# Cop uses taser on handcuffed 9 yr old girl **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 28, 2004, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449 "2004-05-28T01:04:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/1 "2004-05-28T01:04:39Z")
> [@](#): > > A veteran South Tucson police sergeant is under investigation for firing his stun gun to subdue a handcuffed 9-year-old girl. > > At the request of Chief Sixto Molina, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department is trying to determine if the sergeant committed a crime when he sent a jolt through the child’s body. [http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/metro/23436.php](http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/metro/23436.php) Will it ever end? A 9 yr old girl? Handcuffed? She must have been one scary 9 yr old. People called these kind of cops pigs. Deservedly so. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/2 "2004-05-28T01:13:41Z")
Jeez, **Reeder**. Doesn’t your coffee spill every time your knee jerks like that? If you want to question why she was tasered, fine. But handcuffs? You betcha you handcuff the little darling. Nine-year-olds can kill, or haven’t you been paying attention the last 40 years or so? If they are in custody, you cuff them. Period. Especially if they are troublesome, as this one obviously was, or the cops wouldn’t have been called in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/3 "2004-05-28T01:16:01Z")
Idiot. The rant is about tasering a handcuffed 9 year old. You can’t read? ---
**Author:** ![Heloise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e36b37/32.png) [@Heloise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heloise)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/4 "2004-05-28T01:19:36Z")
Yeah, I heard about that on the news last night. Apparently, the girl was out of control, trying to kick the back window out, screaming and fighting and struggling with the cops. Not that that excuses tasering a 9 year old, but the cop would have probably been in a heap more trouble if he put the girl over his knee and spanked her, like Mom suggested. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/5 "2004-05-28T01:20:52Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Nine-year-olds can kill, or haven’t you been paying attention the last 40 years or so? I’m sorry, I must have missed the 9yo-cop-killer epidemic. Please refresh my memory. :rolleyes: And whatever weasling that cop does now, you just _know_ that at the time, all he was thinking was “this’ll teach her a lesson” ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/6 "2004-05-28T01:21:17Z")
The story (thanks for the link) was pretty sketchy. But it is hard to imagine how a grown man with police training would have to use a taser on _any_ already handcuffed suspect, let alone a nine-year-old girl. What got me is that the sonofabitch is still on duty! I guess a 25-person department doesn’t get it’s pick of the best personnel, but it looks like this one recruited from “special needs” troops. I have to say I think most cops would be as pissed at this sergeant as you and I are. They’re not all pigs. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/7 "2004-05-28T01:21:35Z")
Well the article you linked said the original officer at the scene specifically asked another officer to come with a taser so she indeed must have been a scary little girl. My Mom worked with special needs children. She has scars on both arms from teeth and fingernails. I think I’ll wait for more info before I come to a firm judgment. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/8 "2004-05-28T01:23:14Z")
Ya, **Reeder** , I can read. You are still a knee-jerk jerk. Rather than wait for the full story, you jump on the cops based on one sparse news item. For all you know, she could have been pulling a knife from her pants, or had her teeth bone-deep into a cops arm. But no, the cops are always wrong in **Reeder’s World.** ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/9 "2004-05-28T01:26:24Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Ya, **Reeder** , I can read. You are still a knee-jerk jerk. Rather than wait for the full story, you jump on the cops based on one sparse news item. For all you know, she could have been pulling a knife from her pants, or had her teeth bone-deep into a cops arm. But no, the cops are always wrong in **Reeder’s World.** I’m sorry…but when there are two full grown police officers vs one 9 year old girl who’s in handcuffs and they resort to a taser…yes they are wrong. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/10 "2004-05-28T01:27:08Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > I’m sorry, I must have missed the 9yo-cop-killer epidemic. Please refresh my memory. :rolleyes: > And whatever weasling that cop does now, you just _know_ that at the time, all he was thinking was “this’ll teach her a lesson” You’re a mind-reader, too? Is there no \*end \* to your talents? In all likelihood, the cop over-reacted. But you _don’t know that._ You just assume cop=wrong. As for 9 year olds killing, look in any big city newspaper. Not an epidemic, but they certainly are not automatically harmless. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/11 "2004-05-28T01:27:14Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > For all you know, she could have been pulling a knife from her pants,… Errrr…“HANDCUFFED”!!! ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/12 "2004-05-28T01:27:23Z")
Simply Put. There. Is. No. Excuse. None. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/13 "2004-05-28T01:28:46Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > As for 9 year olds killing, look in any big city newspaper. Double- :rolleyes: I read big-people newspapers every day. Can you give a single example of a 9-year-old ever killing a policeman? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/14 "2004-05-28T01:31:03Z")
> [@Darkhold](#): > > Well the article you linked said the original officer at the scene specifically asked another officer to come with a taser so she indeed must have been a scary little girl. My Mom worked with special needs children. She has scars on both arms from teeth and fingernails. > > I think I’ll wait for more info before I come to a firm judgment. I agree. The article says the department is frequently called there. There may be more here than is represented in this story. It \*may \* be as heinous as has been suggested. Then again, it may not be. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/15 "2004-05-28T01:33:36Z")
> [@](#): > > You just assume cop=wrong. And you know this how? You are a fucking idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/16 "2004-05-28T01:35:14Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Double- :rolleyes: > > I read big-people newspapers every day. Can you give a single example of a 9-year-old ever killing a policeman? What about that episode of “The X-Files” with the little girl who hurled that cop out of a window using the awesome power of her mind? I mean, she was possessed, but still … ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/17 "2004-05-28T01:36:18Z")
I’ll side with those choosing to wait for the complete facts. I’ve seen relatively small adults (90 pounds) in cuffs and manacles clamp their teeth on someone’s arm, or get their hands in someone’s face (or gonads) to gouge eyes (or gonads!). The damage they can do in a second or two is _enormous_. A taser is a good way to halt that sort of behavior **fast** with a minimum risk to both the out-of-control person and their victim. QtM, MD to miscreants ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/18 "2004-05-28T01:42:30Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > minimum risk Have tasers ever been tested on children? I doubt it, so we’re actually talking about an _unknown_ risk. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/19 "2004-05-28T01:44:10Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > You just assume cop=wrong. Unlike you, **silenus** , who would give the cop the benefit of the doubt even if he whipped out his Glock and pumped 5 rounds into the scary little girl. Why, yes, as a matter fact, I _do_ know what you are thinking… ---
**Author:** ![passengerpigeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58f4c7/32.png) [@passengerpigeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/passengerpigeon)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449/20 "2004-05-28T01:45:17Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > And you know this how? > > You are a fucking idiot. You’re kidding, right? **GorillaMan** says “that cop was thinking blah blah blah.” **Silenus** says “you’re just assuming that.” You say “how do you know, stupid?” I mean, you’re kidding, right? Right? –p [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-uses-taser-on-handcuffed-9-yr-old-girl/247449.md?page=2)