11-Year-Old Girl Shot With Taser for Shoplifting

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Cincinnati Police have launched a review after one of its officers used a Taser against an 11-year-old girl accused of shoplifting from a grocery store.

The officer, who was working as an off-duty detail at the store, shot the child in the back after responding to reports that several female juveniles were allegedly stealing items from the Kennard Avenue Kroger .

According to a statement from the department, the officer fired the stun gun after the girl repeatedly ignored his commands to stop when she turned and walked away from him.

The child was treated at the scene and then taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center for evaluation. She was later arrested on suspicion of theft and obstructing official business and released back to her parent’s custody.

“We are extremely concerned when force is used by one of our officers on a child of this age,” Police Chief Eliot K. Isaac said.

“As a result, we will be taking a very thorough review of our policies as it relates to using force on juveniles as well as the propriety of the officer’s actions.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/11-year-old-girl-shot-with-taser-for-shoplifting/ar-BBLEiPu?li=BBnb7Kz

But the cop was skeered for his life

[dalton99a]

1. So a cop shot an 11-year-old girl in the back

WTF

[uponit7771]

2. So ... he was afraid for his life? Damn, wish these places would get rid of the thug cops

[Shrike47]

3. Per the link, cop didn't say he feared for his life, OP did.

The cop tased her for ignoring his commands.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

4. Hence the sarcasm emoticon after the text

[LanternWaste]

5. Per the OP, use of sarcasm gif indicates the statement was, well... sarcasm.

Readers may think otherwise by ignoring his sarcasm.

[MrsCoffee]

19. Oh, well, in that case, this is hardly news....

[bitterross]

6. Department Policy Prohibits this but she shouldn't have been shoplifting.

Yes, department policy does prohibit what he did. He was off-duty though and the store may have other policies and standards.

My first thought, for which I will be slammed, is if she hadn't been shoplifting then she would not have gotten tased. I am channeling my father a bit there but that is the case.

At some point people have to take responsibility for their actions. The girl's actions set up the situation in the first place. I don't really feel too sorry for her that she got caught and tased while trying to escape capture. We arm police and security guards with tasers because they are not lethal.

Don't do the crime if you cannot stand the taser.

[Fullduplexxx]

7. Even if she did shoplift he shouldnt have tased an 11 year old

His is the adult of the 2 and he should have had better judgement

[bitterross]

9. I disagree. Why shouldn't he use non-lethal to stop her? She doesn't get pass for being 11.

If the 11-year-old is going to shoplift they need to be ready for the consequences. He could have just run her down and tackled her. He might have ended up breaking her arm, leg or worse. That's what they would have done before tasers. Would you be angry because he ran after her and tackled a thief? If he crippled her when he tackled her?

I am as angry as anyone here on DU about the way African Americans are treated right now. Especially the young men who have, so often, been shot in the back or tased while fully complying with officers. It is a disgrace and horrible.

That does not mean that we give free rein to 11 year-olds just because they are 11. 11 year-olds who are shoplifting in a group are not the innocent little kids you're thinking of.

[GReedDiamond]

10. Tasers are not always non-lethal...

...here's an NPR link from September 2017 - "Police have killed more than 1,000 people with Tasers since 2000"

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/police-killed-1000-people-tasers-since-2000

If you do not know that tasing an 11 year old girl - even if she was guilty of the horrific crime of shoplifting - is wrong, than I don't know what else to say.

[FL_Jerry]

11. The manufacturer markets them as non lethal but they are far from it

Like it was mentioned, they aren't all that safe. One girl in my state fell and hit her head after she was tased while handcuffed, the outcome was heartbreaking.

However, You can't really blame the police if they are told by the manufacturer they are safe. They should be told that the subject has a pretty good chance of dying and to only use them when absolutely necessary.

Hard to market non lethal devices that turn out to be lethal, which means they fight like wild cats to push the "they are harmless" idea.

https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-cops-misuse-tasers-with-deadly-results-6522644

[Fullduplexxx]

12. No dude his job was to de-escalate not go robocop

[bitterross]

13. You don't de-esclate shoplifting. It wasn't a stand-off

That makes no sense at all. He didn't need to de-escalate a hostile situation. He needed to apprehend a perp.

Good grief. At what point are people responsible for creating the situation they find themselves in anymore? No one seems to feel the girl in this situation bears any responsibility for the situation. She was, according to the report, in a group of girls shoplifting. This is not an innocent little girl.

I have since my original post, watched her and her mother in news videos. The mother, in particular, is playing it up hard for the eventual payoff she's clearly hoping to get. One that is completely undeserved because her child was breaking the law.

This is not an innocent man being shot in the back. This is a perp being apprehended while trying to flee the crime scene.

[kcr]

14. Good grief. It's a shame so many people don't like blaming victims, huh?

What's with theis weak-kneed liberal crap. And golly jeepers, what's with that mom. If only she were like other good, decent common sense mothers who probably beat their children before breakfast just to hear their broken screams. You can bet those kids behave.

Look, some people appreciate modern civilization and would appreciate not living in a jack-boot authoritarian society.

[bitterross]

23. She wouldn't be a fucking victim if she didn't break the law.

She caused the situation.

[MineralMan]

27. So, now she's been reduced to being a "fucking victim?"

It's an 11 year old kid you're talking about. Think about it.

[bitterross]

29. Actually, no. She's not a victim. She's a criminal.

I'm sorry I even took time to say she is a victim. She's not.

She created the circumstance and has to live with the outcome. That's the way the world works.

[MineralMan]

33. Nope. You are incorrect.

She is only a suspected criminal, and of a very petty offence.

I will not describe your attitude toward her publicly, but I find it offensive, and not in a petty way.

[Fullduplexxx]

15. She does bear responsibility and she will go to jail for shoplifting

And if he pulls a taser on an eleven year he has escalated that situation to a point at which de-escalation was needed and he should have sone so.

This over-reaction doesnt need any cheerleaders

[MineralMan]

25. Your cynicism is palpable.

No, there is no possible reason to use a taser on an 11 year old girl suspected of shoplifting. None. The harm done by the taser far outweighs any loss to the store from the shoplifting. A non-violent property crime does not deserve a violent response, merely on suspicion.

Are you in law enforcement, perchance?

[bitterross]

30. I am in tech support. Not law enforcement.

Being in tech support makes me far more cynical.

[Kotya]

28. I agree.

If she hadn't been shoplifting, she wouldn't have been tased. If she hadn't tried to flee the cops, she wouldn't have been tased.

Where did young girl learn that it's ok to steal and ok to run from the cops?

I'm getting tired of this crap. Coddling criminals and indemnifying them of all responsibility from the consequences of wrong behavior they freely chose to engage in should not be the default liberal position.

[SweetieD]

16. Nvm.

[Fullduplexxx]

17. That does not mean that we give free rein to 11 year-olds just because they are 11.

Lol spare the taser spoil the child

[treestar]

18. She does get a pass for being 11

juveniles are treated differently under the law.

[MrsCoffee]

20. Your post disgusts me more than I can type.

[bitterross]

24. Feel free to use the ignore feature.

I'm not changing my opinion that she got what she deserved. If you lie down with dogs you get up with fleas.

She got in with a group of girls who were shoplifting. I had the opportunity to get into those situations too when I was her age. I chose not to.

[MineralMan]

26. Why should she ignore you? Why should she not express herself?

Answer that, please. She is a DUer, and can respond to your posts, just as I can.

I happen to agree with her.

Anything you post can be disagreed with by anyone else. And will be, no doubt. You don't get to tell people that they shouldn't disagree with you.

[bitterross]

34. I made a suggestion that could lessen her disgust.

She said she is disgusted with my post. If I offend her, then she can take steps to prevent further offense.

I merely made a thoughtful suggestion in an attempt to prevent her further pain.

At no time did I suggest she should not express her opinions. At no time did I tell her not to disagree with me.

YOU, put those words in my mouth.

[MineralMan]

36. Well, your suggestion would certainly prevent her from telling you

how she feels about what you write. That would be convenient, wouldn't it. I notice that you have not suggested that I ignore you. Why is that, I wonder? Actually, I think I know.

[bitterross]

38. If you think you know what I am thinking, please proceed.

You suggested that the other poster should be free to post their opinion and respond to me. That is all true. I agree with you. They didn't post though. They simply told me they were disgusted and offered nothing else.

If you, or the other poster, find my posts disgusting or uncomfortable to read the admins have built in a feature for the site to assist you with avoiding having to read them. If you think I'm so off the mark in the world as to be completely ignored then you have that option.

I suggest you and anyone else who doesn't want to be presented with my opinions and posts take advantage of that feature.

If you want to read my posts and post counter arguments to them then please do feel free to do that as well. That is the whole point of this site. I will either concede your argument is better than mine or I will defend my position. I have done both of those things on this site.

I knew full well when I posted my first post on this thread that my opinion would be unpopular. That didn't stop me. If I actually cause some person to look at the situation from another angle and change their opinion - even a little - then that is a good thing for not only me but others. I cannot count the number of times I've read posts here lamenting the fact that the RWNJ's live in an echo chamber and never consider other opinions or views.

There are many people whose opinions I will never change. That does not concern me. I'm not here to win anything.

I'm not posting on OPs like this one with an opinion I know will be unpopular in order to make friends. I'm posting because I believe people need to consider views other than just the ones with which they agree. Otherwise, we become the Breitbart or FOX of the left.

If you think I want to eliminate posts counter to my own by telling people to ignore me so they will not have an opportunity to make a counter-post you are very wrong. I WELCOME other people like you posting counter-posts to mine. Every single one of those posts is an opportunity for me to learn something new and possibly change my position on a topic. It is also an opportunity for me to help others see things in a different light.

So no, I didn't suggest that person use ignore in order to make it easier for me post without fear of a contradicting opinion to mine being posted. One that might make more sense. One to which I might need to concede. No, all that person posted was that I disgusted them. They didn't try to counter my opinion, they simply tried to shame me by implying I am disgusting. If all one is going to do is tell me to "bugger off" then one may as well ignore me.

[gollygee]

21. Are tasers even tested for young kids?

11-year-olds are small and wouldn't necessarily respond the same way to a taser as full grown adults.

No, it is not OK to use that level of force on an 11-year-old for shoplifting.

[spanone]

22. keep digging.

[d_r]

35. Actually

an 11-year-old shoplifting in a group is the innocent little kid I'm thinking of. An 11-year-old is still a child no matter what mistakes they are making at a given time.

[aka-chmeee]

8. And when they say halt or stop,

the smart response is to stop.

[tblue37]

39. Tasers are "less lethal," NOT non-lethal. Even the company warns of risk of death

in the training manual. Because they are at higher risk children are not supposed to be Tased.

[exboyfil]

31. Here is the relevant law

2935.041 Detention and arrest of shoplifters - detention of persons in library, museum, or archival institution.
(A) A merchant, or an employee or agent of a merchant, who has probable cause to believe that items offered for sale by a mercantile establishment have been unlawfully taken by a person, may, for the purposes set forth in division (C) of this section, detain the person in a reasonable manner for a reasonable length of time within the mercantile establishment or its immediate vicinity.

What is reasonable detention? Also should a cop be allowed to use a departmental Taser on his moonlighting job?

“An individual simply fleeing from an officer, absent additional justification, does not warrant the use of the Taser,” the department’s procedure adds.

[bitterross]

32. Mayor wants to raise the age from 7 to 12. Is that better?

I saw in one of the news reports the mayor wants the police to raise the age to 12 now.

Still arbitrary. Neurologists say the frontal cortex isn't fully developed until the early 20's. Maybe we should just not do anything about anyone fleeing the crime scene until they are 25 or 30.

Even the kid's mother said she hoped she learned something from this.

I'm learning that a lot more people than I thought don't believe kids have any ability to control or restrain themselves just because they are kids.

[gollygee]

37. Maybe we could wait until they have adult-sized bodies anyway

because those are the bodies tasers are made for.