The majority of news outlets chose the easy path of virtual cut and paste of the Queensland Police Services announcement on Facebook.
Taser deployment, Churchill
by Queensland Police Service on Wednesday, 31 August 2011 at 19:44
Police deployed a Taser on a 12-year-old boy during a disturbance at Churchill on Sunday afternoon.
An initial assessment of the circumstances determined the use of the Taser was appropriate, taking into account the size of the boy and that he was armed with several bladed weapons and behaving in a threatening manner.
However, given the boy’s age this assessment is being reviewed by the Queensland Police Service’s Ethical Standards Command.
The boy was not injured in the incident but was taken to hospital for an assessment.
Investigations are continuing.
All of these articles are now deadlinks possibly in the light that the QPS did not include the boys condition and the outlets obviously failed to make even basic enquiries. Autism is a developmental disability and not a mental disorder, however it appears the boy may also have suffered from depression, which is quite common with autism.
Some of the issues that have failed to be raised so far include the Queensland Police Policies on Taser use:
"Policy also states it should not be used on the elderly, juveniles or women suspected of being pregnant EXCEPT in extreme circumstances where there is no other reasonable option to avoid risk of injury."
So were there no other ways to handle this situation. Firstly remove the mother from the scene. Having spent 15 years working with children with special needs it is well known that withdrawing the source of confrontation helps. Possibly the next step would have been to give the boy time and space to work through the anger and not escalate the situation. It would appear that this was a quick fix, but surely journalists should be discussing the alternatives with experts.
As the boy is still in hospital, why is he there? Is it true he did not suffer any injuries as a result of the tasering? Why was he tasered twice? There are obviously reasons why tasers are not recommended for use on juveniles. Discuss these with medical practitioners.
The matter is to be investigated by the Police Ethical Standards Command. Is this satisfactory or are there any correlations between the Command and the resent recommendations for the Crime and Misconduct Commission?
Other points that need explaining is why this child and his mother have not received appropriate support as well as the issues around autism, mental illness and outer suburban living.
I hate to say it, but at least 'Today Tonight' delved a little deeper.
TT Coverage
Unlike Nine News.
9 News
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