Middletown, CT Patch – by Cassandra Day
OUTSIDE HARTFORD, CT — A city student was subdued Wednesday morning with a Taser by Middletown Police outside Woodrow Wilson Middle School.
Middletown Police student resource and patrol officers “were called to the school today to assist the staff,” according to Lt. Heather Desmond.
“When officers arrived, the student was uncooperative and combative. The officers tried to take the student into custody and during the arrest, the student was “drive” stunned one time with a Taser. The student was then compliant with officer’s directions and the arrest continued without further incident.”
No one was injured, Desmond said and declined to give out more details due to the student’s age.
Charles confirmed the incident took place at about 9:30 a.m. at the Middletown school that serves seventh- and eighth-graders, but was unable to provide much more information. Charles declined to provide the student’s age, sex or grade.
The school, on Hunting Hill Drive, was never on lockdown, Charles said, as the incident was resolved in less than an hour.
“The staff took appropriate action but it became necessary to enlist the police and the police took the action that they felt was necessary based on the circumstances. At no point was the safety of our students or any staff member at Woodrow Wilson compromised,” Charles said.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our kids and that will remain
Drive stunned, Desmond said, “is a more localized shock where using the prongs and shooting the probes into someone tends to be felt throughout the body, depending on where the probes enter.”
The last such known use of a stun gun on a Middletown student took place in September 2010, when police used an electronic pain device on Tanya Jackson’s then-17-year-old son.
Jackson and her then-minor son, known only by the initials Z.J., have brought a suit against the city which is expected to begin this summer.
The lawsuit has 10 specific counts, or allegations against the city, including assault and battery, false arrest and imprisonment and inflicting emotional distress on her son. The lawsuit also accuses the school district of violating the teenager’s constitutional rights, including his right to due process, by not properly training the police who worked at the high school as “resource officers.”
The officers could not restrain a MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT without using a taser. They should be fired.
Remember when that f#@king taser (a potentially deadly weapon) was to be employed ONLY as a non-lethal alternative when the use of a FIREARM would be justified by the circumstances?
Remember THAT “assurance?”
sj
How come the police get a taser gun and all I can buy is just a small shock taser where I have to physically get close enough to touch someone to use it? How come they always have better toys than WE THE PEOPLE DO? I thought we were all created equal.
According to the second amendment, whatever the police or military have, I SHOULD have. I want a taser gun so I can zap it right back at them. It’ll be like “taser tag”, only more shocking. lol
Oh well, welcome to police state Neo-Connecticut. They just break out the taser because they are too lazy to restrain someone themselves. All of those cops train and workout to get better muscles, yet they don’t even know how to use them. Even the muscles in their brains.