An investigation is underway after a sergeant with the New York Police Department used a Taser stun gun on a pregnant 17-year-old. Video of the incident, which took place on Friday, was posted online, showing Dailene Rosario being dragged down the hallway of her Bronx apartment building screaming, “Get off me!” and, “I’m pregnant!,” before a plain clothes officer used the weapon on her.
It all started when Rosario walked into the hallway after her boyfriend and brother were fighting out there, the NY Daily News reported. She went back inside, but then officers knocked on her door saying they were responding to a what Rosario said was a false report of a fight between Rosario and her sister. An officer placed Rosario in handcuffs and dragged her into the hallway, where other cops were present. Those officers had responded to the fight in the hallway, which had drawn more than a dozen onlookers.
Police said that Rosario yelled, “Yo, why are you cuffing me!” and, “I didn’t do anything.”
But according to court documents, Rosario yelled, “I don’t want to talk to you!” at Police Officer Taralena Gerrato, and then pushed the officer into a door frame. Rosario then threw herself to the floor and flailed her arms when other officers tried to arrest her. Then came the Taser.
Rosario is 14 weeks pregnant, and police say they couldn’t tell by looking at her, but one witness told the Daily News, “She’s four months pregnant. She has a belly. You can tell. I was disgusted.” The NYPD Patrol Guide says that Tasers should generally not be used on “obviously pregnant females.”
Video of the incident first appeared on WorldStarHipHop.com on Tuesday, and the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau began investigating. They spoke to witnesses and ultimately decided no one had done anything wrong.
The head of the sergeants union, Ed Mullins, said in a statement:
I can tell you that from what I’ve seen, I really don’t see any issue with using the stun gun,” he said. “She’s failing to comply with arrest. I mean, how do you know somebody is pregnant unless they absolutely look pregnant?
Rosario was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, and was released Saturday morning after her arraignment. A doctor told her that the baby was unharmed.
[Image via screengrab]
