La Porte, Indiana Prisoner Loses Baby after Being Tasered

by Derek Gilna

In an incident certain to reignite the controversy over the use of Tasers, a pregnant La Porte County jail prisoner was tasered during an altercation with another prisoner which escalated into a fight with a jail deputy. The La Porte County Sheriff Michael Mollenhaurer stated that on November 29, 2012 that the prisoner failed to comply with an order to cease the altercation with the guard, and was tasered.

A medical examination at Indiana University after the altercation indicated that the pregnant prisoner's fetus had not survived. Tasers involve the shooting of electrodes into a party, introducing large amounts of electrical energy, resulting in a loss of control of one’s muscles. It is touted as a "non-lethal" method of subduing prisoners in situation where police or jail guards lose control over an incident or a prisoner. However, the reality of Taser usage is often much different.

The use of Tasers has resulted in death and serious injury on a routine basis, and has been called an "instrument of torture" by a recent United Nations study investigating Portugal's use of a new, more powerful model of a the device. Amnesty International, in a report to the United States Justice Department, called for more restraint in the use of the devices, except as a 'stand-off' weapon where the only other alternative is the use of firearms. They do note, however, that there are many documented reports of death and serious injury when Tasers are used, especially in those instances where it is used multiple times on the same individual, or the individual has a pre-existing medical condition that makes them a likely candidate for seizures or stroke if tasered.

Many other injuries result from the devices being aimed at the head of a prisoner, a situation that can result in serious injury not only from the electrical shock administered, but also from the metal prongs that can become lodged in the skull. Removal of these might require surgery.

Other injuries occur when jail or police personnel use them improperly, and threaten their use in situations where it is unnecessary. As pointed out by many commentators, jail guards and police also have many other non-lethal weapons at their disposal to subdue unruly or uncooperative individuals, including batons, and pepper spray.

Neither the deputy nor the 23-year-old female prisoner were otherwise injured in the altercation, and the prisoner, in jail for a probation violation, has been released from custody. The incident is being investigated by the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau, with the assistance of the La Porte County Coroner and the Indiana State Jail Inspector's Office, and no findings have been released at this time.

See: heraldargus.com/article/2012/12/04/news/local/doc

Subscribe today

Already a subscriber? Login