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Woman Tasered While Restrained in Fairfax County

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FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - Incident reports show a mentally ill woman who died after being subdued with a stun gun at the Fairfax County jail was restrained at the hands and legs when she was shocked four times.

The Washington Post obtained incident reports in the February death of inmate Natasha McKenna. Documents show McKenna initially cooperated and agreed to be handcuffed. But she then began trying to fight her way out.

Six officers in full biohazard suits then placed McKenna into full restraints. The reports show McKenna wouldn't bend her knees to be placed into a chair, so an officer shocked her four times with 50,000 volts.

Law enforcement experts are questioning why a stun gun was used on a restrained woman. But Fairfax Sheriff Stacey Kincaid defended the use of force.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.