The family of a 3-year-old killed in a northern Missouri house fire is outraged after police used a stun gun on the boy's stepfather as he tried to run back in and save the child. 
 
 In this Nov. 3, 2013 photo provided by the Louisiana Press-Journal is a memorial in front of a home following a fire in Louisiana, Mo. The family of 3-year-old Riley Miller who was killed in the Oct.... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this undated photo provided by Miller Law Offices is 3-year-old Riley Jeffrey Rieser Miller who was killed in a house fire on Oct. 31, 2013, in Louisiana, Mo. Miller's family is outraged after police... (Associated Press) 
 
 Riley Jeffrey Rieser Miller died early Oct. 31 in the Mississippi River town of Louisiana. A city police officer fired his stun gun at Ryan Miller, 31, as he tried to re-enter his burning home, according to a city official. The house was destroyed. 
 
 Lori Miller said she witnessed two officers use their stun guns on her son a total of three times, twice after Ryan Miller had been handcuffed. The final time, he was in a police squad car, she said. 
 
 "It was police brutality," said Miller, adding that she was also threatened with arrest. "We're still trying to mourn." 
 
 City Administrator Bob Jenne called the police response a "judgment call." Jenne said Thursday that he is waiting to review a police report from the fire. 
 
 Emily Miller said the police response directed at her brother-in-law was "heartless." 
 
 Jenne said the fire started in an electrical outlet in the rear recreation room where Riley's parents fell asleep watching television. By the time they awoke, smoke and flames prevented Ryan and Cathy Miller from reaching their son, whose bedroom was at the front of the house. They fled through the back, with Ryan Miller trying unsuccessfully to re-enter the home before the second attempt that led to his arrest. 
 
 Jenne said a firefighter tried save Riley, but the house was too hot to enter. 
 
 Miller was taken to the city jail and released without being charged. He and his wife were later treated for minor burns at an Illinois hospital. 
 
 Lori Miller said the family is considering legal action against the city. And Jenne said he expects a lawsuit. 
 
 Jenne, who has served as a police officer and firefighter as well as a police chief in suburban St. Louis, said Thursday that he is waiting to review a police report from the fire. 
 
 Calls to the Louisiana police department were referred back to Jenne. The officer in the incident has not been placed on leave. 
 
 "Ultimately, their concern was that he himself might become a casualty of the fire as well," Jenne said of Ryan Miller. 
 
 Lori Miller said her son was preparing to adopt Riley. The family had lived in the rental home, which was within walking distance of the home of Ryan Miller's parents, for eight months. 
 
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 Lawsuit defense in fatal fire tasing begins, probe possible 
 
 Louisiana’s insurance carrier is getting ready to defend any lawsuit stemming from the Oct. 31 fire that killed a young boy and led to police officers shocking his stepfather with a taser gun at the scene. 
 
 The city is also waiting to see if the insurance firm will recommend an external investigation into the matter, according to City Administrator Bob Jenne. 
 
 An internal investigation “would look like we were trying to cover something up,” Jenne said. 
 
 The Louisiana police officers who shocked Ryan Miller with a taser gun while he was trying to break away from them to save his stepson did so to protect him, according to City Administrator Bob Jenne. 
 
 Officer William Harrison and Sgt. Jeffrey Salois both used an electric taser gun on Ryan Miller outside of the 405 S. Main St. blaze that killed Riley Jeffrey Rieser, 3. 
 
 “They were worried he would succumb to the smoke and heat and we’d have another fatality,” Jenne said. Miller “kept trying to make entry without protective gear.” 
 
 Although many in the community have referred to the victim as Riley Jeffrey Rieser Miller, his legal last name was Rieser, Jenne said. 
 
 A Miller family member said Wednesday, Nov. 6 that Ryan Miller and wife Catherine Miller were in the middle of adopting the victim when the fire occurred. 
 
 For the full story, see the Nov. 13 issue of the Louisiana Press-Journal.
– The outraged family of a stepfather Tasered as he tried to save his stepson from a house fire is considering suing the town of Louisiana, Missouri. Officers used the stun gun on Ryan Miller after he kicked in a front door and tried to enter the burning residence to rescue 3-year-old Riley, Quincy News reports. The city administrator says officers tried to restrain Miller after he became combative, while a relative says Miller was Tasered three times—including twice after he had been handcuffed. After he was pulled back, a firefighter tried to enter the home but was forced back by the heat, the AP reports. Riley was killed in the blaze. "Firefighters finally got to the boy, and sadly enough, he was only maybe 12 to 15 feet from the front door," the administrator says. Miller—who woke up to find the house on fire and fled out the back after smoke and flames prevented him from reaching his stepson's bedroom at the front of the home—was taken to the city jail and released without being charged. The officers made a "judgment call" after Miller "kept trying to make entry without protective gear," the administrator tells the Louisiana Press-Journal. "They were worried he would succumb to the smoke and heat and we’d have another fatality." The fire is thought to have been caused by faulty electrical wiring. (In another recent tragedy, the homeowner who allegedly shot and killed a teen seeking help after a car crash says it was an accident.)