Deseret News | Reader comments: 14-year-old boy Tasered by Salt Lake police

Reader comments
SLC cops Taser 14-year-old boy

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Support our Officers | 10:24 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Good for him.

Poor Little Kid | 10:26 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Before anyone tries the "Poor, defenseless little kid" argument, I'll just volunteer that not all 14-year-olds are small and helpless. I was a big dude at that age, as were several of my friends, and I could certainly understand an officer electing to use a painful-but-harmless taser to avoid what may otherwise be a messy altercation. I'll wait for the facts.

Anonymous | 10:25 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Serves the brat right!

Comments continue below

Old Port | 10:25 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

He fought the law and the law won!

glad to hear it | 10:32 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

stupid punk thinks he has a right to do whatever he wants.
maybe more will get the message and act appropriately in public ... but I doubt it.

Dependent | 10:34 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Cops don't know how to subdue combative people any more without reaching for the Taser. Funny how they managed to do the job for a hundred years without them.

Sheesh | 10:39 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Maybe a spank when he was a little younger would have prevented the tazing?

Good deal | 10:40 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

So the cops and the kid were unharmed, and the other patrons of the mall were able to get back to their shopping without having to worry about unattended and threatening punks. Perfect outcome.

Bullying has bad consequences | 10:47 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

In this particular case (in contrast to other previous cases that made the news) the use of the taser was necessary.

We all know impulsive teenagers tend to act as if there were no consequences for their bad behavior, or that they have the right to such bad behavior.

Our society has a huge problem with bullying. I am glad this youngster got what he deserved.

Anonymous | 10:48 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Dear Dependent
The taser works well, because it is quick easy, and usually harmless.
Fists flying and batons and/or guns, that does some permanent damage. I'm glad the taser has become a first choice for combative people.

re Dependent | 10:51 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Would you have rather the cops got into a fist fight with the boy? The taser worked great, from what the article states, and nobody got hurt any more that they deserved.

ron4 | 10:57 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

MAYBEE THE OFFICER SHOULD DO THE SAME THING TO THE KIDS PARENTS, THEN BOTH PARENTS AND KID WILL FINALY LEARN

bbart76 | 10:55 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

WOW! A cop cannot handle a 14 year old? I don't care how big the kid is, any cop should be able to handle a 14 year old without a taser! Especially an unarmed teenager. This gives me serious concerns over how well trained our police our and these are the people who are to protect me? Don't let the media or the police fool you, taser are no safer then batons or fist.

Gus | 10:56 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

I can see how this would be a difficult situation for a police officer. If a 14 year old is refusing to leave a building, but not really putting anyone's life in danger, what does the officer do? He can't pull a gun on the kid. I guess he could arrest the kid for not obeying the officer's orders, but that would almost be more work than it's worth. The taser sounds like a good solution in this case.

Tired of police abusing power... | 11:05 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

So does that mean if my teenagers get mouthy with me I should be able to tazer them?? Have there been studies as to the possible long term neuro affects in a still developing child?? I understand cops have a tough job but many are quick to jump to enforce their "power" if that was my kid I would file a complaint!!

Phil | 11:03 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

"aggressive stance", what does that mean? What next an "aggressive eye position"

Re: Dependent | 11:05 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Yeah, police got by for a hundred years by whacking people with batons or just punching them in the kisser. Which would you rather have: a good ol' fashioned beatdown or a few seconds of a taser?

Bob | 11:06 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Dear Dependent,
The taster is way less damaging than any other methods used to sub-due a combative person. The pain is intense during the actual shock but after, no pain, no burses,bumps, or dislocated joints. That kid should be thankful. If he is not going to comply to a uniformed officer he could have gotten worse. Good work officer!

Mike | 11:07 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Good for the cop. More kids should be tasered. I hope the parents are embarrassed their kid caused such a problem, but I doubt it. They are probably more worried about consulting their lawyer today and preparing a lawsuit against the SLCPD.

old times | 11:11 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Maybe we should allow parents to disipline kids. I read to many articles on social services getting involved. We can not have it both ways, society is headed in a direction that allows government to make decissons but not parents.

I agree the officer did the right thing here, but when I was young, the fear of facing my parents was greater than the fear of the police. I do not feel kids are worried about parents, maybeit's time for the old wood shed to be used again.

Citizen | 11:10 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

I say that cops have the right to taze anyone not complying. It's a non-lethal option. As to the previous post about how did they do it years ago? They would have beaten this kid silly. Too bad they still can't :(

Rob O | 11:15 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

It is not poltical correct for an officer or any adult to take sn offensive stance against a kid thanks to clinton an his stupid stance against adults. You voted for him twice and now you got something probable even worse.

Gordon | 11:17 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Nice call bbart76...not.Have you been in law enforcement? Do you know what goes on out on the street? Most likely not, so don't judge what you don't know.

Anonymous | 11:20 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

i think parents should be blamed to for not keeping a lesh on there kids. todays kids are becoming brats.

~BOB~ | 11:18 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

WOW!!! good job cops... pretty soon they wont even have to think.. they can just shoot and fix things.. an "aggressive stance"? i bet that little kid learned his lesson.. DT should help right? i mean throw him with a group of kids his age who hate police.. where is this going? his parents should teach him to have better posture/stance during confrontations...

Anonymous | 11:21 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

I think it is rather funny that a 14 year old was tasered. Whats scary is that the kid was confronting the police, he wasn't even afraid.

AngieMom | 11:27 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

My opinion is that if the officer was not physically touched then the boy should not have been tasered. Showing aggressive behavior and actually getting physical are two different things. Come on were talking about an adult man and a 14 year old.

moosoo | 11:26 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

If the kid did not follow the officer's order. The cop have the right to tasered the boy, and putted the boy in jail. If the did don't listen to their parents, If parents taser the kid, then the parents go to jail for child abuse, This is our freedom country. Cops love to use their toys. They should sent to Irag for training before sent them out on duty.

Anonymous | 11:34 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

In a 3rd world country the boy would have have just been shot. Taser the mouthy little teenager to put him in his place. his parents probably have no control over him, if they did he would probably have a little respect for his elders let alone an officer.

Mr. Dave | 11:37 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

RE: AngieMom

Pull your head out! What should the officer do? Wait until he is shot? Then people like you would say the cop had a stun gun why didn't he use it!

I hope | 11:35 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

That this wasn't the boy who was getting bullied.

Still, he didn't comply with a lawful order. The cop did the right thing.

Carlo Caroli | 11:36 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

To taser a minor, should be against any civilized law.
If the minor had a weapon, then it would have been ok to use any kind of force to protect lives. Unfortunately, some police officers, think too much of themselves. Laws, should be put in place against cases like these. You cannot, in all honesty taser a child. Granted, many of today kids lack a certain degree of politeness and education, likely due to broken families or lack of a strong father figure. Whatever the case, we cannot allow the police force to taser children.

RE: AngieMom | 11:40 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

AngieMom, do you watch the news or read the news papers? people are getting shot by kids much younger than 14. I think it is time to put these young punks in their place, if his parents don't do it some one should.

Re: AngieMom | 11:40 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Yeah, and maybe they should have bought the kid an ice cream cone, and brought in a child psychologist to sit down with him and try to figure out how, despite that fact that absolutely none of this was his fault, he somehow ended up right in the middle of all this mess.

And then, in order to make sure this never happens again, maybe they could buy him a pony, and the cops could all sit back, pat each other on the back and watch the sunset, while whistling a happy tune...

AH | 11:48 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

The worst thing a parent can do is defend or make excuses for their Child's bad behavior, or think " My child would never do anything like this" because it will come back and bite you in the rear! Most teenagers today have no respect for anything or anyone! You reap what you sow! It sounds like the parents of this teenager didn't sow very well! In my opinion Combative behavior is when one chooses to be out of control! Out of control means cannot be contained in one position or area! So I'm sure the it was in the best of interest to gain control without deadly force! Kudos to the officers!

Bayou Vol | 11:51 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Don't Taze me Bro!

Re: AngieMom | 11:49 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

This is a tough thing to judge. I have several cousins who are over 6'5" and pretty close to 300 pounds at 14 years old, and what about the chances of a concealed weapon on some of these teenagers these days no matter how big the kid is. No one would ever know and why take a chance? I would rather be tasered than be shot if I'm out of line, lose my cool and combative out there in the public. It is better to comply and sort things out when dealing with Law Enforcement.

johnny boy | 11:49 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

ouch, why oh why did that officer have to taze me? I think i might have some harmful long term nueron effects. I am just a little punk a kid, i dont deserve that kind of treatment.

Age and size | 11:54 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Ones age and size are two differant things, my brother in-law at age 14 was 6'2" and over 200 pounds, as big, if not bigger as most adults. My wife used to work with kids ages 12- 18 and alot of them were just as big if not bigger than you or me. now I dont know how big this kid was, but just because he is only 14 dont mean he couldnt have been a threat to someone. as a parent I think i would rather see a kid tasered than being busted up by a baton

This disgusts me!! | 12:04 p.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Not the tazering, but the attitude of some posters. I always told my kids if they get in trouble with the law, not to call me as I would do nothing and let them sit in jail until they went to court. I've never had a problem with my kids as I taught them to respect people, as well as themselves. I work in law enforcement, and I can't count the number of times with these punks that the parents ask me what I'm going to do to get them straightened up. They want them scared into behaving. Discipline is something that should have started before the kid could walk. Yeah, if it was my kid and they squared off against an officer and was tazed, my comment would be "you got what you deserved, live with it and next time maybe you'll know better".

These kids have a mob mentality. Individually you can deal with them, in a group, one starts in, the others join. If the officer would have used physical force to take him down, you can bet the rest of the kids would have gone after the cop.

It was handled appropriately, and efficiently.

Not sure about this one | 12:12 p.m. Jan. 12, 2009

I think a lot of kids have seen all the postings on you tube where police officers have clearly violated civil rights and in that, undo any sort of respect factor that may have been there. The kid definitely needed to be restrained, but aren't the officers trained to use words to deescalate situations rather than force? If the kid did not get physical and was mouthing off, why did the officer have to use force? I would like to know what the "aggressive stance" was exactly...was it swearing at them or was true physical violence?

Tazer not all bad | 12:16 p.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Dependent | 10:34 a.m. thinks cops nowdays don't know how to take down a combative person. I think he needs to realise that there are just "better" ways to do it today than with a stick or a gun. Especially when the combative person is a kid, how bad is that going to look to the public when they see a grown man using physical force on a 14 year old?

Usually people suffer more injuries when a cop has to use physical force to restrain them than when the tazer is used. Even a simple takedown on the asphalt causes a lot of painfull scratches and scrapes (to both people).

We should not be so quick to assume ANY use of a tazer is bad.

Some people just get-off on confrontation and love to get physical. The police don't need to feed into these people's desire for a physical confrontation. They can choose to bring the situation to an end without the hand to hand, lets see who's the toughest, type confrontation.

ben tazed | 12:18 p.m. Jan. 12, 2009

You would think that these"highly trained police offecers" could handle taking a 14 year old boy into custody with out tazing him!! So eather the officers are whimps or its just fun for cops to taz people.......You do the math on this one!!

jkj | 12:19 p.m. Jan. 12, 2009

i say bring back the time that when someone is disrespecting police officers they should get hit with the "billy club" now days if an officer does anything it means 3 weeks of time off so the powers that be can look over everything and make sure there wasn't anything that the officer did that could poosibly make him lose his job, in this situation i think any criminal or punk kid has the upper hand they know that the officers now a days are terrified to do anything for fear of losing their job. bring back the billy club!

Guayaco | 12:24 p.m. Jan. 12, 2009

The tazer is very effective, but the shotgun launched bean bag is more satifying, both for the officer and spectators(The offender's vote is ignored). Definitely more 'bang' for the buck.

John | 12:26 p.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Let me say this...i am shocked that this only lasted five seconds....if it was me it would of been for 30 seconds just to show the stupid little punk who is in charge...way to go Mr. Man set an example for all the rest of the little punk arse teenagers...just longer next time and i hope the little punk cried like a baby the whole time begging for his mommy....he deserved everything he got...

DCN | 12:34 p.m. Jan. 12, 2009

The reporting is obviously lacking in detail and clarity. Aggressive could be anything from standing with vocal bravado to to swinging an object (how about a shopping bag with an unknown or potentially fatal heavy object inside) to displaying a weapon of some kind. "2 Groups" may mean few small young kids or considerable numbers of one or two gangs, both of which could join together against the security forces. What is obvious is Mom and Dad were not there, monitoring their darling child who has demonstrated he has not learned the proper social behaviors expected in civilized society they have (or should have) taught him. Perhaps he never learned there are other ways to pursue civil rights violations against himself than being non responsive to security and abusive to the point of assault and resisting arrest. Hopefully he and those with him will learn the proper lessons in good citizenship before this ends. And AngieMom, if he and his group had been harassing your child, or yourself why do I suspect you would no longer resent the police Tasering him before he moved from assualt (the threat of violence) to battery. So far, I vote for the cops.

Attention: Parents. | 12:38 p.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Teach your children some respect! Public servants are sick of being paid peanunts for being perfect role models. We ask a kid to comply to a rule and we get sued, we try to use constraint on a kid while he is being a punk and we get sued. As an educator, I am sick and tired of all the parents who are trying to protect little Johnny. Just file a complaint with the ALCU and feel good about yourselves. I applaud the officer who used the taser. I'm waiting for the day public school teachers get theirs.

Retired Teacher | 12:38 p.m. Jan. 12, 2009

I think they should issue one of these to the teachers. That way fewer of them would have to go out and get a conceal carry permit, and wouldn't have to pack at school.

This 14 year old will be less likely to put up his dukes in a challenge to a police officer again. I say well done Mr. Police Officer.

Richard | 12:40 p.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Congratulations to the officers. Great work! Its about time these criminals get the shocking reality to their criminal behavior. Any time one is in a fight, they risk getting hurt. The teenage criminal is not worth the officer getting injured in any way. The Tazer is great. Also, it shows very poor parenting when a criminal thinks he can get away with that behavior. Only a criminal could accept that punks behavior.

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