Woman left with burns after being Tasered by police for refusing to leave Apple store and buying 'too many' iPhones

 

John Hall
Friday 14 December 2012 13:04 GMT
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A woman has been left with severe burns to her arms after allegedly being Tasered by police for refusing to leave an Apple store and purchasing too many iPhones.

Xiaojie Li of Newton in Massachusetts said she bought two iPhones at an Apple store in Nashua, New Hampshire last week, with the intention of sending them as gifts for her family in China.

Li returned to the store the following day to purchase more phones for her family, but was told she would not be able to as she had exceeded her limit. Police say Li, who does not speak English, then refused to leave the store.

To avoid buyers reselling phones at marked-up prices, Apple stores restrict purchases to two iPhones per customer.

Amateur footage then captures the moment two officers seemingly Taser Li, pinning her to the ground while she kicks, struggles and lets out blood-curdling screams.

Speaking to wcvb.com, Li's fiancé John Hugo said he is outraged by the incident. He plans to fight the misdemeanour charges against Li and is considering filing a complaint against the police.

Hugo said: “Is that proper procedure, really? Beating up a helpless woman? I beg to differ".

In a wcvb.com interview, Hugo holds up Li’s wrist to show the red marks she allegedly received in the incident. He claims Li only resisted arrest because she didn't understand what the policeman were saying.

Asked by a reporter whether Li had planned to resell the phones, Hugo said: “Not to my knowledge, sir, no. This was a present for her sister.”

New Hampshire police said: “She wasn't mistreated in any way… if she had left the store when she was told to leave the store, it would have been done at that”.

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