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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

The Vox Box

Kids? Please don’t play with stun guns…

This is my "holy crap" of the day...


MAN ARRESTED AFTER USING TASER ON 79-YEAR-OLD By Associated Press
Saturday, Jan. 27

A man who used a stun gun on his 79-year-old grandmother-in-law after an argument over how to discipline his son was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence assault.

Aaron de Bruyn, 26, was cited with fourth-degree domestic violence assault Wednesday and was released from the Skamania County Jail on Thursday afternoon, said Calvin Owens, police chief in this town about 30 miles up the Columbia River from Portland.

The argument began Wednesday morning when his 7-month-old son tried to reach behind the family’s entertainment system to grab the electrical wires, de Bruyn told Vancouver’s Columbian newspaper.

Fearing the boy would shock himself, he told the boy "no" a couple of times and gave the child a swat on his diapered bottom.

De Bruyn said his grandmother-in-law, Rosemary Garlock, told him that was child abuse and threatened to have the child taken away. He said he then told Garlock to leave and she refused.

After an argument that lasted several minutes, he pulled out his Taser and told her he would use it on her if she didn’t leave within 60 seconds.

He counted down, and when she didn’t leave, he shocked her on her right shoulder as she sat on the living room couch.

"She yelped, because getting Tased hurts," de Bruyn said. "She started screaming at the top of her lungs to call 911."

Garlock did not need medical attention.

De Bruyn said he had the 50,000-volt Taser X26 energy weapon in case he was confronted with a burglar in his house. He said he was the one who called authorities, saying he had a relative in his house who would not leave.

De Bruyn’s stun gun was confisicated.

"If I had to do it over again, I wouldn’t," he said.

Awwww... It's a Christmas lesson for us all. Don't taser Grandma...

My favorite quote: "She yelped, because getting Tased hurts."

QUESTION: What should the punishment be for someone who uses a stun gun on their grandma?
joke...
QUESTION: What should the punishment be for someone who uses a stun gun in this sort of situation? Or did he have a right to be protecting his home?



In 2006, then-editor Steve Smith of The Spokesman-Review had the idea of starting a publication for an often forgotten audience: teenagers. The Vox Box was a continuation of the Vox, an all-student staffed newspaper published by The Spokesman-Review. High school student journalists who staffed the Vox made all content decisions as they learn about the trade of journalism. This blog's mission was to give students an opportunity to publish their voices. The Vox Box and the Vox wrapped up in June 2009, but you can follow former staffers' new blog at http://voxxiez.blogspot.com.