Video of Florida trooper tasing teen sparks outrage
A video of a Florida state trooper tasing a 16-year-old boy has outraged the teen's mother. The video shows Jack Rodeman outside his girlfriend's home in Fort Myers last week as the trooper approaches him with his Taser drawn.
"Put your hands behind your back," the trooper said.
"I didn't do nothing," Rodeman responded.
Moments later, the trooper deploys his Taser and the teen falls to the ground.
"I do not feel that my son deserved that," said Kristina Rodeman, the teen's mother.
When asked if her son should've complied with the officer, Kristina said, "Probably, and I agree he should have dropped his phone. He's a good kid but he is defiant with law enforcement a bit."
The teen's mother is outraged that the trooper repeatedly tased her son while he was on the ground in pain, saying he was "absolutely not a threat."
The trooper said he followed the teen, who is biracial, into the backyard because he looked suspicious and tased him when he refused to follow his commands to turn around and put his hands behind his back.
"I think something should have been done, he shouldn't have done that to my kid," Kristina said. "His girlfriend is traumatized, her mother is traumatized and I am traumatized."
When asked how her son was doing, Kristina said, "I don't know."
The 16-year-old, who was on probation, is currently at a juvenile detention center facing multiple charges, including resisting arrest and possession of marijuana.
The Florida Highway Patrol says an administrative review of the incident is ongoing.
