Police arrest woman after allegedly assaulting 9-year-old with a Taser

RIVERTON, Utah — Police in Riverton have made an arrest after a woman allegedly used a Taser on a 9-year-old boy last week in a church parking lot. Officers arrested 37-year-old April Shurtleff Wednesday for investigation of child abuse, aggravated assault and threats of violence.

Jail records show that authorities booked Shurtleff into the Salt Lake County Jail.

Public plea leads to an arrest

The alleged assault happened Friday afternoon around 1 p.m. near 12900 South and 2700 West when a boy was riding his scooter with a friend outside a local church. At some point, the boy noticed a woman inside her car taking pictures of them.

“My son is not shy, so he walked up to the car and said, ‘What are you doing, why are you taking pictures?’” explained the boy’s mother, Kelly Wright-Green.

At that time, the woman started using vulgar language and pulled out a hand-held Taser, Wright-Green said.

“They started walking away,” said Wright-Green. “She got out of her car, went up behind him, and grabbed him and tased him in his chest.”

Cops say she quickly pulled out of the parking lot and surveillance video wasn’t clear enough to identify her license plate number. Police distributed the surveillance video on social media in hopes that someone would identify the vehicle and its owner.

The arrest of Shurtleff puts an end to the search in the Taser assault case. 

The boy’s mother says he is recovering, although the assault left marks on his chest.