Maria Acosta has sued the Bastrop County, its police department, and its school district after a tragic accident left her son Noe Nino de Rivera with a brain injury. Acosta says that her son had broken up a fight at Cedar Creek High School when police arrived. They told him to put his hands in the air, but she says that they shot him anyway with a taser that knocked him to the ground where he struck his head causing “a severe brain hemorrhage”. Randy McMillan, a Bastrop County sheriff’s officer who works as a school resource officer, is named in the lawsuit. Police say that Noe Nino or “N.N.” acted “aggressively.”
The complaint, which can be read here, says that the fight was over when McMillan arrived. She says that her son actually broke up the fight when McMillan arrived and told him to step back. He allegedly did so and put his hand in the air before being shot. We have not seen the answer to the complaint from McMillan or the district.
However, one news report has a statement from Sissy Jones of the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office who says that there is a video of the incident showing de Rivera “being aggressive.” She describes the video as showing a scene where “One of the officers puts his hand on de Rivera’s chest and says, you need to back up and that’s when de Rivera hits the officer’s hand.” “Hits the officer’s hand” is aggression but does it warrant shooting the kid with a taser? Students have told the media that it was McMillan who attacked aggressively and that Noe Nino or “N.N.” was trying to get the officer to listen to him.
What is clear is that the boy hit his head on the ground as he fell. She says that they then handcuffed the unconscious boy and “delayed in calling for medical assistance even though N.N. was in an obvious emergency medical situations.” News reports state that he was eventually airlifted to a hospital or put into a medically induced coma and remains in a coma.
Assuming the video shows N.N. slapping away the hand of the officer, the jury may still be faced with a question of excessive force. We have previously discussed how tasers are now used as a first option where physically restraining people or defusing a situation were once attempted (here and here and here and here and here and here). The use of a taser at a school raises immediate concerns along these lines. There were reportedly two officers present when the taser was used on N.N. What is clear is that police continue to view tasters as largely harmless weapons despite serious injuries documented around the world.
The case also is the latest example of the criminalization of our schools, which we have previously discussed.
Seems everyone is jumping to wild conclusions. The kid got up off the floor and apologized to the cops for being a jerk, then had medical problem. Mommy is seeing money. Then there is the illegal part of this story. So all you folks who have no idea about this story need to shut up and wait for the whole story to come out. It is all about the money that Mommy wants.
Of course the cops r gonna say it’s the kids fault! Talk about sheeple! They had fights when I was in school too, but no one got tased. The officer went to far & is now trying to cover his butt. This kid could end up with permanent brain damage just for trying to pull his girlfriend out of this fight. Did you know he was only months away from graduating & then he was going to join the military? All destroyed bcuz a cop got trigger happy with a taser !
i work for a school in Bastrop and belive me they need cops these kids are bad I have seen them fight and its not pretty I feel sorry for this family I also have a child at cedar creek high they have gun threats and fights more than any other school I would be afraid for her to go to this school with out police being there cedar creek high school is full of kids who will fight just to fight so before you start complaining about the officers in our schools go observe this high school and you will see why officers are needed
He didn’t get hurt from the taser. He got hurt from the fall. Which could’ve happened if the cop went to physically subdue him. Unfortunate result but I highly doubt that cop wakes up everyday wondering when he can unnecessarily use his taser.
This article is written with the mother’s account of what happened and is spun against the cops. How can she say what happened when she wasnt there? Where is the video and police report? Be careful judging the reaction of a cop just in case you have to call them for help.
It is wise to never call the police unless there is no choice. These stories demonstrate that.
So… the mere presence of police on campus was NOT a deterrent of more violence, itself; As a result, it seems it was they, who delivered the final beat down.
Not quite Texas… But you get the theme.
Three black students waiting for bus arrested after cops order them to ‘disperse’
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/02/three-black-students-waiting-for-bus-arrested-after-cops-order-them-to-disperse/
Texas cops handcuff and take 13-year-old white girl from black guardians
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/02/texas-cops-handcuff-and-take-13-year-old-white-girl-from-black-guardians/
And of course it’s never torture when the USA does it, either…
Of course it’s never excessive force when the police use it…
… So, who keeps us safe from the police?
Absolutly nothing positive will come out of this very sad event. Could the cops have done anything besides tase a 17 year old kid? I would have to say, yes. Police use tasers to subdue people so they (the cops) do not get hurt, and because it is very easy. However, in some instances, it is the same as using a gun, but so much easier to defend. The mother will be told “The department is very sorry for your loss”, then turn away and tell their ilk “How were we supposed to know he would hit his head and sustain a life threatening injury?” This kid got tased at his public HIGH SCHOOL! WTF, this wasn’t Chicago at 3am! Excessive force was used recklessly, and the result proves it.