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Trotwood, FBI probe use of stun gun on pregnant woman
Thursday, November 29, 2007
TROTWOOD — Trotwood police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are reviewing the use of a stun gun on a woman who attempted to turn over her 1-year-old son to police on Nov. 18.
It was discovered after the woman was subdued and taken to the Montgomery County jail that she was seven months pregnant, according to Mike Etter, Trotwood director of public safety.
Extras
Etter said the officer involved in the incident is still on the job while reviews are underway to determine if excessive force was used. But Etter said while the use of the stun gun is being analyzed, he said the officer had no choice but to attempt to stop the woman when she attempted to leave with the child when the officer asked her questions.
"If he hadn't detained her and something had happened to that child, every child advocate in the world would have been on our case, and rightly so," Etter said.
Etter said the incident began at 11:41 a.m. on Nov. 18 when a 33-year-old Dayton woman entered the lobby of the Trotwood police department and picked up a phone there to tell officers that she wanted to turn her 1-year-old son to police.
Etter said "Safe Haven" laws allow mothers to give newborn babies within days of birth to authorities with no questions asked, but the law doesn't cover toddlers.
A patrol officer was dispatched to the lobby and attempted to get information from the woman about herself and about the child, but she refused to answer questions, Etter said. She would not give her name, the child's name or the father's name, and she would not answer questions about the child's medical history.
"All she would say was that she was tired of playing games with the father," Etter said.
After talking with the officer for a short time, the woman attempted to leave with the child. At that time the officer grabbed her sleeve to keep her from leaving, and told her he was placing her under arrest for child endangering, Etter said.
The woman resisted and continuing trying to leave the police offices. The officer was able to pull the child away from the woman and attempted to force her to the ground.
A second officer arrived in the police department lobby, and the first officer passed the child to the second officer and forced the woman to the floor on her stomach, Etter said.
The officer struggling with the woman got one of her hands into a handcuff, but she refused to allow him to cuff the other hand. That's when the officer applied a stun gun to the woman's neck to get her to comply with his orders, Etter said.
Trotwood police charged the woman, Valreca Redden, with child endangering and resisting arrest and transported her to the Montgomery County Jail. Officials at the jail realized the woman was pregnant and took her to a hospital.
The woman never said she was pregnant while in the Trotwood police station. He said she was wearing a heavy coat that hid her stomach, and the child was sitting on her lap for most of the time she was talking to the officer, Etter said.
The charges against the woman were later changed to obstruction of justice and resisting arrest, and she was released from custody, Etter said. He said the child was released to the custody of his biological father.
Etter said he heard about the incident several days after it happened. A major in the police department was assigned to conduct an internal investigation
Etter said he contacted the FBI this week after hearing from a civil rights organization representative who said the organization planned to ask for a federal investigation.
"We've been cooperating fully with the FBI," Etter said. "And we're reviewing our policies on the use of (stun guns)."
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2395 or jcummings@DaytonDailyNews.com.
