14 YO girl shot in head with a taser!, page 4

I don't believe the officer was aiming for her head however, I wouldn't condone the tazing on any part of her at all unless she was a physical threat to the officer and I just don't see that happening without a weapon. I mean, come on! She is 14. His actions are simply not justified. Tazers are like batons to the officers, just easier to use and because they are getting away with it, we are seeing many many unnecessary tazings.

That said. . . I now have these comments based my own experience, having been a juvenile probation officer at one time.

After about a year in the profession, given the choice, I would choose 10 male gang-bangers on my caseload rather than a single 14 year old female sitting there with her arms crossed and rolling her eyes. They can be the most obstinate and disrespectful creatures on earth. They think they know everything, but have extremely poor judgement and engage in extremely high risk behavior. Without serious and consistent intervention, they most likely will make decisions that will affect them lifelong.

First of all, I can guarantee you, if the mother brought her to the police station for help, the child was a serious behavior problem and the mother was trying to control her. I would bet it wasn't the first time and won't be the last.

Second, for the officer to have been chasing her at all, means the mother complained immediately that her daughter had run away, thus his pursuit. A reasonable person would have radioed for backup, reported her direction and made reasonable attempts to apprehend her. She did run and she did evade the officer. Those are two charges for which she should be referred to the juvenile probation department.

The officer made a bad choice in using the tazer and probably will be sued. In fact, had he tazed her in any other way, he probably still would be facing a lawsuit. If the girl survives the surgery without any serious consequences, her lack of judgement isn't likely to change anytime soon, especially if the parents sue.

Tucumcari Police Chief Placed On Leave After Taser Incident

TUCUMCARI, N.M. -- Tucumcari's police chief has been placed on paid administrative leave after a Taser incident last week involving a teenage girl

Tucumcari City Manager Bobbye Rose said the move to place police Chief Roger Hatcher on administrative leave was by "mutual agreement."

Hatcher said he shot Taser darts at the 14-year-old girl on Thursday during a domestic dispute between the girl and her mother.

Stacy Akin said she and her daughter, Kailee Martinez, were arguing over a cell phone Thursday and she drove her daughter to the Tucumcari Police Department to seek help.

While in front of police headquarters, Martinez ran off and was later found at a park by Hatcher. Hatcher said when he tried to talk to Martinez she ran into traffic without looking.

Hatcher said he used the stun gun because he didn't know where Martinez might go and he had to stop her.

14 YO Kailee Martinez shows off results of her encounter with Hatcher