The officer tased the girl after the girl tried to assault the SRO officer. The freshman was disrespecting the officer and would not respond to the woman's questions. As a bystander to the situation, I thought the girl had weed on her, which would explain the aversion she had to talking to the cop. However, reports by the Washington Post, as well as local ABC and NBC stations said that no drugs were found. Still, the officer started to take the girls hands behind her back as if she was going to arrest the girl. The student then flipped out and started trying to punch the officer. At this point, the security guard who was there started screaming at the girl to get on the ground because she knew the SRO might tase her. The girl did not stop however, and the officer pulled out her stun gun and tased the girl more than once. Once other students heard the commotion, they came pouring out of the school, phones out. Blairs security team then went around telling people to turn off their videos rather than focusing on the girl lying on the ground.
This is the main reason I believe that SRO's and cops do not have a place in schools. They create unnecessary tensions and escalate situations. I understand the fear that Newtown has placed fear in the administration, but many times, SRO's end up criminalizing students, rather than intruders. In the heat of the moment, such as this unfortunate event, actions can be taken that could have been prevented. A freshman girl could have been restrained by a grown cop, even if she was a woman. However, this SRO reached for her taser quickly as soon as she felt her security was threatened. The SRO was not in the legal wrong, but morally, I think the use of a stun gun on high schooler in school is questionable. What would have been a rutine security stop turned into an unfortunate event, and a young girl in the hospital.
This is a photo from the scene.
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