Taser used on dad leaving Houston hospital with baby

[Connonym]

<snip> A Houston couple said both the Houston Police Department and the Woman's Hospital of Texas are responsible for endangering their newborn when the husband who held the baby in his arms was hit by a taser as an off-duty police officer as he attempted to leave the hospital early Thursday morning.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4718864.html

The cop thought it was appropriate to taser someone holding a newborn? Just me or is that some pretty shitty judgement? Even if the man was kidnapping a baby perhaps the taser wasn't the best way to stop him.

[ThomCat]

1. They baby landed on a concrete floor.

A doctor says the baby is fine, but the Mom doesn't seem to agree.

Damn. x(

I see lawsuits coming.

[xmas74]

2. I don't get how he could be charged w/ endangerment.

I'm a parent. I'm the legal guardian of my child. I decide on medical issues-not the hospital, not the police, not some nameless strangers.

Seems like he had the right to remove that baby from the ward, unless someone had already been to court and had that right taken from him or Family Services had already stepped in. I don't see either listed in the article so I'm guessing that it's a major fuck up by the police department.

[guitar man]

3. I agree

I am just as much of a parent of my child as her mother and I expect the same rights under the law. The hospital certainly has no right to hold my child hostage for any reason.

Now, if that SOB had tasered me with my child in my arms, as soon as I recovered my wits and strength, he better be gone out of rams reach or have me cuffed real tight. Otherwise, that bastard would be down in the ER with multiple cuts, contusions, abrasions, broken bones and....oh yeah, a taser shoved up his ass! :grr:

[xmas74]

4. And what if it had been the mother?

(asking because I'm a mom)

They said that they thought it was kidnapping but they are going for endangerment instead. Most of the kidnappings of newborns have been reported as women lately. If this had been the mother would they have tasered her too?

This might have gone against hospital policy but it wasn't illegal. We can check ourselves (and our children) out of the hospital AMA at any time. If I were him I'd fight this in court-major lawsuit against the hospital, the security guard,etc. By refusing to allow them to leave (which, when tasered, they were holding him against his will) I would think they would have infringed upon his rights.

I'd love for an attorney to chime in and let us know what's what with this case. I would think it's a major lawsuit and that the family will be receiving nonstop calls for the next few weeks from attorneys wanting the case.

[guitar man]

5. that's a good question

As long as that man was able to positively ID himself as the father of that child and was willing to do so, that cop had no business using ANY kind of force to detain him.

However, if the man refused to identify himself to the officer and they didn't know who was trying to take the child out, action to stop him would be in order.

However, if another option besides tasering him was available, that would be the wise choice before zapping a guy holding a baby with a taser.

[xmas74]

6. The article stated that this had happened before.

He had been told to quit trying to take the baby down.

Shouldn't the nurses have informed security that there was a man w/ his description that was doing this? I know that when I worked in a state hospital (yes, a mental ward but the rule should apply everywhere) we notified security if anything seemed out of place just as CYA.

[guitar man]

7. a bit confusing

But police maintain that William Lewis, the baby's father, endangered the 2-day-old infant by refusing orders to quit trying to remove the baby from the hospital when abduction alarms went off.

Orders from who, the cop or hospital staff? who the hell thinks they have the authority to give "orders" to a father regarding his child?
My god, if I think a hospital is screwing up, I hope to god I could remove my wife an/or child before they have the opportunity to kill them.

Lewis, 30, said he and his wife were preparing to leave the hospital when staff told him he would not be able to leave with the baby.

Ok, so staff told him he couldn't leave, I wonder if these are the "orders" the police are referring to? Or did the orders come form the cop? Short of a court order or the father unhooking the baby from life support equipment, I don't see where any such orders are legitimate.

[xmas74]

8. Bingo.

As the father said, he might have broken a few of the hospital rules but he in no way broke the law.

[mzteris]

9. maybe people should READ the whole article . . .

". . .The Police Department said it was necessary because they considered the baby to be in danger, and cited reports of previous threats made by the man.


. . . officer used the Taser because Lewis, when confronted by the officers at the elevator, made "threatening remarks about this being a hostage situation if he were not allowed to leave."



. . . Houston police also said the child's mother called authorities on April 2 — a week before the infant's birth — to complain about Lewis.

She "stated that her unborn child's father called her and made threats on her and the child's life," Ready said. . .

Boling used his Taser on Lewis after Boling repeatedly told Lewis he could not leave the hospital, Houston police spokesman Officer Gabe Ortiz said today.

. . . Lewis decided to leave the hospital with the baby about 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, Ortiz said.

[deadparrot]

10. Aren't there better ways to apprehend a suspect

than tasering him while he has a newborn in his arms? If he's suspected of committing a crime, certainly take him into custody, but can't they use a different technique instead of going straight to the taser?