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Newly Released 911 Tape Of When Deputies Used Stun Gun On Boy

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Carroll County Sheriff's Department has released the 911 tapes from the night an autistic 9-year-old boy had a stun gun used on him.

The mother had called deputies in May to report her son was out of control, and in the newly released 911 tapes, you can hear her frantically seeking help.

Deputies arrived to find the boy holding two knives, and when the child ignored orders to drop his weapons, one deputy deployed his stun gun.

[Caller: "I'm scared to death he's going to hurt himself."]

Desperate for help, a Finksburg mother called 9-1-1 when her 9-year-old autistic son tried to attack her on May 31.

[Caller: "He's come after me with two very large knives, so I've been trying to avoid calling. Now I feel it reached the level where I need help."]

Locked in her bedroom, the mother told the dispatcher her son was uncooperative and violent. At one point, the woman left her room to try and talk to her son.

[Caller: "Put the knives down, no...He's waiting for the police officers to show up so he can kill them with these knives."]

When deputies and members of the crisis intervention team arrived, they tried to diffuse the situation.

But the boy moved aggressively towards them with the knives, and refused orders to drop them.

When deputies felt their lives were in danger, one discharged his stun gun and the boy dropped the knives. He was then taken into custody.

It was a difficult situation that left deputies with no other options.

"It's more difficult to deal with a child who doesn't necessarily understand what you're saying to them or has the ability to communicate back to you," said Dr. Scott Krugman, with Medstar Franklin Square Hospital Pediatrics.

The boy was taken to the hospital as a precaution due to the use of the stun gun, but he was not charged.

The sheriff's department applauds the actions of their deputies for properly handling this difficult situation.

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