Deputy Tasers 90-Pound 13-Year-Old Girl At Hospital

[HeeBGBz]

Deputy Tasers 90-Pound 13-Year-Old Girl At Hospital

snip

"April Rene Burleson, who is 4-foot-9 and weighs 90 pounds, had a blood alcohol level of 0.175 percent and was under the influence of marijuana and the prescription drug Xanax, according to the Lee County Sheriff's Office.

"You have to understand, she was lashing out, kicking and scratching," sheriff's spokeswoman Ileana LiMarzi. "She was acting like an adult who needed to be restrained. Just because she's 13 doesn't mean she can't harm somebody." "


They sure love their phasers

[acmavm]

1. Police forces everytwhere have got the quit hiring these chickenshit

wussies. Or find people smarter and tougher than a drunken 90-pound 13 year old.

[rodeodance]

3. the police have a new dangerous toy!! and they want to use it--horrible,

[Media_Lies_Daily]

64. IMHO, it's not the people that are slipping through the...

...hiring system used by the police, it's the POLICIES that the police now have for using a taser in dealing with situations that would have required a little muscle or tact in the past.

[shraby]

2. I would think they would have restrainers

for arms and legs at a hospital. Why weren't they used?

[masshole]

9. they were used, AFTER they tased her

Apparently all the cops and medical personnel in Bonita Springs are less than 4'9" and 90 lbs, or I'm sure they would have been able to subdue this giant without having to fire their new electronic weapons.

[KansDem]

10. They do...

I worked in the X-ray department of a major SoCal hospital for three years, and saw many emergency room cases come through for X-rays that included patients hyped-up on drugs and/or alcohol. We would restrain them with straps. I had to do this countless times after unsuccessfully trying to talk the patients down out of their drug-induced frenzy, usually with the help of fellow workers. And many, if not all, of these cases were in excess of 4'9" and 90lbs.

The thought never occurred to me to have "Officer Taser" do it, but then "Ofc Taser" wasn't around then...

[Lerkfish]

4. well, considering all three of those are depressants....

I"m skeptical of the police's characterizations of her behaviour.

irregardless, if a policeperson cannot subdue a 13 yr old, then really what good are they going to be against a hardened criminal?

[Media_Lies_Daily]

25. Bingo.

[lateo]

5. Drunk, stoned and taking Xanax?

How could that girl muster up the energy to fight?

[Selteri]

36. Drunk, Stoned and on Xanax - She was lucky to be able to open her eyes.

Alcohol - Disassociative Depressant with more side affects than any drug.

Marijuana - Hunger inducing mild halluciniagenic depressant.

Xanax - Tranquilizer with side affects associated with alcohol consumption of severe couch lock

She was so blitzed any cop could have hold her with a bearhug and putting his legs around her in a standard technique. Especially being only 90 pounds.

[lateo]

37. Exactly...

I think cops have become far too trigger happy with that tazer.

[GHOSTDANCER]

60. I don't know???? but lets plug her into the electrical outlet........

and see what happens??? I don't know about you but to me this sounds dangerous.

Every time I turn around I hear about some cowardly trigger-happy cops hurting innocent people. I really don't like paying for officers to perform civic services & protection that can't even subdue 90lb little girls.

[JerseygirlCT]

6. Maybe it's just me

but I cannot imagine:

a girl that tiny being much of a problem
and
Xanax causing someone to lash out kick and scratch. Doesn't it make you pretty calm? Same with pot, from my distant memory, lol.

[GoldenOldie]

7. What did they do before they had the taser's?

I can't remember any news of kids killing cops.

[Judi Lynn]

11. You're right. It didn't happen.

At one time, when people still had language skills, and weren't perverted sadists, or clown-like cowards, they expressed themselves VERBALLY, as in explaining the situation to the child, and treating it with normal, responsible human decency and got on with it.

[Bridget Burke]

12. Sometimes restraints are necessary.

The article says they put her in 4-point restraints AFTER they tasered her.

How did they restrain patients before tasers? Usually, a couple of husky orderlies were on hand.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

65. And how is it possible that this girl who was under the influence of...

...THREE depressants...alcohol, marijuana, and xanax...needed to be restrained in the first place? Was she really violent, or is this what we're hearing from the police?

[Lars39]

8. Does Xanax work the same in a teenager's body, though?

I know a lot of drugs have the opposite effect on kids than that of
adults given the same thing.

[mountainvue]

16. Last time I took 1/2 a Xanax

I slumped into the sofa and wasn't even able to move. I can't stand Xanax.

[liberalnurse]

21. She was not sedated.....

she was combative.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

26. That's what the POLICE said.

[noiretextatique]

38. 90lbs, and 13 years old

:eyes: oh yeah...surely she might have killed someone with her bare hands :eyes:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

46. On alcohol, Xanax, and MJ? Riiiiiight.

:eyes:

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

54. Oh, Come on, now... Yesterday, it was an 84 year old man pissing in the

park and suffering from dementia, today it's a 4'9" stoned prepubescent...

If our police can't handle situations like this without introducing them to 50,000 volts, we need new police.

Link to the SFGate piece on this: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/06/24/national/a095652D78.DTL

Link to Ft Worth piece: US: Torture by Taser http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12455

[JerseygirlCT]

43. That was my experience, as well. nt

[livinginphotographs]

19. Xanax can make long-time users pretty aggressive

(I've heard)

But regardless, being drunk and stoned at the same time would probably make her lethargic. Especially with a blood-alcohol level that high.

[catnhatnh]

13. The police use "drug guilt" by association....

...hoping to obscure the truth (we shot the kid with a taser),under a veil of "drug induced aggression". This was NOT 'roid rage, a meth monster, or an angel dusted superfreak....it was a child who should have been near coma from a cocktail of depressants...and if you have ever tried to rouse someone in this stupor,you know they will lash out (albeit ineffectually) and demand that you "leave me alone"...they are scarcely capable of compliance and definitely past caring about your demands.In short, one more sick case of forced pain compliance disguised as "last resort to avoid lethal force".

[MadisonProgressive]

67. Aren't they admitting that if this was pre-taser they would have shot her?

[leesa]

14. Right. She's on dope and xanax and she's wired up. This is BS.

[LiberalFighter]

15. Gee this happened in Florida

Burleson was charged with loitering, disorderly public intoxication, battery by a juvenile on health services personnel, battery on an officer and resisting an officer. She was sent to the Lee County Juvenile Assessment Center.

Burleson was walking on the street at 2:50 a.m. Thursday when a deputy picked her up on the loitering charge.


Now I don't understand how they can charge her with battery on health services personnel and an officer and resisting an officer if she was doped up. If she was doped up and drunk as they stated would she be aware of her actions and responsible for them?

I also wonder why the girl was out at that time of day and what was the mother doing about it? Doesn't the mother and/or father have any control over their children?

[Hamsta1]

18. They will have control over her...

Once they get the taser for home use off of layaway at Walmart.

Imagine the leverage parents of the future will have!
"Billy, get in here and clean your room or I'm a zap your ass!"

"Now remember Susie, if you aren't home by 11:00 we're going to have to tazer you again. It hurts me more than it does you. NOT!!"

[LiberalFighter]

28. By then they will have implants so they can be tazered remotely

[ticapnews]

32. South Park? (eom)

This story makes me sick. :puke:

[LiberalFighter]

51. Did they do a piece on that? Never saw it.

[FiveGoodMen]

53. In the South Park Movie

Cartman's implanted V-chip figured prominently in the resolution!

[ticapnews]

59. Yeah, they put a chip in Cartman's brain...

so that any time he swears he gets a shock. The parents can't wait to get all their kids fitted for one...

[redqueen]

17. Is there ANYONE cops won't taser?

GEEZ! 90 lbs? What were they worried about... scratches?

[Megahurtz]

20. Oh I just love this country now.....

:eyes:

[shanti]

22. AND WHAT DID THEY DO BEFORE TAZERS????

this incenses me! :grr:

[siliconefreak]

23. Florida Strikes Again!

I think I should start a poll about the least civilized state in the U.S. I think Florida would win hands-down.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

24. Yes, indeed...more rationalizations to protect the use of tasers.

[pointless]

27. ???

Why was a 13 yr. old girl wandering the streets at 3am with a blood alcohol level of .175, high on pot and prescription Xanax?

[MisterP]

29. probably because she ingested it

[pointless]

30. duh...

You don't think it's a little strange or that she's quite young to be using drugs like that and out on the streets alone in the middle of the night?

[Kraklen]

39. First guess...

she snuck off to a house party that got busted.

[Guitarman]

33. Good question!

I think that they should find the parents and shock some sense into their asses.

I remember public service announcements at night when I was a kid: "It's 10:00, do you know where your children are?" My father would look around the living room, count 1, 2, 3. Yep, all here.

[Moochy]

34. Taser her parents!

Shock some sense into their asses? :)

[Miss Chybil]

31. How would they have handled this little monster before they could fry

her ass? With a little muscle? Mmmmmm.... Imagine that. Lucky she didn't die.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

63. "Little monster"? The police stated that she was violent...

...they also stated that she was violent because she had a mix of alcohol (.0175!), marijuana, and xanax in her system. Does that really make any sense to you?

If I had that much stuff in my 240lb system, I would have been passed out cold.

But yes, she is lucky she didn't die from being tasered.

[gulfcoastliberal]

35. I'm not sympathetic on this one

A (now former) friend of mine came over after ingesting large quantities of xanax; he wound up getting into my guns and shooting a speaker by my TV. I told him he had to leave and while we were in the elevator he suddenly whipped off his belt and attacked me with the buckle end, then started punching and kicking me. BTW, he was also stoned -- so no, mary jane does NOT calm you down if you eat a lot of xanax. Xanax is a very dangerous drug and it does indeed make people very violent if they eat enough of it. I've seen it 1st hand and have the bruises and cuts to prove it. The cops came very close to tasering my former friend while he was in custody. He told me when he came to he was in the restraint chair, securely tied down. I don't feel sorry for this girl. I would be sorry if the taser harmed her, but it doesn't sound that way. She's alive and she's learned an important lesson, I hope.

[Lerkfish]

41. and that lesson would be....

that police are unable to subdue a 13 year old 90 lb girl unless they use electricity shot from a gun.

[FlaGranny]

42. Must really be wusses, hmm?

When I worked for a pscyhiatric hospital, I don't remember one time the orderlies had to call the cops to taser someone. Some of the kids therew were like football players and many came in angry and high. A couple of good orderlies know how to subdue someone.

[Lerkfish]

50. I was an RA in a dorm, and I singlehandedly

subdued a team wrestler who was intoxicated and belligerent. I figure he was 180 lb.

I was unarmed. I think I could handle a 13 year old 90 lb little girl.
Was she wearing a pink dress?

[gulfcoastliberal]

48. Should they have used batons instead? Or pepper spray?

Or maybe swarm her with 4-5 people, knock her to the ground and step on her neck while they put restraints on her? Should they have shot a tranquilizer dart at her? Imagine an angry 90lb rotweiller coming at you. WTF would you do?

Let me state for the record I am against Tasers since they are too dangerous, as are all "less than lethal" weapons - ie, shotgun fired batons/bean bags, rubber bullets, etc. Since our hearts and brains work on electrical impulses, I'm not surprised that the tasers wind up sometimes being lethal.

But I don't feel sorry for some kid getting tasered ecause her parents probably don't take an interest in her activities or friends. Again, xanax is a very dangerous drug that can literally make you go nuts.

I don't like the police and I think all drugs ought to be legal, but I really don't see what else they were supposed to do - especially inside a hospital.

[MisterP]

52. she's not a rottweiler!

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

55. Bloody hell! If they can't subdue a kid this size without resorting to

clubs, pepper spray or tasers, they need to be working in a pillow factory at a low level where they will never have to use their own judgment in making a decision.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

66. Sorry, but there's no excuse for using a taser in this situation.

[catnhatnh]

69. "I don't feel sorry for some kid getting tasered because...

...her parents don't probably take an interest in her activities or friends"...Read it-THAT is an exact quote....Are you sure you are in the proper forum?

[catnhatnh]

68. Hmmm...from personal experience then...

...this 90 lb teen WITHOUT A FIREARM OR A BELT BUCKLE deserves exactly what your (adult) friend NEARLY got????

[bdot]

40. Given how my roommate in college was.

I have to side with the cops. I never have a problem with someone zapping a drunk. I can't stand alcoholics.
That said, alcohol and marijana I know can make people violent. I have no idea about Xanax. When my roommate in college was on either alcohol or marijana, he would get violent and start breaking things. We ended up getting him kicked out of the dorm because he kept trying to fight people.

[noiretextatique]

44. i assume he wasn't

a 90lb 13yo girl.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

61. Some observations about the contents of your post....

1. "I never have a problem with someone zapping a drunk".

Can you personally tell the difference between someone who has had too much to drink, and someone else who is having insulin problems? How about someone that has a seizure? How about if the person who is drunk dies from being tasered...do you think that's okay, too?

2. "I can't stand alcoholics".

Sounds like a personal opinion that has heavily influenced how you believe people should be treated while in police custody.

3. "That said, alcohol and marijana I know can make people violent".

Alcohol has definitely been linked with violent and destructive behavior. You'll have to provide a link to any valid study that proves that people under the influence of marijuana become violent in any way.

4. "We ended up getting him kicked out of the dorm because he kept trying to fight people".

Did anyone try to get him help of any kind before booting him from the dorm? Was your school's administration involved in this action, and were they aware that he had a problem with alcohol?

[catnhatnh]

70. For the second time today I call bullshit....

...this time on violent behavior caused by marijauna.Go ahead and post supporting links (other than "REEFER MADNESS"....

[Bake]

71. Hmmm ... sounds like it's OK to "zap" 'em just because they're alcoholics

"I never have a problem with someone zapping a drunk. I can't stand alcoholics."

Really? NEVER? A 90-pound 13-year old included?

Thank GOD you're not a cop and don't carry a tazer.

Personally, I don't have a problem with zapping STUPID people.

Bake

[SouthernDem2004]

45. The irony here is that if she had been handcuffed at a school

you would have some people complaining about handcuffing a 90lbs 13 year old.

Guess the Police just can not win, lol....

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

56. Not when they behave like Nazi Storm Troopers...

Come on... I'll bet you could/would have taken care of this dumb kid without a taser, club or pepper spray.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

62. "Guess the Police just can not win, lol"??? We're not talking about....

...winning or losing here, we're talking about the potential of dying from being tasered by the police.

We're also talking about what is the most appropriate action that the police should take when dealing with a minor who is handcuffed.

And no, IMHO, it wouldn't have mattered where the 13-yr-old, 90lb girl was handcuffed by the police and then tasered.

[BiggJawn]

47. Those cop clothes must really be getting pricey.

Back when I pal'd around with some cops and STOCK PRODS were implements used only on the farm and in the packing houses, they used to grouse about getting a $90 uniform shirt fucked-up by a messed-up or combative suspect.

Now, just pull out your handy-dandy "Bernie's Buzzer" and you won't even mess up the creases...

Saves on that uniform allowance, saves on dry cleaning....

Only reason *I* can come up with for Tasing the young or elderly.

"Buy my Product?"

[Pastiche423]

49. As I wheeled into my library today

I noticed three cops cars outside. On entering, I encountered one of the officers as I was returning my videos.

I asked him if tasers were used in our county. He said, yes they were and he was 100% behind their use. We talked about them for about ten minutes, I giving examples of their abuses. He gave his reason for them:

In the three years of use, he has not had one scraped knee or a bloody uniform.

Btw, he had not heard of the deaths caused by these torture tools.
I politely asked him to google taser+epileptic+death and to watch the video. He said he would.

The reason I wanted him to watch that particular video, was because both he and I have Grand Mal seizures and know what it is like when your neurons are still in the wacked out state.

I got his name from his nameplate and will follow up to see if he does, in fact, watch the video and ask for his response.

[drduffy]

57. f'in police cowards....

when I first started in psych, I worked as a 'child care worker' in Ohio. We, on occasion had to put 230 lbs 18 year olds in seclusion. It took four or five of us to do so without hurting the girl in the process. And we were careful. But a 90 lb thirteen year old?? These cops are cowards and wimps. I'd like to 'taser' them.

[Horse with no Name]

58. I'm sooooo disappointed in the healthcare staff for allowing the police

to use the TASER. In my ER, I would have insisted the police put the damn thing down.
For Chrissakes....with nurses like that they don't need the police--they can just grab the crash cart and defibrillate out of control patients.:eyes: