http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-06-06/news/chi-pregnant-woman-tasered-by-police-during-parking-dispute-20120606_1_stun-gun-squad-car-parking-ticket

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Officer uses stun gun on pregnant woman during parking dispute

June 06, 2012

A woman who was shocked by a stun gun during a dispute with police in the
parking lot of a South Side Walgreens says the officer knew she was
pregnant. "I was standing at the squad car close enough for him
to see that I was pregnant," Tiffany Rent, who is eight months pregnant,
said this morning hours after she was released from custody.


But police say the officer warned Tiffany Rent he would use the stun
gun if she drove away after tearing up a parking ticket, throwing it at
his face and yelling, "You ain't arresting (expletive)." The officer
fired the stun gun as she put her SUV into gear, according to a police
report.


At an unrelated news conference today, Chicago Police
Supt. Garry McCarthy said police would "take appropriate action" but he
could release few details while the complaint is investigated by the
Independent Police Review Authority.“That case is being
investigated right now by IPRA. I don’t have many details on it,"
McCarthy said. "What I can tell you is, we immediately, as soon as we
got the complaint we started the investigation, and when we realized
what was going on, we referred it over to IPRA and we’re going to take
appropriate action.”


When asked what Chicago police policy is
regarding a stun gun being used on a pregnant person, McCarthy said:
"Well, first of all, you can’t always tell whether somebody is pregnant.
So, you want to use it where you are overcoming assault or preventing
escape. That’s what it boils down to.""That policy has been in
effect for quite some time," McCarthy said. "Whether or not the policy
has been adhered to is going to be examined separately from the
investigation into the use of force. So we’ll keep you posted on that,
and we’ll see how it plays out.”



Rent was taken to Roseland Community Hospital where a nursing supervisor said the baby appeared to
be unharmed. Rent was treated and released, the supervisor said.
But Rent said she's worried about her unborn son, especially because she
lost two babies in the past. She said the baby hasn't been kicking as
much as usual since the incident. "He started off healthy, and
it's a possibility now that something may be wrong with him," she said,
tears streaming down her face.


"I've had to deal with losing two
children already, you know?" The incident occurred late Tuesday
night when Rent was ticketed for parking in a handicapped spot at the
Walgreens in the 10300 block of South Michigan Avenue, police said. Rent
tore up the ticket and threw it at the officer and "attempted to take
off," according to a source reading from the police report. The
officer got out of his squad car to write her another ticket, this one
for littering, and asked for her identification, according to the police
report.



"I ain't giving you (expletive)," Rent replied, according to the report.


The officer then told Rent that she would be arrested and she told him,
"You ain't arresting (expletive)," the police report states. As
Rent got back into her SUV, the officer warned that he would use a stun
gun on her if she drove away. Rent "put her right hand on the gear
shifter in an attempt to put the car in gear and leave the scene," the
police report states.


The officer then "deployed his Taser."
Rent's boyfriend and father of the child, Joseph Hobbs, was also
arrested when he tried to intervene, police said. He suffered a
dislocated elbow during the arrest, officials said. Rent admitted
tearing up the ticket and walking back to her car. She said she got
into the SUV and was rolling up the window when an officer fired the
stun gun and hit her in the chest. "I didn't swing," she said. "I didn't
hit anybody. I didn't do anything."


Rent said she didn't realize
she'd been hit until she felt pain in her chest and saw thin wires
hanging from her body. "I just remember shaking, and I remember hearing
my kids scream," she said. As her 9-year-old son and 3-year-old
daughter watched from the car, Rent said she opened the door and the
officer took her to the ground and handcuffed her. She said several
officers soon surrounded her and Hobbs, and she said some of them
started making jokes, including telling the couple to call the Rev.
Jesse Jackson. Rent was surrounded by her family, who said they are outraged by the incident.


"How could you do that to a pregnant woman?" said Rent's sister,
Shareeta Rent. "My niece and nephew are in the back seat of the car
crying. They did that in front of her kids." Hobbs’ sister,
Shahidah Hobbs said "the whole family is appalled because (neither)
Tiffany nor Joseph are those type of people that are combative. They’re
very laid back, very sociable…It’s ridiculous.” Shareeta Rent
said she hopes video surveillance from Walgreens caught the arrest.
“Check the videotapes. The proof is in the pudding,” she said.


“We’re going to file complaints and go from there and hope to God
something is done about this. This is ridiculous.,” she added.
Rent was charged with misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest and simple
assault, and was cited for parking in a handicapped spot, police said.
Hobbs was charged with misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest and simple
assault.

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