9th Circuit Okays Use of Taser on Pregnant Woman
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today said it's okay for police to taser a woman who is 7 months pregnant three times because she refused to sign a traffic ticket.
Here's the opinion (pdf). First the facts, as outlined in the dissent:
Malaika Brooks, a pregnant mother, as she was driving her son to school one day: Two, soon three, police officers surrounded her. The officers thought she was speeding in a school zone; she says she was not. Brooks provided her identification when asked, so there was no doubt who she was or where to find her. The officers wrote her a ticket but she refused to sign it. Refusing to sign a speeding ticket was at the time a nonarrestable misdemeanor;now, in Washington, it is not even that. Brooks had no weapons and had not harmed or threatened to harm a soul.
Although she had told the officers she was seven months pregnant, they proceeded to use a Taser on her, not once but three times, causing her to scream with pain and leaving burn marks and permanent scars.
What the majority said: [More...]
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