Michigan Deputies Use TASER on Texas Man Holding Baby as a Shield
Posted by Hilary Gibeaut
It amazes me how little coverage there is of life saving incidents that involve TASER® devices. However, today I spotted an article from last weekend I wanted to share with you. I think it is important to highlight the ones that do make the media coverage.
In Bay County, Michigan, sheriff’s deputies were dispatched in the early morning hours on Friday, August 7, 2009 to a retail fraud complaint. When the deputies arrived they found a Texas man sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle holding his 5-month old niece. According to reports, the man was obviously distraught as he gave a false name, used the baby as a shield and even stated that he would, “…kill this baby, I will break its neck.” The deputies tried several failed attempts to remove the baby safely from the man. Finally, a TASER device was deployed, allowing the police officers to recover the unharmed infant and return her safely to her family.
Deputies later learned that this man was wanted in Texas for several crimes, including parole violation, and he was also wanted for numerous crimes in counties throughout Michigan. Who’s to say what would have happened if the TASER device wasn’t used, but we can at least state that everyone involved wasn’t hurt and the infant is now at home safe with her family and the bad guy is sitting in a jail cell facing felony charges.
# Christa M. Miller wrote on 8/12/2009 10:59 am:
Thanks Hilary. My thinking is that many people may misunderstand your point about electricity… they may think “lightning” which of course DOES jump from person to person if they’re close enough to each other. The principle is the same – electricity seeking a path to the ground – but some may not realize that the second probe serves as the “ground.”
Thanks too for your point about accuracy and the laser sighting! Again, not something many people probably think about even if they have seen video…
# Hilary Gibeaut wrote on 8/12/2009 8:18 am:
Christa, thank you for your concerns and questions. Basically electricity is lazy, so if both probes are in one subject the electricity is going to find the shortest route to each probe. Electricity doesn’t jump from one person to another. People are able to still physically touch a person if they are being hit with a TASER® device. If you note our most recent TASER® X3™ video in which three employees were hit simultaneously, all three volunteers were held up and none were “shocked” or exposed to the TASER electrical waves.
As for training, officers go through extensive training and have field experience. I’m not really sure how the baby was held in this situation, so I can’t go into specifics, but if the baby was held to one side of the person the other side would have been open for target. Keep in mind that the probes are very accurate and that there is a laser sight to help in the aiming features as well.
# Christa M. Miller wrote on 8/11/2009 1:18 pm:
Hilary, I love that you’re spotlighting the non-controversies of TASER products! As a mom, though, I’m wondering: 1) How does the technology work so that the electric pulses don’t jump from warm body to warm body? And 2) How does training work to ensure that the target is hit — not a tiny baby held so close to center mass? (In other words how is it possible to aim the TASER so that both barbs hit the target, rather than one striking the baby?)