Taser used on pregnant woman in Ohio
Associated Press
Wed November 28, 2007
Area: Dayton
TROTWOOD, Ohio - The FBI is investigating whether a policeman violated a pregnant woman's civil rights when he used a stun gun to subdue her, authorities in this Dayton suburb said Thursday.
The woman had gone to the police department Nov. 18 asking police to take custody of her 1-year-old son, but tried to leave with the child after the officer started asking her questions, said Michael Etter, Trotwood public safety director. He added that the woman wore a winter coat and did not tell the officer she was pregnant.
Etter said the officer feared the boy could have been harmed had the woman been allowed to leave with him.
"I don't think any of this would have happened had she cooperated with us," Etter said. "We probably would have called her a minister, called a crisis counselor, but you've got somebody telling you, 'I'm not telling you anything, and now I'm going to leave.'"
Valreca Redden, 33, was arrested and taken to jail; Etter said charges of obstruction and resisting arrest are pending. When she arrived at the jail, it was discovered that she was pregnant, and an officer took her to Good Samaritan Hospital.
"She never complained of any kind of injury," Etter said.
He said the officer released her at the hospital after giving her an order to appear in court, but she did not sign in at the hospital. A message seeking information from the hospital was not immediately returned Thursday.
The boy was later placed in the custody of his father.
A message seeking comment was left for Redden Thursday at her grandfather's house, which she listed as her home on a police report.
Etter said that he began an internal investigation after a man complained this week about Redden's treatment, and that the FBI investigation began after he informed the agency of the complaint.
Michael Brooks, an FBI spokesman, said the agency has opened a preliminary civil rights investigation based on information supplied by Trotwood police. He declined to comment further.
Etter said that when Redden showed up at the police department, she told the officer she was "tired of playing games" with the boy's father, but she refused to answer questions, became frustrated and tried to leave with the child.
Etter said the officer, Michael Wilmer, grabbed the woman, took the child from her and forced her to the ground. When she resisted being handcuffed and tried to get away, the officer used the stun gun, Etter said.
According to a police report, Wilmer said the woman was upset, thrashed violently, and continued to resist despite several warnings that he would use the stun gun if she refused to stop fighting.
Stun guns deliver temporarily disabling bursts of electricity for several seconds, and are used by thousands of law enforcement agencies. Police say they help avoid hand-to-hand struggles that can injure officers and citizens, but critics say some departments overuse them and point to a number of deaths connected to the devices.
A telephone message seeking comment was left for Wilmer, who Etter said remains on duty. Etter said there have been no previous allegations of excessive force involving Wilmer and that he has not been disciplined for any major violations of department policy.
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