Pittsburgh police officers are facing an extensive review after a young girl was accidentally tased in the head during her attempted rescue.
Law enforcement arrived at the scene in Allentown neighborhood of Pittsburgh on Thursday September 12 around 3:30 p.m., where a man claimed a woman had just stolen his Chevy Equinox.
Authorities tracked down the woman, who had two children with her at the time.
As police approached her, the woman reportedly held the children—a 4-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl—at knifepoint, according to police.
The woman, identified as 48-year-old Gwendolyn Gilmore, wrapped her arms around the children's necks with the knife against her daughter's neck after an officer ordered Gilmore to drop the dagger and held up a gun before switching to a taser.
"In an attempt to disarm the female and safeguard the welfare of the children, an officer on scene deployed a taser," police said, adding that, "in the process, the 10-year-old female was inadvertently struck in the head by one of the taser prongs."
The girl suffered a seizure at the scene and a minor laceration to her scalp.
She was transported to a local children's hospital and has since been released into the custody of a relative.
Gilmore was arrested and taken to Allegheny County Jail, where she faces charges including theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, and endangering the welfare of children.
The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police has launched an extensive review of the officer's tactics and said in a press release that the bureau reviews all use-of-force incidents that occur in the city and involve Pittsburgh Police officers.
Beth Pittinger, executive director of the Pittsburgh Citizen Police Review Board, told KDKA that police "did a very good job at managing that situation and ended up protecting those children from further harm, noting the children were "faced with a threat and had assessed that threat realistically and reasonably."
