Father tased by police upon discovering his toddler’s death

Jermiah Rutledge grieves the loss of his son in handcuffs after being tased by police. 

(Credit: CBS Atlanta video)

FULTON COUNTY, GA — A man grieving the loss of his two-year-old son found little sympathy from the police state in Georgia.  The man, returning home after being notified of the boy’s death, was tased for attempting to enter his own home to see his son.

The unfortunate incident happened in Fulton County this past April when Angela Rutledge stepped into the bathroom for a few minutes, at around 1:30 p.m., leaving her toddler alone with their 8-year-old family dog.  When she returned, she was horrified to find that the pit bull had mauled her son to death.  She ran from the house, screaming.

A 9-1-1 call was placed.  Police soon arrived and took control of the scene.

CBS Atlanta reported that neighbors said when the boy’s father, Jermiah Rutledge, was notified of the attack while at work, he rushed home and tried to enter his home to see what had happened to his son.  Officers advised the man to stay back, but the grieving man continued to attempt to gain entry to his home, saying “You’ll have to shoot me. I’m going to see my son,” according to police spokesman Sgt. Scott McBride.

It was then that police used a taser to subdue the man.

McBride defended the actions of the officers, offering no sympathy to the man who first learned of the death of his toddler, and then was tased for attempting to see him.  ”This is one of those parts of the job we don’t like doing. But we have to protect the crime scene until we know what has happened. We must look at all the possibilities. We can’t contaminate the crime scene,” McBride said according to CBS Atlanta.

Relatives grieve the 2-year-old’s death. (Photo: Ben Gray, AP)

Neighbors felt for the family and were understanding of the man’s reaction.  ”When it’s your own child, you go through something like that, you’re going to be angry, upset, and you’re going to want to see your child for the last time,” said a neighbor according to CBS Atlanta.

Other neighbors were put off at the police use of a taser to subdue the man.  ”He was already hurting from the loss, then to have to go through that, the images haunt me,” said another neighbor.

The man can be seen in video from CBS Atlanta sitting on the ground, crying, with his hands restrained behind his back.

Do you think this was an appropriate use of force?  Let us know in the comments below.