Okay, allegedly. However the statement from the court filing says a doctor observed twin burn marks on one of the girl's thighs, and that there is video of the incident. Those are pretty extraordinary claims to just be making up.
According to the lawsuit filed last month, on July 10, 2008, a young female referred to as Jane Doe, who has "mental disabilities," sat in a Sioux Lookout, Ontario, jail cell. To pass the time, she began scratching at some chipped paint on a wall and she was told to stop. The girl continued to scratch. At that point two o.p.p officers entered the cell without warning, "violently" pulled the girl to the floor and applied the taser to her right upper thigh for three to five seconds.
The statement also says the girl "was not intoxicated, hysterical, excited nor in any way did her behaviour present a danger."
That would seem to eliminate any reason for use of the taser.
In addition to monetary damages, the family seeks to have an order imposed restricting the use of tasers on minors unless someone's life is clearly at risk.
"The violent force they applied to Jane Doe was grossly excessive and unjustified by circumstance," the family's lawyer, Jeff Roberts, wrote in the statement of claim.
"The danger posed by the Taser weapon and their ongoing an flagrant misuse by police justifies an order," Roberts wrote.
The RCMP's watchdog recently announced a probe into 10 cases in which people died after being zapped by an officer's Taser.
The review, being led by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP will look at cases dating back to 2001 - the same year the national police force began using the 50,000-volt stun guns.
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