Prison Guard Tazes Kids On "Bring Son/Daughter To Work Day"

[BlooInBloo]

Gawd we're a sick country.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/big-shock-came-when-i-got-fired-by.html

"It was "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day" at the Franklin Correctional Institution, and Sgt. Walter Schmidt wanted to give the kids an idea of what their parents do.

So he took out a handheld stun device and zapped them with 50,000 volts of electricity.

The children, whose ages are not available, reportedly yelped in pain, fell to the ground and grabbed red burn marks on their arms. One was taken to a nearby hospital.

DOC spokeswoman Jo Ellyn Rackleff said in an e-mail, "We believe that a number of children may have received a shock."

Schmidt, the arsenal sergeant at the Panhandle prison, said he asked parents for permission to shock the kids.

"When they said 'sure,' I went ahead and did it," he said by phone Friday.

Three days after the April 24 incident, Warden Duffie Harrison wrote Schmidt that his "retention would be detrimental to the best interests of the state" because he had "engaged in inappropriate conduct while demonstrating weapons … to several kids during a special event at the institution.''

"You tased at least two kids to demonstrate the EID, which is in direct violation of procedure and placed the department at risk of litigation," Harrison wrote.

Schmidt was terminated after 14 years with the Department of Corrections.

"It wasn't intended to be malicious, but educational," Schmidt said. "The big shock came when I got fired." "

[Twillig]

1. That took two link clicks to find out the state was--

Florida.

Not a big shock.

[kestrel91316]

4. To their credit, THE STATE promptly terminated him.

[Tab]

5. Ha ha ha

No pun intended, I'm sure.

[petronius]

12. Hopefully this will be the spark that galvanizes FL into conducting

an investigation into current prison practices. Although this was a negative event, it could induce some positive changes...

[Tab]

17. Well, it's already produced

some positive CHARGES.

Let's stop before we pun ourselves to death.

[tularetom]

6. Actually I guessed wrong

but still I'm not surprised.

[JVS]

2. USA USA USA!

[Tab]

3. No, we're a good country.

That was a sick person, and they did the right thing by firing him.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

19. He said that parents gave him permission to go ahead and do it. It wasn't just one

sick person.

[MineralMan]

7. What is shocking to me is that parents allowed

this moron to do this. It is almost unbelievable, except that I know parents like that.

[Danger Mouse]

8. I'm glad this idiot was fired.

Sorry, I meant 'FUCKING BRAINDEAD' idiot.

[Tab]

9. And in thinking about it....

he should have tazed the parent. That would have been a better demonstration.

Not that he should have been tasing any attendee...he could have tased a fellow officer, at most.

[BlooInBloo]

10. Um, maybe he shouldn't have tazed ANYONE?

:rofl:

[HughBeaumont]

11. Nice. Parenting.

"Sure, go ahead and put 50,000 volts in my child. Toughen him UP!"

I'd seriously review this case if I were a CS worker. That certainly takes some stupid.

[aquart]

13. All the parents were people who worked there.

Shouldn't they have KNOWN what the taser would do?

[Chulanowa]

18. But but but they're not dangerous!

After all that's what we keep hearing when people are fried by the things... Tasers aren't dangerous! They're fun, ha ha ha!

I mean holy shit, if you can be arrested for felony assault for tasing a cop, they should suffer the same legal issues for shit like this. Termination? Oh suck my cock, Florida, his ass needs to be tossed in a cell for five to ten.

[dixiegrrrrl]

14. Pleae tell me he has not re-produced.

[Berry Cool]

15. I don't know who's dumber and more thoughtless, this guy or the parents who OK'd

the tasing of their kids.

"Yeah, sure, why not? Show 'em what we do! Cool with me"

[southerncrone]

16. OMG! Unbelievable!

OK, maybe the parents didn't realize exactly what this device was capable of....maybe they thought it would be like coming into contact w/an electric fence. Still not smart that they gave permission, but..

HOWEVER, the "Sgt." certainly knew the power & effects of this device. The simple idea that he even entertained the idea of using it on kids (regardless of their ages) points to sadism, willful intent to do harm & nothing more.

I'm no neurosurgeon, but it seem that such a powerful electrical jolt to a developing brain could have dire consequences.

I hope the parents press charges against him.

HE SHOULD BE IN JAIL, HEADED FOR PRISON!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[valerief]

20. Was he mentally retarded or something? Didn't he realized what he did was WRONG?

Good lord!

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. I ignored this the first time round, 'cos I was sure the headline was from The Onion

So much dumbness, and in charge of a potentially lethal weapon. Or he was, at least. The only question is now - what are the dumbfuck parents who work there in charge of?

[BlooInBloo]

23. hahaha! Yah - I would think that too.

[Enrique]

22. the big shock is that this happened in Florida

:wow: