Two cops in Groveland, Fla. allegedly pushed an 11-year-old girl to the floor and held her at gunpoint after responding to a burglary alarm at her house, television station WFTV reported on Friday.
The girl, who WFTV didn’t identify, was in her home when Officers James Festa and John Rigdon entered the house through the garage with guns drawn, according to her family.
The girl herself described the event and her interactions with police.
“One of the officers was pushing me down and, when he was pushing me down, he put his knee on me and then the other officer still had his gun pointed at me,” she told WFTV.
Her father, Jean Guirand, complained about the incident to the police department and told the station he couldn’t believe this happened to his daughter.
“Someone should get fired for doing something like that to an 11-year-old,” Guirand said. “She’s traumatized by it.”
Groveland police began an investigation into the incident and WFTV reported that, according to their personnel files, both of the officers involved had prior disciplinary issues. Police were scheduled to interview the girl on Monday, the station reported.
They were just following protocol .
Hmmm, “Jean Guirand” . . . Haitien (black) by any chance?
The father should be glad that he had a girl 11 years ago. A boy might have been shot to death during that encounter (totally legitimate, of course).
“both of the officers involved had prior disciplinary issues.”
New rule: once and you’re gone.
How about that?
In terms of liability for endangering the public, how is this different from letting a trained fighting/attack dog get out of your yard? Or leaving a chainsaw in your front yard where kids could pick it up and play with it?