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Ooltewah Middle School
CBS News Screenshot
Tennessee police officers reportedly Tased and arrested a middle school cleaning woman after mistaking her for a robber.
According to The Chattanooga Times Free-Press, on Jan. 11, officers were patrolling the area around the school when they saw an open door. Once inside, they encountered 36-year-old Juana Raymundo, a Guatemalan woman who was cleaning the school.
“She obviously noticed us, as she looked directly at us, appearing to be nervous and somewhat reserved,” Sgt. Jamie Heath wrote in his police report, according to the Times Free-Press.
The officer’s report also noted that Raymundo didn’t appear to understand English, as she answered the officer’s question with the word “no.” Raymundo began to walk away when Heath and another officer reportedly chased her around the school.
Heath noted that he told Raymundo to stop running or she would be shocked with a stun gun. The officer claims that he yelled “alto,” the Spanish word for stop, and Raymundo reportedly continued running. Heath then fired his Taser causing her to fall to the ground.
“This is a pretty defensively written report,” Andrew Free, a Nashville attorney who specializes in immigration and civil rights, told the Times Free-Press.
“I wonder if this is the same attention to detail that the officer gives every affidavit of complaint. And if so, why wasn’t there more attention to detail noting whether they identified themselves as they were sweeping the building?”
Raymundo was arrested for evading arrest and later released on a $750 bond.
She is due in Collegedale Municipal Court on March 2.
Read more at the The Chattanooga Times Free-Press.
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