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| Natasha McKenna |
This is unacceptable.
A mentally ill woman who died after a stun gun was used on
her at the Fairfax County jail in February was restrained with handcuffs
behind her back, leg shackles and a mask when a sheriff’s deputy
shocked her four times, incident reports obtained by The Washington Post
show.
This woman was Natasha McKenna, a petite mother of a young child. Any
explanation as to why it was acceptable to use a Taser four times on a
woman whose hands are handcuffed behind her back, legs restrained, with a
mask on is completely bogus.
Numerous experts said the use of a stun gun on a fully
restrained prisoner was an unreasonable use of force, particularly in a
jail setting where a person is unlikely to flee. They also said Tasers
are not recommended for use on the mentally ill, that even the Taser
manufacturer warns against using them on people in a state of “excited
delirium,” and that using a stun gun more than three times is thought to
be above the threshold for use on a single person.
“She wasn’t a threat; she wasn’t going anywhere; she was restrained,”
said Richard Lichten, a use-of-force expert and former jail official in
Los Angeles. “It feels excessive, unnecessary and out of policy, based
on what you’re telling me.” READ MORE
