LITTLE ROCK — The Ozark police officer who stunned a 10-year-old girl with a Taser last week was suspended Wednesday for seven days while city officials continued to urge the Arkansas State Police to investigate.
Mayor Vernon McDaniel said Police Chief Jim Noggle suspended officer Dustin Bradshaw on Wednesday because he did not have the Taser’s video camera attached to the weapon at the time he used it on the girl. Bradshaw was suspended with pay, effective immediately, McDaniel said.
McDaniel said Noggle did not suspend Bradshaw because he used the Taser on the girl but because Bradshaw didn’t follow department procedures regardingthe weapon’s video camera.
Noggle was not available for comment Wednesday.
A Taser is a hand-held electroshock weapon that can disrupt the voluntary control of muscles, causing them to contract. Tasers are most often used to subdue fleeing, belligerent or dangerous subjects. The weapon can fire probes that deliver the shock, or it can be touched to the skin.
Brenda Atkinson, a department staff member, said video cameras can be purchased separately for the Taser. When attached, the cameras begin recording when the Taser is powered up. Officers are required to have the cameras attached and running when they use the Taser, she said.
The mayor and police chief have said they don’t think Bradshaw did anything wrong when he used the Taser on the girl. The mayor also said that since an internal investigation might be questioned by the public, he wants an investigation by the state police.
Bradshaw responded to a call at the girl’s home on Nov. 11 and reportedly found the girl thrashing and screaming. His report said the girl would not listen to her mother, Kelly Hamlert, and reacted violently when Bradshaw and Hamlert tried to get her to take a shower to get ready for bed.
Bradshaw’s report said he used his Taser X26 on the girl after she kicked him in the groin while he was trying to handcuff her. After being tased, the girl was taken to the Western Arkansas Youth Shelter in Cecil, which is southwest of Ozark in Franklin County.
His report said Hamlert told him he could use the Taser on her daughter if necessary. Hamlert did not respond to a message left for her at the Franklin County sheriff ’s office, where she works part time.
The girl’s father, Anthony Medlock of Ozark, said Tuesday that he was angry that a police officer used a Taser onhis daughter and said it was unnecessary. He does not have custody of the girl.
Some law-enforcement agencies restrict the use of Tasers on young people. The Fort Smith Police Department restricts their use on anyone 14 or younger unless they are being physically violent or aggressive, department training officer Sgt. James Hayes said.
Meanwhile, McDaniel said Noggle will ask the state police to conduct a criminal investigation in the case. The state police turned down Noggle’s request Tuesday to investigate the department’s Taser policy.
He said he and Noggle don’t believe that Bradshaw had any criminal intent, although a criminal investigation may be the only way to get the state agency to investigate.
Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons said he refused Noggle’s request to ask the state police to investigate because the agency does not conduct administrativereviews of policies and procedures. Later Wednesday, he said he would make the request if it was for a criminal investigation of the officer’s actions.
The mayor’s office and Police Department have become the focus of nationwide attention because of the case.
As the story spread, people from around the nation have contacted Ozark officials to weigh in. As Mc-Daniel spoke to a reporter Wednesday afternoon, he was handed a note from a city employee that a man from Idaho had called City Hall and demanded that Bradshaw be fired.
He said City Council members also have received calls from Ozark residents, most of whom wanted Bradshaw fired or suspended.
McDaniel didn’t anticipate the City Council taking immediate action on the city’s Taser policy but said council members probably will address it at their next regular meeting Dec. 14.
Arkansas, Pages 11 on 11/19/2009