news-record.com

Chairman Quick - Did you miss the part about the girl threatening two faculty members and assaulted a police officer? That sort of explains itself doesn't it?? Seems she may had been a tad out of control...

As long as the police use them sparingly I don't see the problem. If this girl was attacking people she deserved what happened. Also there is no Guarantee that you will not trip and break your neck while walking down the hall either. What a goofy statement. Personally I think that they should give them to teachers as well, maybe it would make these kids start behaving.

Deena Hayes has got to go. The sheer arrogance is amazing. She appoints a self proclaimed gang leader to the school safety commitee and now thinks she should review police actions! Ms Hayes what training to do you have to understand law enforcement. School Board member Chris Cooke said "she would prefer the officer used pepper spray" I wonder if she would care what the officer used if she was one of the faculty the girl was trying to assault. As the parent of kids in GCS I appreciate the job SRO's do and I wish people with no knowledge would quick trying to judge their actions. Also if there are any candidates out there who are running against Ms Hayes I would love to volunteer for your campaign!

A 155 lb. female CAN inflict harm on an individual, whether a man or woman. This was apparently an out of control student who had no respect for authority. I imagine that if the officer had tackled her and handcuffed her, somebody would be crying that he used excessive force there also. Bottom line is that people need to start listening when law enforcement officers tell them what to do. If not, suffer the consequences. Our Country and Standards are quickly going down the drain and lack of discipline is at the top of the culprit list.

Does Ms. Hayes not realize that the officers all carry weapons?

I agree with Mr. Hebert - no long lasting harm occurred to the student. I bet if you were to interview the faculty members they would be appreciative that the officer stepped in and stopped this out-of-control student.

Isn't the Taser itself a compromise by law enforcement to avoid the use of guns? Just a few years ago, we didn't even have Tasers as the politically correct method of defense. Now there's a problem with the Taser itself. Does Ms. Hayes care about the other 99.9% of Guilford County Students and Staff and their safety? With nuts like her running the school board it's no wonder the younger generations are getting older but not growing up. If you assault a police officer, you should expect to get hurt if not shot. Where is the lesson of responsibility being taught in our society? Is there ever an age today where people in our country become responsible for their own decisions?

I just left teaching middle school at one of the Ragsdal feeders. I did a stint in the judicial system before I began teaching middle school and I consider myself a pretty tough gal. There's a very good chance I once taught the 15 yo tazer-ette and I can tell you that after having broken up fights between 11 year old (girls & boys) of a variety of sizes, there were times when I definitely feared for the safety of my students and several times I felt more than in danger. I was once struck in the arm with such force by an 11 year old that it left a pretty large & deep bruise. Another time, a 13 year old 7th grader tore my shirt sleeve apart trying to get to another student he'd been fighting while I had him restrained....should I have let him go and let the kids "work it out?" Where's Deena to advocate for me or other staff members, employees, etc. or MOST importantly the by stander children who had nothing to do with the incident? In this particular case, one uninvolved by stander child was thrown into the white board and suffered a long bruise across her torso from the marker tray as the two boys attempted to get at one another...another by stander was pinned into a group of desks as the out of control boys went ballistic in the room. It took 4 adults to separate these two "children" who were fighting. Remember, this was middle school.

I would invite Ms. Hayes (who does have an excessive amount of experience in dealing with wayward children) and Mr. Quick to try and break up some of these fights that occur in our schools - fights that are often waged by "children" who have been gang members since they were in elementary school. "Now stop trying to kill each other & settle down, please." just doesn't get it. A child who refuses to acknowledge law enforcement, whose lack of respect for authority in general....how could anyone NOT see this type of action coming from wwwaaaayyyy on down the road?

Let's go beyond the girl in question and focus only on the use of weapons in law enforcement. The tasar remains unchartered in short and long term effects on the human body. Small tears in the heart muscle have been found on numerous taser victims that later complicated and shortened lives. Nerve damage cannot be readily measured, but victims have all found issues with bodily control for some time afterwards. Regardless of who the victim is, the use of weapons are not ok simply because no visible and immediate signs of injury is apparent.
If given a choice between the now illegal choke hold of the 60's and the night sticks of forever, the taser may seem tame. If given the choice of handcuffing a 15 year old, 2 on 1, or shooting her with 20,000 volts of electricity, before you handcuff her pretty much explains the responsibility of the LE. It won't be long before someone dies unnecessarily, an officer loses their job and gets sued for everything they own and loses that too. I think we need to keep to conventional means of restraint that have proven effective.

Maybe Ms. Hayes and Mr. Quick would agree to be called and come immediately to the school when these incidents occur and allow them to work their magic on these "wayward children" without any assistance from the school officers. There is no better teacher than experience and maybe these two people who have no confidence in the judgement of the school officers should try their hand at resolving these situations without any assistance.

Any 155 lb individual can bring harm to others. I have seen people who are pepper sprayed....not a pretty sight. The student should be the one who is evaluated and it should be decided if she needs to stay in a regular school or sent to the special school for misfits. People who do not respect police authority need to be dealt with appropriately. I respect the police and appreciate the job they do to keep the rest of us safe. Do you think Ms Hayes and Mr Quick could get there quickly enough to restore order?! I think not.

Does anyone realize that this female was almost 200 lbs? As a GCS Employee I can tell you that this was a large female who has acted out before but Dr. Rogers refuses to do anything about it. I encourage everyone to visit Ragsdale and see what she is trying to cover up. There have been NUMEROUS times the SRO has called for help at that school due to gang violence. Please someone call 2 wants to know or start your own inquiry. With the right administration, the students will begin to show respect as long as they know there are consequences for their actions.

Mr Quicks comment should have read.... "Eyebrows are raised when a 15-year-old (African American) girl is tasered, and I look forward to hearing the reason and rationale that someone thought that was necessary". I can assure you that if my 17 year old, 160 pound caucasian son had communicated threats, assaulted an officer and was tasered, Mr. Quick would not raise an eyebrow...unless of course the ones being threatened by my son were African American.

The problem is some people do not think there are consequences to their actions.And with the help of idiots like Deena Hayes they might be right. Deena Hayes is not setting a good example for our students.Students need to learn if I attack or assult a teacher, student or police officer I might be tased.