Cop fatally shoots 18-year-old special needs girl after family calls for medical help

[MediaDeit]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/06/0...-medical-help/

A California family says that a call to 911 to get medical assistance for an 18-year-old family member with special needs ended in tragedy when police showed up instead and killed her.

Deputy Rebecca Rosenblatt told KNTV that San Mateo County sheriff’s deputies responded to reports that a violent female suspect was thought to be armed in Half Moon Bay.

“Deputies arrived on scene,” Rosenblatt explained to KRON. “Shortly thereafter there was a confrontation where the deputy was in fear for his life and as a result he fired his weapon.”

Tiny Serrano, who said that the girl was his sister, identified her as 18-year-old Yanira Serrano.

The brother, however, told a different story about events that led up to Yanira Serrano’s death.

Tiny Serrano said that his family called 911 hoping that paramedics would come to provide medical assistance because his sister had special needs, and she had not been taking her medication. He admitted that she may have had a knife.

The family had called paramedics for assistance before, so they were shocked when deputies showed up and fatally shot Yanira Serrano.

“She has special needs and we just want answers,” the brother remarked. “Who are we supposed to call now when we need help when who is supposed to help us is killing our kids?”

“Why didn’t they use a Taser?” Tiny Serrano asked KNTV. “We just want to know what really happened.”

The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office placed the deputy on administrative leave while detectives and the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office completed an investigation.

Why does this happen over and over again, why do our police officers resort to such actions when no other developed country deals with this, this is a special US situation where we have numerous death every week due to police actions, numerous police shootings every week, numerous videos of assault, it happens so often that these no longer make the news. In every other developed country such police action would be headline news... do other countries have their high school rejects as their police force as well?

..but please, please tell me "well the police officer was scared for his life"....

[KizzaK]

Pussy ***got cop

[pWally]

Inb4 2 weeks paid leave

[AdamOm]

Coward piece of chit

[benzy456]

Inb4 2 weeks paid leave

Works everytime, media forgets about it completely and by then a different cop in another state has shot someone.

[Youppi]

Inb4 2 weeks paid leave

lol

[gary69]

why was she wielding a knife. cops will fire if she attacks them

[endurancell]

this seems like a recurring theme, just keeps happening over and over. why do these prick cops think it's okay to murder autistic and special needs children/people. ****ing scumbags i sweare m8. this stuff rustles me so hard, having an autistic younger brother and everything

[KCBadBoy]

Well this turned my good day around....

[yo9494]

why the **** dont they lmit the fking number of people enrolling in the police academy so that only the people most suitable for the job can do it... instead of letting every fat dimbwit in?

[ACEthetics]

FTP

Pigs gonna pig. This is the very reason why I took two hits from some drunk kid at a bar monday night. There were cops 20 feet away and I knew that even if I hit him back in self defense I would have gotten arrested (or worse) simply because I'm bigger and most cops are imbeciles.

[WavieCrockett]

Works everytime, media forgets about it completely and by then a different cop in another state has shot someone.

is normal

[mnelson6]

The shooting occurred because she advanced on the police with a knife. Police are not social workers, they are not special ed instructors nor omniscient.

The family should have known better than to call 911 to tell them the woman was acting violent and had a knife.

[BiggerTommorow]

i want them to elaborate on special needs. Cops a fuggen idiot but they mention she isn't taking her medication and they need help cause she has a knife. Sounds more like mental health issues rather than special needs.

[SucculentSteve]

They raise a good point. Why not taser? I do feel for the cop though, more than likely a huge misunderstanding.

[Marronis]

why the fuk would he shoot a special needs girl? The family called the cops for assistance before, it should be known this girl had special needs... Fuk that cop, scared of cops crew, if a cop approaches me the first thing i would say is "please dont shoot me"

[memcop]

Don't fall for the hyped wording "special needs" if one is taking medication to prevent them from stabbing cops then the traditional definition is out the window.

I highly suggest you volunteer to go into these situations and hug it out with armed mental patients. Sorry for the loss of life I an not speak for anyone else but it is a last resort and the last thing I would want to do. This is real life people, knives hurt.

[Archangel_Lost]

last time I checked, police aren't medicine dispensers. why the fuk would they call cops if they didn't perceive her as a threat?

[xxdieharderxx]

Cell tech not even once.

[ShreddedSnorlax]

Feel like any retard can become a cop nowadays.

[pWally]

Don't fall for the hyped wording "special needs" if one is taking medication to prevent them from stabbing cops then the traditional definition is out the window.

I highly suggest you volunteer to go into these situations and hug it out with armed mental patients. Sorry for the loss of life I an not speak for anyone else but it is a last resort and the last thing I would want to do. This is real life people, knives hurt.

I usually never agree with mods but he's right

"special needs" could be just a nice way of saying "mentally unstable without medication"

[TDKSparda]

Why not just tase her?

[nebraskman1]

Obviously nobody, outside of those involved know the situation. Sure, there have been numerous other situations of cops overstepping their bounds, but until you know all of the facts, don't assume. Granted a taser sounds like a more plausible answer to this. But for all we know she could have snapped suddenly and attacked him with a knife.... Also don't assume all law enforcement is like this. Look what's happening in Canada...Internet badasses gonna badass...

[TheSaladMan]

The shooting occurred because she advanced on the police with a knife. Police are not social workers, they are not special ed instructors nor omniscient.

The family should have known better than to call 911 to tell them the woman was acting violent and had a knife.

This, they obviously aren't going to send EMT people in there before the cops show up and make sure it's safe for them to go in.

If the girl charged the cop or was swinging the knife around potentially hurting someone else, I think it's justified.

The girl sounds like she was unstable because she was off her meds. If she didn't charge the cop, they probably should have used a taser on her. That is, unless she was going after someone else.

[chalup]

“She has special needs and we just want answers,” the brother remarked. “Who are we supposed to call now when we need help when who is supposed to help us is killing our kids?”

[TriggerWarning]

this story sounds exaclty the same as the one where the family called emergency services because of there son being off his meds and the cop in charge shot him because he didn't feel like dealing with him

[Tomi_Li]

Did you guys even read it?

The brother says she may have had a knife..

Just how special is this girl what exactly was she doing with a knife? I am skeptical hippo.

Maybe she was special needs psycho or something. Without a video of what actually happened there is only going to be different "sides".

[mudrock]

we can only protect our selves.

i would never call the police if in a argument with family.

[memcop]

Obviously nobody, outside of those involved know the situation. Sure, there have been numerous other situations of cops overstepping their bounds, but until you know all of the facts, don't assume. Granted a taser sounds like a more plausible answer to this. But for all we know she could have snapped suddenly and attacked him with a knife.... Also don't assume all law enforcement is like this. Look what's happening in Canada...Internet badasses gonna badass...

I know for a fact I can kill you if I were holding a knife and you a taser.

Or better yet you decide. I am going to stab you, you choose your weapon. You can reach for the taser and hope for the best.

You Make sense, you really do but I will not "hope for the best" I will do what's necessary to live. You cannot ask that of some one.

[KizzaK]

Don't fall for the hyped wording "special needs" if one is taking medication to prevent them from stabbing cops then the traditional definition is out the window.

I highly suggest you volunteer to go into these situations and hug it out with armed mental patients. Sorry for the loss of life I an not speak for anyone else but it is a last resort and the last thing I would want to do. This is real life people, knives hurt.

Really?

I know every situation is different but in this one id take my chances unarmed vs a chick with a knife whos probably 120lbs max. She will not kill me and I can handle a stab wound which I doubt she has the power to inflict