"Court : Seattle police OK to stun pregnant woman By GENE JOHNSON & # 8232 ; ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER SEATTLE -- Three Seattle police officers were justified when they used a stun gun on a pregnant mother who refused to sign a traffic ticket , a federal appeals court ruled Friday in a case that prompted an incredulous dissent . Malaika Brooks was driving her son to Seattle 's African American Academy in 2004 when she was stopped for doing 32 mph in a school zone . She insisted it was the car in front of her that was speeding , and refused to sign the ticket because she thought she 'd be admitting guilt . Rather than give her the ticket and let her go on her way , the officers decided to arrest her . One reached in , turned off her car and dropped the keys on the floor . Brooks stiffened her arms against the steering wheel and told the officers she was pregnant , but refused to get out , even after they threatened to stun her . The officers - Sgt . Steven Daman , Officer Juan Ornelas and Officer Donald Jones - then stunned her three times , in the thigh , shoulder and neck , and hauled her out of the car , laying her face-down in the street . Brooks gave birth to a healthy baby two months later , but has permanent scars from the Taser . She sued the officers for violating her constitutional rights , and U.S. District Judge Richard Jones allowed the case to continue . He declined to grant the officers immunity for performing their official duties and said Brooks ' rights were clearly violated . But in a 2-1 ruling Friday , a panel of the 9th U.S . Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed . Judges Cynthia Holcomb Hall and Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain held that the officers were justified in making an arrest because Brooks was obstructing them and resisting arrest . The use of force was also justified because of the threat Brooks posed , Hall wrote : `` It seems clear that Brooks was not going to be able to harm anyone with her car at a moment 's notice . Nonetheless , some threat she might retrieve the keys and drive off erratically remained , particularly given her refusal to leave the car and her state of agitation. `` They also noted that the force used was n't that serious because the Taser was in `` touch `` mode rather than `` dart `` mode , which hurts more . They reversed the lower court 's opinion and held that the officers were entitled to immunity from the lawsuit . The officers ' lawyers , Ted Buck and Karen Cobb , said the officers made the right decision under the circumstances they faced . '' Police officers have to have the ability to compel people to obey their lawful orders , `` Buck said . That 's all the court recognized today . The 9th Circuit just applied the law instead of getting caught up in the otherwise unfortunate factual circumstances. `` The majority 's opinion outraged Judge Marsha Berzon , who called it `` off the wall. `` '' I fail utterly to comprehend how my colleagues are able to conclude that it was objectively reasonable to use any force against Brooks , let alone three activations of a Taser , in response to such a trivial offense , `` she wrote . She argued that under Washington law , the officers had no authority to take Brooks into custody : Failure to sign a traffic infraction is not an arrestable offense , and it 's not illegal to resist an unlawful arrest . Berzon said the majority 's notion that Brooks obstructed officers was so far-fetched that even the officers themselves did n't make that legal argument . To obstruct an officer , one must obstruct the officer 's official duties , and the officers ' only duties in this case were to detain Brooks long enough to identify her , check for warrants , write up the citation and give it to her . Brooks ' failure to sign did not interfere with those duties , she said . Furthermore , Brooks posed no apparent threat , and the officers could not have known how stunning her would affect the fetus , or whether it might prompt premature labor - another reason their actions were inexcusable , Berzon said . Brooks ' lawyer , Eric Zubel , said he would ask the 9th Circuit to rehear the case . '' This is outrageous - that something like this could happen to a pregnant woman , in front of an elementary school , at 8:30 in the morning , to someone who posed no threat whatsoever , `` he said ."
"For anti-choicers , it 's just about control and power over women . They do n't care about life . ( Except their own . ) This same mother could be a person who did n't have access to pre-natal care . They would n't defend that right either . Because they DO N'T care about the fetus . They do n't care about life . They do n't care about health . They care about power and money and pushing people around . That 's all ."
"Court : Seattle police OK to stun pregnant woman By GENE JOHNSON & # ; ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER SEATTLE -- Three Seattle police officers were justified when they used a stun gun on a pregnant mother who refused to sign a traffic ticket , a federal appeals court ruled Friday in a case that prompted an incredulous dissent . Malaika Brooks was driving her son to Seattle 's African American Academy in 2004 when she was stopped for doing 32 mph in a school zone . She insisted it was the car in front of her that was speeding , and refused to sign the ticket because she thought she 'd be admitting guilt . ''"
"For anti-choicers , it 's just about control and power over women . They do n't care about"