Cops Taser Pregnant Woman 3 Times Over Driving Violation
(Mary Fischer) When I heard about three police offers who wound up using a taser on a pregnant woman in
Seattle, my first thought was that the story was some kind of a joke.
Cops tasering a pregnant woman? In some sort of attempt to subdue her?
For real?! You gotta be kidding me.
Apparently these three officers became enraged when they pulled Malaika Brooks over for a moving violation while driving her 11-year-old son to school, and she refused to sign the ticket they
gave her because she didn’t want to admit being guilty when she didn’t
feel she’d done anything wrong. But in the state of Washington, it’s a
crime to refuse to sign a ticket — so they proceeded to arrest her. When
Malaika then refused to get out of her car because she was in her last trimester of pregnancy, the cops must have felt really threatened — because that’s when they tased her on her leg, arm, and neck.
And that’s where this case gets even crazier. Not only was she convicted for not signing the ticket, but after suing the officers because of pain and scars the taser left behind — the circuit court ruled in their favor!
But apparently getting away with using a stun gun on a preggo wasn’t
enough for these guys, because now they’ve appealed their case to the Supreme Court in the hopes of getting a final ruling that they were not in the wrong by tasing Brooks. (Whaaattt?)
Who exactly do these guys think they are? First they use a stun gun
on a woman who was carrying a child in her womb, and then after being
told it was ok, they want additional justification for their actions?
It sounds to me like this has much more to do with these officers’
egos than with whether or not using the taser was right or wrong.
Honestly, were they really that afraid of this woman making a run for it
and getting away from them? I was lucky if I could make it up the
stairs in my house during my last trimester, and there’s definitely no
way I could’ve outrun a cop. Don’t these men realize that by shedding
more light on the incident, they are only making themselves look like a
bunch of wusses?
I guess we can only hope that the Supreme Court finds their appeal as
laughable as most people will. They had their day in court already, and
it’s time to let it go.
Do you think these cops had any other choice but to taser Malaika Brooks?
Read More: http://www.federaljack.com/?p=175223
Top Opinion
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PaulBot415 2012/05/26 21:51:06
And I'll look into specifically what signing a ticket means in Washington later. It may or may not be the same as in California or my state.
What does her being pregnant have to do with refusing to get out?
Does she eat and sleep in her car? Did she tell them she was pregnant?
I noticed the article doesn't mention that.
Besides she was being arrested for something that shouldn't be illegal to begin with. Being forced to sign a ticket violates the 5th Amendment. I have absolutely no problem with a person refusing to comply with an unlawful order.
Driving a vehicle is a State privilege, NOT a Constituional right.
When one obtains a drivers license, they agree to do many things, including signing your "Notice to appear" and following the comands of a peace officer, especailly when they inform you that you're under arrest.
When did dhe tell them she was pregnant?
Wht were three officers involved?
Doesn't sound like any routine traffic violation and there wouldn't be that many officers unless somebody called for back-up.
And many courts have ruled in favor of constitutional rights over that of waiving your rights when obtaining your license. For example, one woman several years ago was pulled over, refused to allow the officer to inspect her car, was arrested and won in court. Also, many states like Minnesota found some implied consent laws to be unconstitutional.
And if you cant tell if a woman is in her third trimester is a moron. If you tase anyone outside of self defense you are assaulting the person illegally. The pregnancy just means the officers assaulted two people instead of one, and one of them being 100% innocent of any crime.
I don't suggest going around asking portly women if they're pregnant.
No rational thought process whatsoever.