Pennsylvania cops Taser handcuffed 14-year-old in the face 'for his safety'
A mother in Pennsylvania is threatening to sue after officers shocked her 14-year-old son in the face with a Taser while he was handcuffed.
Mother Marissa Sargeant showed WCAU graphic photos of what the boy's face looked like after he was arrested with an older relative for retail theft at a local Walmart.
"What he did was wrong," she admitted. "He was coerced by a 19-year-old. He does know better."
According to Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler, Tullytown officers fired a Taser and hit the boy in the face when he escaped from their police cruiser and began to flee. The district attorney asserted that the 14-year-old was not able to stop his face from hitting the pavement because he was handcuffed, causing the bruising seen in the photos.
Heckler said that the officers were forced to use the Taser on the child because they were "fearing for his safety," WCAU reported.
But Sargeant doesn't buy that story.
"That doesn't sound right. There's no way, if he was running from behind, that he would get hit with a taser in the front of his face," she observed.
She speculated that officers beat her son and then frightened him into not telling.
"I just want some justice. I even pray for the police officers because they need help," Sargeant said.
The family has hired Center City attorney Fortunato Perri Jr., who plans to file a complaint against the Tullytown Police Department.
"We intend to develop the facts and circumstances a bit further," Perri remarked. "But just simply with the nature of the injuries that occurred in this case, I think it's clear that the police used excessive force. That's what we're investigating at this point."
Watch this video from WCAU, broadcast Nov. 19, 2013.
(h/t: Techdirt)