Senior student tasered by sheriff’s deputy in lunchroom incident

Maricopa High School was the scene of a student incident on Monday, August 8, 2005. The problem resulted in the arrest of two juveniles and the subsequent tasering of one of them by a sheriff’s deputy. Both young men, who are seniors, were charged with disruption of an educational institution.

According to the sheriff’s office report, at approximately 11: 50 a.m. Monday, School Resource Officer (SRO) Travis Cote, who is also a sheriff’s deputy, was standing with Principal Burnie Hibbard on the southwest side of the campus during lunch. Two male students approached Hibbard and “began to argue about why the vending machines were empty and that the cafeteria had no food left.”

Maricopa High School’s cafeteria, the focus of Monday’s incident.

The students were asked not to use profanity and to discuss the issue with Hibbard in his office. “They continued to be argumentative about lunch, asserting that they had the right to free speech,” according to the report.

Numerous students had gathered by this time. One of the juveniles refused to go the principal’s office and walked away. Cote advised the student “that he was disrupting the education of the school, and, that if he didn’t comply, he would be placed under arrest.”

The student, who is six feet, six inches tall and weighs 300 pounds, responded, “(Expletive) you, arrest me!” He then “took an aggressive stance and refused to comply with my (Cote’s) orders.” When told that he was under arrest and to place his hands behind his back, the student “did not comply”. Cote attempted to place the student in a wristlock, but “the student pulled away and began to swing his arms.”

According to Cote, ” I un-holstered my departmental issued X-26 Taser and used the dry stun technique. I activated the taser, applying it to the left side of the student’s stomach and back area. The student continued to resist and pull away, yelling profanities and swinging his arms in an aggressive manner.”

SRO Cote ordered the student to the ground; “after several verbal commands, the student laid face down on the ground. I handcuffed him and assisted him to his feet. As I began to escort him to the office, he began to struggle and pull away.” Deputy Larry Eckhardt, who is also an SRO, was summoned to the scene to assist Cote.

The student received medical attention at the school. When contacted by phone, his mother “stated she did not want him to come home and requested that he be taken to juvenile detention.”

The student, who was taken to the Pinal County Juvenile Detention Facility in Florence, was charged with disruption of an educational institution, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

A second male student refused to leave the lobby of the school’s front office or to “stop his cursing.” The student “exclaimed that he was there to speak about what they had done to his home boy.”

Deputy Eckhardt, making several verbal attempts to get the student to leave, was met with verbal and physical resistance, according to his report. When escorted to the SRO office, the young man “continued his verbal assault on officers as well as school officials.” He was handcuffed and arrested for disrupting and interfering with a school institution and was also transported to the Florence detention facility after his father was contacted.

Superintendent Alma Farrell issued a statement regarding the incident. “It is true a student was “tased” by a School Resource Officer, a Pinal County Deputy. This action was a result of the student’s action directed toward the Deputy Sheriff officer. Contrary to rumors, the student was not tased to keep him from purchasing a Coke.”

The Taser incapacitates a suspect by using electrical energy to override the nervous system. It normally works by firing two darts from the distance of about 20 feet, but it can be used as a handheld or “dry” stun device when the probes are pushed directly against the individual’s skin.

Pinal County Chief Deputy Jerald Monahan, speaking about the incident, said, “In this particular case, the use of the Taser was appropriate as the Deputy had tried verbally and then hands on to control this extremely large teen. The taser was not shot, but was used in close contact in an effort to stop any escalation of the disturbance. The size of an unruly subject is a definite factor in a deputy’s decision whether or not to use a certain level of force. The taser was the most appropriate, considering pepper spray and impact weapons were also available to the deputy and he had already tried hands on.”

According to school policy JICF, interference with the peaceful conduct of an educational institution is punishable at the school level by anything from detention to expulsion.

Maricopa High School’s handbook states, “Students are entitled to express their personal opinions as long as that expression does not interfere with the rights of others to express themselves or does not interrupt school or classroom activities.”

The handbook section on Student Expectations indicates the “Each student is responsible for helping to create and maintain a school environment which is safe and conducive to learning. He / she shall:
· Model acceptable behavior at school
· Be responsible for his or her actions and the consequences of those actions.
· Show consideration and respect for fellow students, for the school staff members and for school property.
· Display physical and verbal self-control and seek other methods of dealing with problems.”