The mayor in the US city of Cincinnati, Ohio, has issued a public apology after a police officer tased an 11-year-old African American girl who was suspected of stealing food from a supermarket.
“Tasing an 11-year old who posed no danger to the police is wrong,” Mayor John Cranley wrote in a statement on Wednesday, noting that he had asked the prosecutors to drop all charges against the teenager, identified as Donesha Gowdy.
Donesha was tased by officer Kevin Brown, 55, who was working as a security guard at the supermarket on Monday evening, when the incident happened. Police had charged the girl with theft and obstructing official business.
According to police, Brown decided to use his stun gun on Donesha after she allegedly ignored an officer and started to walk away.
The impact was so hard on the teenager that she had to be taken to a children’s hospital after experiencing breathing problems.
