A pregnant woman was tased by police in Illinois in a Best Buy parking lot and series of events leading up to the incident has the public both outraged and is sparking up an interesting question: Where should police protocol stop and moral codes begin?
The Huffington Post reports:
According to an arrest report filed by Springfield, Ill., police, Lucinda White, who is eight months pregnant, called police after getting into a fender-bender in the parking lot on March 30. The driver of the other vehicle was questioned by police, and White’s boyfriend, Frederic Thomas, became upset after he denied there was damage.
This is where things get tricky. Lucinda’s boyfriend began yelling at the other driver until the police warned him that if he didn’t calm down he would be arrested.
After repeated warnings, Thomas continued his behavior and when the officer tried to arrest him, a short scuffle ensued.
The Huffington Post continues:
In a cell phone video of the incident posted to YouTube March 31, White can be seen in close proximity to officer Kuhn and Thomas as they struggle between parked cars. One officer, identified as “Higginson” in Kuhn’s report, runs up and uses a Taser on Thomas. White protests verbally and then resists as Higginson tries to arrest her. He then appears to deploy a Taser on the woman.
Needless to say, many people who were watching the video were furious with the officer’s decision to use a Taser on a pregnant woman; however, the police department insists that Higginson followed proper protocol.
“The video actually mirrored the reports that they turned in before we even know about the video… They followed policy,” the deputy chief for the Springfield police told WCIS.
They may have followed policy but at what point do you, as an officer of the law, decide that maybe you shouldn’t use a taser on a woman who is pregnant.
When you watch the video, you also see that the woman wasn’t fighting with the officer to be disrespectful. She simply told the officer she couldn’t get down on the ground because she is pregnant. That’s when he grabs her, slings her to the ground and hits her with the taser.
While those actions may follow “policy” on paper, when you see the brutal treatment of the woman on tape it changes everything.
Officers are instructed to use necessary force when making arrests. If he had the strength to throw her unto the ground, her certainly had the strength to make the arrest without a Taser.
The police department is standing firm by their officers for now, but the deputy chief did reveal that they were still investigating into the matter.
You can watch the video below and see how you feel about the way the police handled what should have been a simple vehicle damage call:
