Manitoba teen alleges police used Taser on her in jail cell

A Manitoba teen is alleging police officers stunned her with a Taser three times in a jail cell following her arrest by RCMP earlier that evening.

The girl, who was 16 when the alleged incident occurred in Selkirk last November, said four male officers held her down in a jail cell and shot her with a Taser three times.

"I asked her what had happened and she said, 'They Tasered me, Mom, when I was in the jail cell,'" the girl's mother told CBC News. The girl or her mother cannot be identified because of provisions in the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

"I asked to see her legs and she showed me her legs and they were so badly infected, there was pus coming out," the girl's mother said.

She said her daughter was taken into custody after she and some friends were found drunk in her parents' van, which had been reported stolen. It was the second time in a week the young woman had been in police custody.

RCMP said they are investigating a complaint into excessive use of force but wouldn't provide details. The teen's mother, however, said she has received a letter saying an investigation found the officers did not commit a crime, and had now moved into a different phase.

She said nothing could have justified the use of force on her daughter.

"I was so upset when I said OK they were going to keep her, I thought she's OK, she's in their care and control. I didn't ask them to torture her in a jail cell," she said.

The revelations came just days after a Winnipeg teen died after he was shot with a Taser by police.

Meanwhile, the Saskatchewan Police Commission said Friday that Taser use will be limited to specially trained police tactical teams until it can get more information about stun guns and their effects.