.

[alexma50085]

So when did a trained police officer need a taser to take down a women smaller than himself?
Take his badge and give it to a less aggressive minded officer.

[gunnerv1]

MichelleM99 Please NO I Demand to see where you got your quote "the constution is just a piece of godd@mn paper". it''s put up or shut up time.

[gopack443]

"obstruction and resisting arrest" Obstruction of what? what law did she break? Do we live in a police state? Is obstruction a law to cover everything in case a cop want to bust someone who hasn''t broke any real laws?

[klingon69]

I cannot believe that this woman was raised to believe that you can give a kid away, like putting your old clothes in a yard sale. And as for her having trouble with the child''''s father, maybe they ought to arrest him, too. The charges - Terminal Stupidity and Breeding Without a Brain.
Posted by mswolfestock at 03:44 PM : Nov 29, 2007

I thought it was a allowable for a mother to drop an unwanted child at a church, hospital or police station instead of abandoning the child.

[seancky]

Whoever needs video here it is

http://youtube.com/watch?v=gw9kj1jnttk

[klingon69]

Far as I''''m concerned I will make sure that my children DO NOT go to an officer for help in any way if there is an emergency! God help anyone who does!
Posted by ingie912 at 06:05 PM : Nov 29, 2007

The cops have become a jack-booted terror squad. Much like the Brown Shirts of Nazi Germany. In order to get anything against them, you must have witnesses and best is video, provided these thugs don''t take the camera away. Evidence of this facist state was first evidence in the 1960''s in the protests with the dogs, the clubs and riot gear. I don''t trust or even want the cops around me.

[mswolfestock]

Mothers of NEWBORN INFANTS can drop their kids off if they cannot care for them. This woman''s kid was one year old. WHY DON''T THESE IDIOTS USE BIRTH CONTROL. Then maybe we wouldn''t be wasting our time blaming the cops for this woman''s stupidity. That kid should never have been born, period.

[libsluvsuvs]

NOW BEFORE ALL YOU BLOOD SUCKING BLEEDING HEART MISGUIDED LIBERALS START SHOOTING YOUR CONSPIRACY THEORIES..PLEASE READ THE ARTICLE..

"In this latest case, the pregnant woman went to the police department on Nov. 18 to ask officers to take custody of her 1-year-old son, said Michael Etter, Trotwood''s public safety director.

The woman told the officer she was "tired of playing games" with the baby''s father, Etter said. The woman refused to answer questions, became frustrated and tried to leave with the child, Etter said. The officer feared allowing her to leave could jeopardize the child, and he decided to detain her to get more information."

[grazinggoat]

AND I FORGOT TO ADD..AS THE HEADLINE CLEARLY INDICATES..SHE WAS EFFING PREGNANT..she does not need a taser gun SHE NEEDS A CASTRATION.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by libsluvsuvs at 06:17 PM : Nov 30, 2007

- Idiot ignorant like you need not posting on this thread! Women undergo ovarectomy or hysterectomy! Castration is reserved for ignorant males like you. Maybe then you''d be more balanced, having a brain bigger than ballls. LOL!

-This taser gun is a real danger introduced to control individuals... It''s causing more and more death because it''s not well used, abused, matter of fact.

[cdfoxtrot]

This country is degenerating back into the Wild West. Cops are OUT OF CONTROL. These taser guns are being used as a matter of routine and the cops are clearly misusing them. They were sold to the public on the basis they would only be used in situations where ordinarily deadly force (i.e. guns) would be used. This has turned out to be a lie. We need to get these dangerous weapons off the streets and out of the hands of these cops who clearly cannot be trusted to show restraint.