Guard uses Taser on man holding newborn

It said there was an error and wouldn't let me see it.
But that sounds ridiculous, and I agree with you. Was anything done to the guard? Was the man doing anything wong?

 

Here is the link, Donna:

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa070814_mo_taser.3411d46a.html

 

Thanks!.........

 

Oh good grief, the man and his wife wanted to leave the hospital with THEIR child and get this? And it's treated like nothing, like he did it, when the guard is the one who did it, trying to stop parents from having their own child.

 

stupid guard, stupid hospital policy. I saw this on tv. lost my breakfast.
child was hurt. dad dropped him when he got tasered by a guard who was slightly larger than him and could have restrained him without the taser.

whatever the problem was, the child was THEIR child !!

 

The Taser saved another man's life and you guys are complaining about it? Yay, Taser! Ok, that was sarcasm.

 

With the history of abducted children, this guard would also have been held responsible if the child were being stolen.

Or, if he tackled the man and the baby landed on her head and the man landed on her.

Did the hospital have the right to deny them taking their baby? I didn't see one way or the other in the article. Perhaps the baby was already unresponsive. The family has a history of violence, so the baby could be FAS, crack baby, or whatever.

I see the mother was still in her hospital gown. Was the father trying to snatch the baby? Does he have a history with the police?

Do I feel sorry for the baby? Certainly!

Do I blame the guard? Not without more information will I even remotely blame him, but never will I blame him entirely.

Here locally, in my little town, there was a 10 Most Wanted man who was killed by police. The man shot his own child which he was holding as a shield. Yet people blame the police for actually trying to stop the guy.

 

The security guard in question was likely trained in its use as he was an off-duty police officer. While the taser should be the last resort before using the gun...that is often not how these devices are being used. The guards saw an agitated big guy, they didn't want to risk their own safety so they risked the safety of the baby. As long as the officers came out safely, that's all that really matters and I doubt they will be disciplined to any great degree for their actions.

 

What makes you think that was more dangerous physically attacking the guy?

He would have dropped the baby, then perhaps 2 or 3 grown men might have fallen on her in the process.

Or, as in the example that I gave here locally, he could have used the baby as a weapon.

I just don't think we should pig-pile the cops because someone may have been injured. (he-he, I said "pig-pile" in reference to cops, and it was unintentional originally) How do we know the baby wasn't already injured from FAS or something else? Why was the hospital not releasing her?

 

Sadly, that's the way it is.

Never mind others, "me" first.

 

A guy goes on a rampage and a killing spree, then holes up in an apartment or a gas station or somewhere with a hostage or a hostage, and a negotiator is called in, even if there are no hostages.
The public is told, "we would like to resolve this peacefully with no one getting hurt, if possible".

How come they can't do the same thing for the sake of a small helpless baby ?

They could all just have let them go, and sic the police at them, or delay them and have them arrested.

This guard is an off duty police officer ? Then all the more he should know he should not have used the taser. What. Is he immune to responsibility ? Is the baby collateral damage ?

Like you all said, nobody knows why they want to take the baby, why the hospital won't release the baby, but, until whatever needs to be established is established, it's still their baby.

 

I would be very curious if anyone posting here has been or is a police officer??

If this was an off duty officer and he was properly trained, you have to determine the level of force necessary to take a person into custody especially if they are not responsive. You always are to use the minimal force needed.

I don't know all the facts, but it appears that verbal communication did not work, so you consider other options. Does he put his hands on this person carrying a baby? Does he pull out his expandable baton? To me the taser would be an appropriate use of force if indeed the person was not complying and was removing an infant from a hospital.

Often officers only have split seconds to make a decision that could easily put them in jail. So of course I'm biased because I have been a Deputy Sheriff and a small town police officer.

But just imagine if that was your child being taken out of the hospital. How would you have handled it?

The "pig" comment bugged me, but I've been called worse. Just wanted to give a different perspective.

 

It shouldn't bug you in the sense that it was used. My cop friends would have been proud of the unintentional play on words. They would have even appreciated it if I did it intentionally, since they know I'm not serious.

But, if there was a reason that this man was not permitted to leave with his baby (and it seems there was, since the bracelet wouldn't let the elevators work), to have simply let him go would have presented a great liability to the cop.

 

Any parent has the right to remove their child from a hopsital unless theres a court order not to. This guard not only risked a childs life, andmay have injured a newborn, but got in the way of parental rights.

 

The article said alrams were going off because of the wrist bands on the child which are there to stop children from being abducted. Now the hospital staff refused to let the Parents go and they were in the wrong. But to blame officers when alarms are going off is not reasonable.

The hospital staff acted incorrectly not the officers.

 

The purpose of tazers is not to protect life only. It is also to protect from injury. And in this case from someone fleeing with a child who's parents are in question. The real problem here is the hospital staffs refusal to discharge the child when the parents requested. The officers were just reacting to alarms and an unresponsive man. I see no error in the officers actions and alot of error in the hospital staff.