Salt Lake City police used a stun gun on a 14-year-old boy after they say he refused to leave the Gateway Mall and resisted arrest on Saturday night.
Around 8 p.m. Saturday, police said a group of kids was trying to pick a fight with a second group.
Gateway security officers asked the group to leave the mall, but they refused and at least one boy actively fought with officers, police said.
"He said his group was waiting for someone, and they were not leaving until they did so -- despite what police and security officers were telling them to do," said Salt Lake City Police Department Det. Dennis McGowan.
The boy cursed at officers and clenched his fists, taking "an aggressive stance," McGowan said.
McGowan said the boy refused to turn around to be arrested and pushed back at officers.
"He wouldn't go on the ground, and officers were unable to gain control," McGowan said. "Apparently they were falling on top of each other, so as a last resort, the officer pulled out his Taser."
McGowan said officers told the boy "over and over" to stop resisting and "had no choice but to deploy the Taser."
"It was for this person's safety as well as the officer's safety," he said. "It's much safer for them to do that versus someone getting beaten, or both parties getting beaten badly."
McGowan said the officers tried to work with the boy, and police were justified in elevating the force for the boy's own protection.
"A Taser only lasts for a few seconds," McGowan said. "Once the shock is over, it's as if nothing happened. The person totally recovers. We use minimum force when necessary -- that's what we try to do on every single call."
