Mother Calls Video Of Taser Being Used On Her Son "Disturbing, Terrible"

MILLVALE (KDKA) -- A mother is now speaking out after video surfaced of a Taser being used on her son while he was in custody at the Millvale Police Station.

Thomas J. Smith's mother watched the video in horror as the Taser was used. Anne Shannon saw the video on Tuesday for the very first time.

"It's disturbing; it's terrible," Shannon, Smith's mother, said.

Smith, who is described by family members as mentally ill and heavily medicated, was arrested by Millvale Police on minor drug possession charges. He was brought inside the police station.

Sources say the video was taken by another police officer.

Smith: "I'm not a murderer. I'm not a murder."

The video then shows him banging his head. A female police officer speaks out.

Officer: "He's going to [expletive] his head open. We are going to sit down at the hospital with this retard."

Another Officer: "You're gonna have to sit down at the hospital on overtime."

Smith: "Just because you have a badge, you think you are all that too."

[Laughing]

It's after Smith tries to stand up that the video shows a Millvale police officer using a Taser.

"It hurts; it hurts really bad," said Shannon. "No one wants to see their kids go through something like this. It's just, it's wrong."

Attorneys representing the family say Smith is bi-polar, manic depressive and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. They say Smith should have been handled in a much different way.

"That is someone's son; that is someone's brother; that is a person who has mental problems," said defense attorney David Shrager. "Name calling and abusive behavior, that's not what we stand for in this country."

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Video Surfaces Of Police Using Taser on Handcuffed Suspect (1/7/13)
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