The woman went to the police department in this Dayton suburb on Nov. 18 to ask officers to take custody of her 1-year-old son, said Michael Etter, Trotwood's public safety director.
I think you would agree this is not normal behavior. I'll grant you, parents can get frustrated with their children, and cops do sometimes get calls asking them to take children away. (These are usually handled pretty easily; most often, the other parent is called, or another family member, to take temporary custody of the child.)
This one, however, is far different. The woman tried to leave the baby with the officer and, when he started asking questions, she picked up the baby and tried to leave. If I were the cop, I would have three questions: Who is she? Where is she going? What does she plan to do when she gets there?
Now, I should tell you, I am a corrections officer at the county jail, and I work security part-time at a couple apartment complexes. It is not unusual to have someone claim they're suicidal. (They're usually hoping to score some drugs from the jail infirmary.)
But this appears real. Women just don't try to give away their baby, then try to leave in a hurry without even identifying themselves. This woman may as well have had "suicidal" tattooed on her forehead.
If I were the cop in question, I would certainly be concerned for the welfare of the woman, the baby, and any other children she may have had. I would have detained her, until it could be determined she is not a danger to herself or others.
As you might imagine, Radley Balko and I have a different outlook on many incidents. (As he freely admits, I have "been there" and he hasn't.) We're trying to get more information about this, but I'm not optimistic we will; the woman's medical records will be private, of course, so we won't know her state of mind.
This is not to say I think this situation was handled as well as it should have been. As i said above, this woman probably should have been taken to the hospital emergency room, rather than the jail. Was it really necessary to taser her? I don't know yet but, based on my experience, the cop was right in using whatever force was necessary to detain her. He may very well have saved her life, or the life of another, by doing so.
