School officer Tasers sixth grader in Georgia

The Herald
Dec. 02, 2006

JONESBORO, Ga. -- A middle school security officer used a Taser on a sixth-grade boy to break up his fight with a girl Wednesday, school officials said.

Officials said the 11-year-old shocked twice with the device at Jonesboro Middle School weighs 200 pounds and refused to obey orders to stop attacking the girl, also 11, and the Taser was used as a last resort to prevent her from being seriously injured.

The two had been taken to the office to resolve an argument that started during lunch and spilled into a classroom.

"The male student literally jumped on the girl and started hitting her about the face and head," school district spokesman Charles White said. "He did not comply with directions to stop, and physical efforts to pull him off the girl were unsuccessful."

Both students were treated for injuries, none of them serious, White said. The boy was charged with assault and battery and was taken to a juvenile detention center, and later was released to the custody of his mother.

The officer is a city of Jonesboro police officer who carries the standard equipment of a pistol and a Taser, according to Jonesboro Police Sgt. Brad Johnson.