Miami educator to police: Don't use stun guns on elementary kids
"Certain tactics should never be used in dealing with young children," the superintendent writes to police.
By Associated Press
Published November 21, 2004
MIAMI - The head of Miami-Dade Schools has asked the county's police chief to ensure that stun guns are not ever again used against elementary school children.
In a letter released Friday, superintendent Rudy Crew told Miami-Dade Police Director Bobby Parker that "certain tactics should never be used in dealing with young children - particularly within a school."
The letter was released the same day Parker defended the use of the 50,000-volt stun gun on a 6-year-old boy in a school office, saying the child had cut himself twice with glass and was threatening to harm himself further.
Parker did acknowledge the use of a stun gun on a 12-year-old girl, who was fleeing officers because she was allegedly drunk and skipping school, was questionable.
In the letter, Crew went on to ask that the department "consider the Taser only as a nonlethal last resort when dealing with students of any age on Miami-Dade County campuses."
Miami-Dade police officials did not return a phone call Saturday seeking comment.
At a Friday news conference, Parker said officials are reviewing their policy on stun gun use but that until the review is complete, officers will be allowed to keep using the stun guns.
The boy was treated and hospitalized for psychiatric observation for five days after the Oct. 20 incident. The girl was checked by a doctor after she was shocked Nov. 5.
That officer voluntarily gave up his Taser shortly after the girl was zapped, police spokesman Pete Andreu said.
The boy's mother has retained a lawyer who says he will do a preliminary investigation into the incident before deciding whether to sue the department.
