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November 24, 2009

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NLV Police say officer observed Taser policy

Tuesday, July 26, 2005 | 9:27 a.m.

A North Las Vegas Police officer who used a Taser gun on a three-month pregnant woman who charged at a group of people with a knife did not violate department policy, a police spokesman said.

Officers weren't aware that 18-year-old Ollie Simmons was pregnant, but even if they did, it would not have changed the way they reacted to the situation Sunday at an apartment complex on Cheyenne Avenue near Las Vegas Boulevard.

North Las Vegas officers were at the Las Vegas complex looking for an armed robbery suspect when they saw a group of people fighting, Officer Tim Bedwell, police spokesman, said.

Simmons went into an apartment and came at the group with a knife raised over her head, Bedwell said, and the officer deployed the 50,000-volt Taser to stop her.

She was taken to North Vista Hospital, where she was checked for injuries. Finding none, police arrested her for assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a police officer.

The police department's policy on Taser use says that officers should give consideration to a visibly pregnant woman before using the weapon, Bedwell said, adding that Simmons was not visibly pregnant.

The incident will be reviewed by a use-of-force board.

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