Toddler Struck With Taser As Father Tried To Fight Off Cops During Arrest

A toddler was struck by a taser while his father resisted arrest in Pennsylvania Tuesday night.

The father, 35-year-old Joshua King, was later apprehended.

Schuylkill Haven police said they had been called to a home on North Garfield Avenue for a reported burglary around 10 p.m. Tuesday, reported WNEP.

According to court documents, King broke into his parent's apartment and said his 18-month-old son needed food. He also smashed glass inside and destroyed some interior doors.

Although the officers asked him to come out, King refused and barricaded himself inside the house. He also fought off the officers from coming inside the house. He then retreated to a bedroom, using his son as a human shield from police action, police said.

Amid the altercation, an officer used his taser multiple times on King who was still clutching the baby. At one point, two taser darts hit the child on his upper left leg.

"Two Taser probes that came in contact with the child. Through this struggle with police officers and the defendant," Schuylkill Haven Police Chief Jeff Walcott told PA homepage.

An officer managed to pull the child from King's arms before he ran outside. The child was transported to the hospital for treatment and released.

King was able to flee the house but officers chased him to a nearby business. He then hopped on a truck and locked the doors. He also threw objects at the police, including a toolbox. He was later apprehended and taken into custody.

Police said King will be charged with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child, resisting arrest and burglary. He is currently held at Schuylkill County Prison on a $50,000 bail.

Police said they had also been summoned to the house earlier that day.

"I will say earlier in the day we were there for a similar type incident. It was mitigated by the defendant, leaving peacefully with his son, who said he had somewhere to go and he wishes to separate himself from his family," Walcott explained.

The incident has left the neighbors upset. Paul Robinson, who lives down the street, was shocked to hear about the child being tasered.

"If they are risking a baby in someone's arms and they need to stop someone, I can't imagine that they would still taser him," Robinson told WNEP. "A child could get killed with a Taser, in my impression. If it can bring a 200-or 300-pound man down, what's it going to do to a little baby?"

Meanwhile, the department is reviewing the incident as per protocol. Schuylkill County District Attorney Michael O'Pake said he believes officers followed their departments' use-of-force policies appropriately. The district attorney is also taking part in the review, according to WNEP.