A school resource officer from an Ohio school is on unpaid leave after she activated a Taser to wake up a sleeping student. The offending officer, Maryssa Boskoski, was a part-time officer at Liberty Preparatory School in Smithville, Ohio. While the student was not shocked by the taser in the incident, it’s unclear why the Taser was used in the first place.
According to Smithfield Police Chief Howard Funk, Boskoski “did take her Taser, remove the cartridge from it, and arced the Taser.” The principal of the school, Jenna Parnell, was in the room with the resource officer when she turned the weapon on to awake the student.
Fortunately, the probes weren’t deployed and the Taser never came into the contact with the high school junior student, who immediately woke up from the noise of the Taser and the accompanying commotion in the classroom.
The resource officer was only called to the room because the teacher and interim principal were unable to wake up the student. Boskoski apparently gave no warning before removing her weapon. Interim principal Parnell said she was “stunned” by the incident.
“I was a little surprised by it. Our interest is in the safety of our students so hearing that go off was a little alarming,” Parnell told FOX 4 Now.
The school later sent a letter out to parents informing them of the altercation and their cooperation with the police.
Chief of Police Funk said resource officer Boskoski violated Taser police, which could put her job in jeopardy. He says that he plans to meet with the village solicitor to determine whether or not to file criminal charges against Boskoski.
Apparently, this isn’t the first time Boskoski has incorrectly used a Taser. Her performance log noted that she failed to remove a cartridge from a Taser prior to a spark test. She then deployed the Taser close to another officer. The report noted that similar negligence could result in disciplinary action.
Do you think this resource officer should be fired for using a Taser to wake up a student or was she just doing her job? Should resource officers in schools even have Tasers on their person? Sound off in the comments.