Fetus stillborn after cops use taser on pregnant woman

12/20/01 1:37 PM

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A police officer used a taser on an hysterical woman outside this home in Chula Vista. Four days later,
to woman's baby was stillborn.

Fetus stillborn after cops use taser on pregnant
woman
by Lynn Stuart

CHULA VISTA, Dec. 19 – Investigators are trying to determine
whether the shock of a police taser caused a pregnant woman to
miscarry her 6-month fetus.

in the FeedRoom

According to police, 36-year-old Cyndi Grippi lost her baby four days after a
Chula Vista patrolman gave her a 50,000-volt taser shock during a confrontation
outside the home of the baby’s father.

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The incident began at about 11 p.m. Dec. 11 when police were called to a home in
the 700 block of Monterey Avenue to investigate a report of a family fight.
Officer said that when they arrived, Cyndi Grippi was arguing with one of her
brothers who had come to her boyfriend’s home to convince her to leave with
them.
"He was asking her to go home, that she deserved better," said Lt. Don Hunter of
the Chula Vista Police Department. "She kept saying, ‘But I love him and I want
to stay.’"
When the woman saw the officers, she tried to run into the house, but one of her
brothers blocked her and they began pushing each other.
"She was hysterical. She was screaming and yelling and running around,” Lt.
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Fetus stillborn after cops use taser on pregnant woman

12/20/01 1:37 PM

Hunter said. “They were unable to control her. They ordered her to stop she
refused."
One of the officers, a three-year member of the Chula Vista Police Department,
pointed his stun gun at her and repeated the command to halt.
"She turned, looked at the officer, said `no' and ran toward the residence," Hunter
said.

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The officer shot her with his taser, sending two small barbs into her back and
shocking her. Hunter said that someone yelled that Grippi was pregnant, so the
officer called an ambulance. They were not aware that she was carrying a baby
until that point, he said.
Days later, the Chula Vista Police Department was notified the woman's fetus had
been stillborn on Saturday and the Medical Examiner had performed an autopsy,
Lt. Hunter said. The autopsy showed no trauma to the fetus. "At this time, the
cause of death is unknown," he said.
Neonatal experts don't believe the shock would be enough to hurt the child, Hunter
said. They say much stronger defibrillators are often used to revive pregnant
women without harming the fetus. Hunter said that the officers might have
handled the situation in the same way even if they had known the Grippi was
pregnant.
"If the officer had known the woman was pregnant, I don't know if that would
have made a difference in his decision,” Hunter said. “It's difficult to tell after the
fact."
A cause-of-death ruling is on hold pending further tests, a coroner's investigator
said. Police withheld the names of the officers involved and said they are not the
subject of a criminal investigation.

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