Police review stun gun use on minors

HAWTHORNE, Calif., March 2 (UPI) -- The use of stun guns to subdue violent school children is under review in one California city after police used a device on an autistic boy, officials said.

Hawthorne, Calif., police are reviewing the incident to determine whether an officer followed agency policy in using his stun gun on a violent 12-year-old boy with autism, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday. Police officials said the investigation was begun after the boy's parents filed a complaint in the September incident. The boy wasn't hurt.

The Hawthorne Police Department's policy says officers "may consider other options" before using stun guns on juveniles but doesn't limit their use on children.

School officials called police after the youth allegedly assaulted a counselor and continued his violent behavior, officials said. Efforts to calm the boy were ineffective and the officer fired the stun gun as the boy ran toward the school's exit and an area wither other students were in a physical education class, the Times said.

"The police did what they thought they needed to do," said Donald Carrington, Hawthorne Unified School District superintendent, declining further comment.

Proponents say stun guns let officers safely detain violent students without using batons or other physical force. Opponents counter that, besides the lack of research on the medical effects of stunning a child, using stun guns on minors is inappropriate.