Mom Sues After 8-Year-Old Tased: City Sued After Cops Use Taser On Child

A mom sued after her 8-year-old daughter was tased by police in a story that is causing some major debates this weekend. This incident happened when a babysitter called 911 after the child grabbed a knife — evidently the girl threatened to harm herself. When police arrived, however, things escalated quickly.

“Within seconds. The force of the electricity shot through her body, lifted her, and threw her against a wall. After the officers had stunned (the girl) into high voltage submission, they pulled the fish-hook like Taser darts from her chest, gave her emergency medical attention, bandaged the holes left by the razor-sharp hooks, and called the ambulance.”

According to CNN, the girl’s mother, Dawn Stenstrom, is suing the city of Pierre, South Dakota, its former police chief, Robert Grandpre, and four police officers who were at the scene back in October 2013.

The mom who is suing after her 8-year-old was tased says that the officers who responded to the call used unnecessary, excessive force, harming her young daughter. The defendants have responded to the lawsuit, and the police feel as though their actions actually saved the girl’s life.

Wendy Kloeppner, the Hughes County state’s attorney, released a statement on the case.

“Given the circumstances facing the officer at the time, it appears from the report that deploying a Taser was the best viable way to defuse the situation.”

Naturally, Dawn Stenstrom doesn’t agree. Her lawyer says that four officers should have been able to handle the situation differently. Attorney Dana Hanna said that there were other ways to deal with the situation, and those tactics should have been used before the painful tasering.

“Four trained police officers surrounding a 70-pound, 8-year-old Indian girl… One distracts her, another grabs the girl’s arm. That’s what they should have done, She had a kitchen paring knife, but hadn’t cut. She was a kid throwing a tantrum. They should have made an attempt to grab the kid, not use a weapon to throw her into a wall. A Taser’s not meant to kill, but it does kill. Many people have died after being hit by a Taser by cops. It never should be used on a little child. She certainly wasn’t presenting a danger to officers.”

The mom sues after 8-year-old tased story has caused quite the debate online. As you can see by the comments left on the site Click On Detroit, some people believe that the police did what they had to do in the given situation. Other people feel as though the police shouldn’t have handled the situation the way that they did.

It’s hard to formulate a strong opinion without knowing whether or not the girl was actually threatening to cut herself… but philosophically, there is a sort of unspoken rule that says that the duty to save lives goes beyond someone performing surgery on a patient with gunshot wounds or using a defibrillator on someone whose heart has stopped beating.

For instance, if a person decides that they don’t want to live anymore, and they unsuccessfully try to kill themselves, a paramedic or a doctor still must save them. The same thing goes for people wearing seat belts. While you may feel that it’s your right to not wear a seat belt in a car, there is a greater power that chooses to protect your life, even if you don’t feel the need (hence, why there are actual seat belt laws in many states).

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, some believe that laws against texting and driving violate due process. However, the greater good has a responsibility to keep you safe — and others safe — even if you don’t feel the need.

The mom suing after her 8-year-old was tasered may have a case… but she may not. What are your thoughts on the matter?

[Photo courtesy of Wikipedia]