February 11, 2009 3:48 PM

Pregnant Woman Stun-Gunned In Ohio

(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.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Add a Comment See all 49 Comments
by tngreen December 1, 2007 3:12 AM EST
Did the thought cross anybody''s mind that this woman suffers from a mental illness? Do her actions sound like those of a normal person? She sounds depressed and confused. She should probably have been taken to a hospital, not brutalized.

Every single day, nurses in our hospitals deal with patients who are disoriented and who become combative. Nurses are kicked, punched, scratched, pinched, and slapped, but they somehow manage to get their patients under control without tazers, guns, or night sticks. If a 110-pound woman can manage a disoriented patient without resorting to violence, what is wrong with our police forces? Too little training, and too much testosterone.
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by cdfoxtrot December 1, 2007 1:12 AM EST
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.
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by grazinggoat November 30, 2007 11:36 PM EST
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.
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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.
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by libsluvsuvs November 30, 2007 9:16 PM EST
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."

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by klingon69 November 30, 2007 6:46 PM EST
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.
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by seancky November 30, 2007 6:08 PM EST
Whoever needs video here it is

http://youtube.com/watch?v=gw9kj1jnttk
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by klingon69 November 30, 2007 5:36 PM EST
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.
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by gopack443 November 30, 2007 4:43 PM EST
"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?
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by gunnerv1 November 30, 2007 4:33 PM EST
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.
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by alexma50085 November 30, 2007 1:59 PM EST
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.
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