It has already been pointed out that this cop had NO reason to try to stop this kid. He was not obligated to keep her from running into the road.

All you people who are so ready to blame the parents must have never had the dubious pleasure of dealing with a rebelious teen.
You should be in their position. I'd like to see what you would do.

I'd likely have whacked her a good one across the mouth while snatching the phone out of her hand. Oh, oh, can't do that....its child abuse.
And besides, this girl has seizure problems. Whacking might cause one.
So you see our present PC social situation is partly to blame.

There are a lot of people who call the police on domestic matters.
It is common to threaten rebelious kids with a visit from police also.
It may not be the correct thing to do, but then most people are just not too smart. They are frustrated out of their wits.

I can see the POV that the parent should be able to control the child without getting the police involved but that ain't really the point.The police are supposed to be there to Protect and Serve the public and if a cop cannot keep a child safe from harm then he is unfit to serve on the force IMO.This child would probably have been safer if she had been confronted by an armed robber rather than this Sociopath!

Originally posted by grapesofraft
I dont blame it on the cops, I blame it on the people who lack respect for authority and run from the cops. Her poor decisions and out of control behavior is the reason she got tased. Maybe if she lives, she will wake up with a bit more sense. Kids these days!

Another foolish response....She's 14....14!!!!!!!! They are dealing with a lot of things as they grown into adults. Especially girls at that age. We all know 14 year old girls have trouble making proper decisions at a moments thought. Fight or flight response kicks in and rationality is hard to come by in situations where inexperience is present. Jeez US!!! Are people really this boxed in?

Adults these days!!!

[edit on 9-7-2009 by zxypher]

This is a situation where poor judgment was executed by the more educated and responsible individual in this case. Unfortunately it had to be a POLICE CHIEF. Lets weigh the level of intelligence here. Police Chief vs. 14 year old girl.
Police Chief:
Mid-life; possesses training; schooled in life; has authority and power; experience; being that he is still alive, we can assume he can make proper decisions to survive; being he is a police chief, we can assume he has political prowess and take any situation to benefit him; possesses some level of wisdom; male with typical fear of not having control of his universe.
Girl:
"Pre-life;" learning she is not ready to face adult consequences but refuses to be a child; never had a job; lacks experience interacting with the complexity of the adult world; succumbs to emotional outbursts and irrational thought; unstable and unpredictable in her actions to even herself while under stressful situations; female without control of her universe and strong, overwhelming sense (to the point of suicide/self-destructive behavior) she will one day have to; fantasies derived from when she was a little girl to understanding the reality of it all collide violently; uneducated in LAW and what her rights are (causing her flight or fight response to act irrationally).

I don't know what else to add here, but I know these lists are incomplete. Feel free to include yours as well.

So in your opinion, who really should be held responsible?

I have been in a situation where I ran from the cops, though in looking back, I really didn't need to. It would've been easier on me had I just pulled over, but with my lack of knowing my rights and the law, I found myself reacting in fear all the while my adrenaline clouding my judgment.

Now personally, I dont have a problem with police, however, this is ridiculous! You don't shoot anyone in the head witha taser! Never mind an innocent 14 year old girl. Yea', I know, I know, he didnt mean it. So what? He shouldn't have tasered a 14 YEAR OLD GIRL to begin with. Really, was she that much of a threat.

Oh, and as for the "She was running across the road." Yada yada... That's bullsh*t! Talk about grabbing straws, damn. I have a younger brother and he use to run across the road, nearly got hit a few times, until we told him not to because it's dangerous and so on. We resolved the issue without a taser. I think an informative explanation afterwards would've sufficed, dont you?

Someone in this thread earlier said: "You try aiming while running, see how well you do." Apparently they're aware of the whole situation, hence the comment.

Ok, there're two things wrong with that, I plan to address them here...

Firstly, don't be a dumbass. If you can't aim properly and run, in a safe sensible way, don't! You shouldn't be doing something you're not trained to do, or situations like this occur!

Secondly, she's 14! hell, she still has breast milk around her mouth, she's just a baby. Chances are, if she's running it's out of fear, she's not running to buy a gun to fire back, she's not going to lead you into a gang of warlords and I'm sure as hell, she's not going to take flight.

It kind of has the same principals as a shop/till worker robbery. If someone holds you up, you give them the money because it's not worth your life. The graveyard's full of heroes.

If a girl runs from you and you can't catch her, knowing fully well she's not a threat, let her go and then you can report her location and so on. You've done your job the best you can, given the circumstances, the world needs more people like you. The prison's full of glory hogs.

He would have had a reasonable amount of information about her on his radio, or by mouth from another officer. He had enough knowledge to be able to identify her, whether he saw her run or not, he would have had to been told if she was dangerous. An officer can't possibly chase a guy if they think the guy has a gun or something, you know?

If she was a danger to herself, even though I highly doubt it, police are trained to take a step back. They're taught and expected to do this, regardless of whether or not it's a car chase or on foot. If some kind of danger can come to anybody, while that officer is the instigator, he is fully responsible.

Now, let's hope this officer doesn't get given a gun in the future.
She could die, have brain damage, be paralysed, or maybe she will just have a bad memory and a hell of a headache for a few days. Let's hope it's the latter.

Here's wishing the girl well.
Here's wishing the officer hell.

Reklaw