A Texas officer was fired after she was accused of using her boyfriend’s taser on her 3 kids, ages 8, 11, and 12. Xochitl Ortiz, 34, a former Harris County Precinct 4 Deputy Constable, appeared in court on May 20 to face three charges of causing injury to minors under the age of 15.
Under Texas law, each offense faces a maximum punishment of ten years in prison.
Ortiz has been on the force for two years. Her partner, ex-deputy Christopher Worthington, was also sacked from the department. He will start in October 2020. The claimed assault happened between April 1 and 4, this year, at Ortiz’s residence in Tomball.
Ortiz is charged with ‘drive shocking’ her kids with a ‘electric self-defense weapon’ at that period. She is suspected of using a Taser supplied by her fellow deputy boyfriend’s agency.
According to Police1, a ‘drive-stun’ is a ‘pain-compliance approach that uses a lower quantum of force than deploying the probes.’ According to prosecutors, the youngsters informed their dad, who is divorcing their mother, about the abuse allegations.
They claimed to have been tasered on the bottom, hand, and shoulder. A probable cause finding filed in Harris County District Court claims that Ortiz’s children revealed the alleged assault to their dad and that they “do not feel secure” in her house, and that the boys “made persistent accusations of abuse” by their mother to state child protection officials. Ortiz and the children’s father are now divorcing.
On April 14, he informed Ortiz to authorities. Ortiz was apprehended on May 18. During the court session, the hearing officer informed Ortiz, ‘The facts claim that you used a Taser to tase each of your kids: one on the hand, one on the buttocks, and one on the shoulder.’ According to the facts, the complaining witnesses are accused of shock and agony and don’t feel secure in your home.’
Ortiz was taken into jail. Ortiz is no longer listed as an inmate on the Harris County jail’s website at the time of writing, indicating that she has posted bond. Her bail was initially set at $450,000 but was then reduced to $150,000. Ortiz’s monthly salary is $2,500, according to her financial disclosure declaration. She spends over $4,500 a month and has $300 in the bank.
Russell Neumann, Ortiz’s lawyer, said that his client asserts her innocence and plans to “defend” the claims against her. The taser used in the episode belonged to Ortiz’s boyfriend, Worthington.
Worthington was dismissed from his position for violating department rules, although he is not presently facing criminal charges.
Constable Mark Herman, Ortiz’s former supervisor, said in a declaration that on April 14, 2022, his office received a report in regard to these claims and promptly launched an investigation.’ His office collaborated with investigators from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, which resulted in his office arresting and delivering ex-deputy Xochitl Ortiz to the investigators.
Ortiz’s bond requires her to be within 200 feet of her children, away from their dad, boyfriend, weapons, and anything that resembles weapons, as well as away from drink and narcotics.
During the inquiry, Ortiz’s children informed investigators that they do not feel comfortable with their mother.
On their website, Axon, the leading taser producer in the United States, advises against the use of tasers on minors. Tasers are used on kids much too frequently, as per Strategies for Youth, a non-profit that works to improve interactions between juveniles and police enforcement.
According to a group report, it says that physically and emotionally, youngsters react substantially differently than adults to pressure, trauma, and physical attacks. Sadly, law enforcement in the United States usually fails to grasp that young people need a whole different set of tools and methods than adults during encounters and interactions.
