Teen jolted by Taser recovering from cardiac arrest

By Ofelia Casillas
Tribune staff reporter

A 14-year-old state ward shot by a Chicago police sergeant's Taser stun gun was stable, conscious and taken off of a ventilator Wednesday as he recovered from cardiac arrest, county officials said.

The boy, who lives at a residential group home on the North Side, became enraged Monday morning when he was asked to remove his baseball cap. He broke four windows and battered three workers at the home run by Uhlich Children's Advantage Network, Chicago police said.

Police said the boy lunged at a police sergeant, who shot him with the Taser, a weapon that applies an electrical jolt.

Cook County Public Guardian Robert Harris said his office is considering civil action after its investigation found the boy was no longer violent and was sitting on a couch when police arrived.

"I'm consistently hearing this boy never moved off the couch," Harris said. "If he did, it was after he got hit with the Taser gun."

County officials said they have no information to indicate the boy attacked anybody.


Amnesty International press release concerning this incident.

Was this 14-year-old under the influence of the forced drugging which is often used on children who are under the care of the state?