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Taylor Karras was reported missing by his mother yesterday, after running away from a Westminster social services facility where he was receiving therapy for autism.
Around 9:30 p.m., the 15-year-old boy was found just a block from his North Tustin home. Orange County Sheriff's deputies spotted Karras pushing a shopping cart in the street, chased him on foot, Tasered him once, and handcuffed him.
Only when a passing neighbor recognized Karras did the authorities realize he had been reported missing nearly ten hours earlier and that he had a disability.
Taylor Karras's mother, Doris, said she saw the entire incident and felt the police action was excessive. "He had been stopping at bus stops and reading the maps to find his way home," she said.
OC Sheriff Lt. Hal Brotheim claimed that Karras took off running through traffic when the deputies approached him. Traffic in unincorporated North Tustin at 9:30 p.m. on a Monday night.
Photo by Willie Stark via flickr.
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Yes, it is important that sheriffs taser anybody who runs from them. Otherwise the terrists win.
There needs to be a lot more education for law enforcement as to how to recognize and deal with various disabilities. Autistic and developmentally delayed adults, and even people with CP often go far too long without being identified, and are mishandled by the system.
Mental illness is also a disability. Although I understand some people with certain mental illnesses can pose a danger, they also need to be be approached differently than your "average" dangerous person.
At least they have stopped shooting deaf people for ignoring their commands to "halt".
What is with that? Do they train at all? That is just so very very wrong. The poor kid.
this is just another in a long long line of disgraceful acts by orange county law enforcement. at least no one got shot.
the worst part is that no law enforcement officer has ever been charged with a felony for an act that occurred while on duty. who will watch the watchers?
I wasn't there and don't know the details, but I have reservations on this one.
1. We don't know whether Karras was in fact endangering himself or others. Perhaps he did run through traffic. It doesn't matter if traffic is light, it only takes one car to kill a kid.
2. People with autism aren't disabled in any obvious way. You can't look at them and know. The cops had no way of knowing about Karras' condition.
3. Aside from a few well-publicised exceptions, tasers are safe for most people. Painful as hell, but safe. It's better than a bullet, anyway.
I'm not saying that tasers haven't been a HUGE problem for police departments, and that abuse hasn't happened. I'm just not sure this is one of those cases.
Guest 5:
You're right to point out that a taser is a safe alternative to a bullet. But it seems they are used in many situations that you would never consider shooting someone. If multiple deputies are incapable of subduing someone without pulling a gun, they're not doing their job.
Also, in this instance, Karras was reported missing at 11:30 a.m. The story was reported on the evening news and most certainly the local authorities should have been aware of this and on the lookout.
For CBS2, which at least posted an alert on their Web site in the afternoon, the story this morning is "missing boy found alive."
A Taser is a gun. Only in cartoons or videogames would you shoot a kid in the street with a shopping cart just to slow him down. I hope.
I agree that tasers are often used when they shouldn't be, but I don't think from the facts we have that we can say for sure that this was one of those instances.
First ... "If multiple deputies are incapable of subduing someone without pulling a gun, they're not doing their job." I disagree. It is often in the interest of the officers to keep some distance between themselves and an individual, especially on a dark street with an individual who is acting erratically. He may have a concealed weapon.
Second, while Karras had been reported missing that morning, the police didn't necessarily know that this was Karras. This is a large region, and a lot of people live here. A lot of things are going on. I don't think we can assume that the police saw Karras and autmatically said, "Oh, there's that missing autistic kid." It's reasonable to believe they had no idea who it was.
So again, based on what we know, I can't conclude that police were wrong in this instance. This doesn't make them any less wrong in any other instance, as posted in today's other taser post. But in this case, it may well have been justified.
Oh come on, this is much ado about nothing! 50,000 volts is a great way to get the attention of children. Remember the six year old who threw a tantrum in his kindergarten class a while back? A kindly police officer simply shoved the taser bolts into the little kid's neck, pulled the trigger and voila! The kid calmed right down and was able to return to school within the month . . . although he seems to daydream in class now and I guess his eyes are still a bit glassy. Anyway, if that cute little moppet got through it, then a strong 15 year old savant should be able to realize the same benefits right here in Orange County!
Just wait til the big one hits SoCal and the Blackwater Troops converge on Irvine to "restore order". You folks will be longing for the good old days before the streets were choked with the bodies of curfew scofflaws. Tasering kids will seem like . . . well . . . child's play!