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Fla. Cop Fired For Shocking Children During Visit

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May 3, 2009 10:43 pm US/Central

Fla. Cop Fired For Shocking Children During Visit

CARRABELLE, Fla. (CBS) ― A small Florida panhandle town whose biggest tourist attraction features "the world's smallest police department" is now in the news – and for no small reason.

A Florida corrections officer in Carrabelle, Fla., just southwest of Tallahassee, has been fired from his post after zapping children with 50,000 volts as they participated in the "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day," reports CBS station WFOR-TV in Miami.

An investigation has been launched into the incident that occurred on April 24 alleging Sgt. Walter Schmidt used the device on the children, according to Department of Corrections Secretary Walt McNeil.

In his defense, Schmidt said the parents had given consent to shock the children with the hand held device usually used to subdue problem prisoners.

Schmidt has now been fired. A warden said Schmidt zapped "at least two kids."

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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