Mother of boy, 11, who was Tasered at a caravan park claims police officer called her son ‘a little maggot’ in ‘disgusting’ incident that started over a Burger King – as she demands an apology
- Primary school pupil was taken down by officers using the 50,000-volt stun gun
- The incident happened after he did not respond to requests to drop his ‘weapon’
The mother of an 11-year-old boy who was tasered by police at a Scottish holiday park has demanded an apology after they left him ‘traumatised’ and allegedly called him a ‘little maggot’.
The youngster was taken down by the 50,000 volt stun gun after being surrounded by officers at Craig Tara caravan park in Ayr.
The boy, who has learning difficulties and cannot be identified, was holding a butter knife after complaining of not getting a Burger King when the incident unfolded, according to his mother.
She has now branded his treatment ‘disgusting’ and claims her son has been left scarred.
She has spoken out after the shocking footage was shared online, saying: ‘I wasn’t having him portrayed as a little thug.
‘They have just treated him like a criminal and he’s never been in trouble with police or at school. He’s a good boy who just got overwhelmed.
‘He says one of them called him a “little maggot”. It’s just disgusting.’
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline yesterday, his mother slammed the actions of the police and said: ‘He was terrified and was no danger to them at all. Why on earth did they Taser him? You can see in our video how frightened he was.’
She also revealed that her son was vulnerable and suffers from global developmental delay, a condition which causes children to take longer to reach certain developmental milestones.
Footage emerged this week of the incident in March, showing several officers asking the boy to put down his weapon.
In another video filmed by the boy, he begs officers ‘stop coming at me’ before the taser is discharged.
At least four uniformed officers are in the footage and one can be heard asking the boy to put down the knife and ‘do the right thing’ – but the boy keeps backing away.
One officer can be heard asking him: ‘What do you want do with the knife?’
The schoolboy’s mother said she called officers to the park because he ran off and couldn’t be found when he couldn’t get a Burger King because it had closed for the evening.
Police Scotland said the 11.15pm incident was ‘resolved with no serious injuries’ but the boy’s mother says he has been left ‘traumatised’ and has a scar on his leg.
She said she believes the family deserve an apology from the force and has contacted a solicitor.
She said: ‘There shouldn’t have been so many people around him. They should have been telling him it was ok.
‘He was cornered and they were holding up these big tasers. He was terrified and they could have done it a completely different way.
‘I’ve had to give several statements to different people. They aren’t sorry, they’re saying they had to do it. But I don’t think they did.
‘He would have dropped (the butter knife) if they had approached him more calmly.’
The boy was taken to hospital following the incident and has been unable to return to school full time.
His mother said: ‘When he came home he was silent. All he did was sit in his room. He was just traumatised by it. Anybody would be.