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An 11-year-old girl who was suspected of stealing food from a Cincinnati supermarket was tased by police on Monday night.
The girl, who was suspected of stealing items from a Kroger store, was tased after she allegedly ignored an officer and started to walk away, Cincinnati police said in a statement.
The officer who tased the girl was identified as Kevin Brown, 55, in court documents. Police said he was working off-duty as a security guard.
Cincinnati police department procedure says that officers should avoid using tasers on children under the age of 7 or on people over the age of 70.
The procedure also states that “an individual simply fleeing from an officer, absent additional justification, does not warrant the use of the TASER.”
“We are extremely concerned when force is used by one of our officers on a child of this age. As a result we will be taking a very thorough review of our policies as it relates to using force on juveniles as well as the propriety of the officers’ actions,” Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot K. Isaac said in the statement.
The girl, who was identified as Donesha Gowdy by her mother and in court documents, was charged with theft and obstructing official business. She was taken to a local children’s hospital after the incident and eventually released to one of her parents, according to the police statement.
“We are saddened by this situation,” a spokesperson for Kroger said in a statement. “Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our customers and associates. Our thoughts are with the family and child.”
Joseph Blaettler, a retired deputy chief of police in New Jersey with 30 years of experience, told NBC News this incident appears to be “unreasonable” use of force.
“Use of force comes down to what’s reasonable and what’s not reasonable. So it comes down to what the officer was facing. Generally speaking, tasing an 11-year-old, in my opinion, would be unreasonable.”
Brown tried to turn on his body camera but it did not do so immediately, only providing footage from after the incident, police said, according to NBC affiliate WLWT. Brown has been placed on restricted duty, the station reported.
An investigation has been launched by Vice Mayor Christopher Smitherman to get more details on the incident, according to the station.