Texas Cop Tasers 72-year-old Great Grandmother

[deathfromafar]

But that is because of the way the media reported it. The court will get the see and hear the entire video and won't make their judgement from the edited (language) for morning t.v. little snippets shown by Fox News.

I saw the full length video and hate to say, both parties in this incident share a little blame for the outcome. Younger inexperienced Officers have a tendency to "feel their oats" in the discharge of their duty at times. Sometimes that leads them into traps that highly experienced Defense Attorneys will eat them alive on. My experience from my LE days taught me a lot about dealing with the vast amount of different personalities you can and will run into out there. Seen em all and have talked more drunk and disorderly A-Holes out of a nights stay in the iron bar hotel and adding to my paperwork load. There is no substitute for experience and virtue and using that to pour cold water on a bonfire rather than gasoline.

 

[Barvan40]

I saw the full length video and hate to say, both parties in this incident share a little blame for the outcome. Younger inexperienced Officers have a tendency to "feel their oats" in the discharge of their duty at times. Sometimes that leads them into traps that highly experienced Defense Attorneys will eat them alive on. My experience from my LE days taught me a lot about dealing with the vast amount of different personalities you can and will run into out there. Seen em all and have talked more drunk and disorderly A-Holes out of a nights stay in the iron bar hotel and adding to my paperwork load. There is no substitute for experience and virtue and using that to pour cold water on a bonfire rather than gasoline.

Yep, the ability to de-escalate a conflict is the difference between a cop and a good cop. The good ones know how to diffuse a difficult situation.

 

[Lionheart]

Ok.. So if the police station that this officer is assigned to says he did the right thing (zottzing a 77 year old woman), and the station in California say they can shoot a guy 5 times in the back in quick succession (bang bang bang bang bang) while the guy is on his stomach, (the cop was being filmed by people in a car accross the street, it was 1:30 AM, and he thought he was alone with this guy), and.. quote, your kid shoves a cop then that cop can shoot and kill your boy, then perhaps the citizens of America should carry firearms to protect ourselves from these bad cops?

Is that fair? Can we defend ourselves?

If that cops mom was tazzered, would he be a bit taken back? Perhaps not.

And no.. I dont plan on;
A. Driving through texas
B. shoving a cop

But if a kid can die from that, a 77 year old woman can be dangerously tazzered with 40,000 volts, then hey.. whats up?


No, I am not bashing police in general, so just get that out of your minds. I know some awesome people that are decent policemen. But I know some evil, bad dudes as well that hide behind that badge and every chance they get, they do their unjustice to people and get away with it daily, and this is another one that 'got caught' and now his people defend it.


Bill

 

[Barvan40]

...

But if a kid can die from that, a 77 year old woman can be dangerously tazzered with 40,000 volts, then hey.. whats up?

Bill

Wrestling a 72 year old woman to the ground is even worse, she would probably break both hips and then as he wrestles her arms behind her back would be injured further.

Any physical confrontation is dangerous and can result in injury or death, but she is the one who instigates it, she is the one who resists.

What should he have done? What would you have done to affect the arrest? Cops don't play the "I won't sign, I will sign" game, that is not an option when you are under arrest. How would you control a 72 year old who is resisting arrest - oh and you have about 1 second to react.

 

[3/7charlie]

Hey, up here in canada, our mellow, peacefull RCMP can shoot an unarmed, hancuffed prisoner in lockup IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD, and call it self defence, and walk. The mounties own blood spatter expert called the expaination a steaming pile. The taser is used as an instrument of compliance, by bullying thugs who only have a badge to distinguish them from the supposed criminals.The police man is not your freind, in this country. The weird part is, we are not allowed to defend ourselfs from criminals in canada, and certainly not from the uniformed ones. Hell, one cop in kelowna tasered a 70 year old man- IN A HOSPITAL BED. They would do well to remember that they are outnumbered by about 10,000 to one.
3/7charlie

 

[Naismith]

Lets all focus one one bad incident why don't we, and totally ignore the 1000's of good things that police do day to day. It is one of those jobs where if you have a bad day the focus is on you big time and any good deeds performed are ignored. Who cares a damn about a plumber or banker having a bad day. Cops are only people after all and just sometimes things do get on top of you. And while I'm at it, just what is the cut off age for tasering folks?

 

[tigisfat]

Lets all focus one one bad incident why don't we, and totally ignore the 1000's of good things that police do day to day. It is one of those jobs where if you have a bad day the focus is on you big time and any good deeds performed are ignored. Who cares a damn about a plumber or banker having a bad day. Cops are only people after all and just sometimes things do get on top of you. And while I'm at it, just what is the cut off age for tasering folks?

Here, here.


No matter how we're doing overseas, law enforcement fight a war every single day that never ends. They deserve our true admiration and respect. We should stand behind them instead of fighting them when they have to make difficult decisions. They aren't beyond accountability, there is plenty of that.

 

[3/7charlie]

Lets all focus one one bad incident why don't we, and totally ignore the 1000's of good things that police do day to day. It is one of those jobs where if you have a bad day the focus is on you big time and any good deeds performed are ignored. Who cares a damn about a plumber or banker having a bad day. Cops are only people after all and just sometimes things do get on top of you. And while I'm at it, just what is the cut off age for tasering folks?

A plumber or a banker having a bad day is not likely to shoot you or beat you to death. Time and time again, I see Petty thugs with a bully's maners, and a badge and gun to hide behind. When A cop steps over the line, The cops investigate them selves, and what do you suppose they find. If they are not inept bunglers, they are mannerless thugs,or on the take.If the cop isnt on the take, its the Crown proscecutor.As defenders of law and order, they should hold thenselves to a MUCH higher moral standard. In this, police every where have failed misserably for as long as there have been police. I know that a civilizations institutions are a reflection of the civilization that spawns them,so I'm not holding much hope.I also know that the police exsist to defend the status quo for the elite. The system is broken everywhere, and the State, and the police have failed to protect the body politic, a duty that they claim for themselves.Now the citizen is in the undesirable position of having to defend himself from lawlessness, and the law.When civilization hiccups, they will pay the butchers bill. And they bring it on them selves.
3/7charlie

 

[cheezyflier]

it's obvious that woman was a crack fiend. if you look at the video you can see right before she gets tazed she's reaching for the 9 in the small of her back. they didn't tell ya about the AK, the 16, and the baby mac layin on the front seat of her car. you can see the MS-13 tatoo on her neck.
gangster grannies ain't nuttin nice.

 

[n4gix]

The officer placed the woman under arrest for refusing to sign the ticket. Once out of her car she changes her mind and now wants to sign it. There is no such thing as un-arresting a person. In most jurisdictions once under arrest the charges can only be dropped by the prosecutor or the court.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
<o></o>

...

The taser is not a weapon of last resort, his firearm is the weapon of last resort.

The deputy constable did not officially begin the arresting process until after they had arrived at the back of the car, and not until she had offered to sign three times.

Of course not, which is why I clearly wrote "next-to-last resort." It is quite clear that the deputy constable was allowing his anger to control his actions, having thrown all the "people skills" he is supposed to have been trained to use out the window.

Please understand that by this I am not supporting the actions of "granny" at all, but rather am critical of the very poor handiling of the situation. She was clearly in the wrong with her attitude and response, but that does not excuse the officer's reprehensible actions one iota.

 

[MCDesigns]

She was clearly in the wrong with her attitude and response,

That I agree with!!

We were also discussing this on one of my CGI forums this morning and while I agree it probably could have been handled differently, it could have been totally prevented if the women had not been excessively speeding and been compliant. Hopefully the police won't get sued and she'll learn a lesson out of this.

 

[Jen]

A quick count makes 18 different individuals in this post.

7 of these apparently approves of a policeman tasering an elderly woman!!!

That`s almost 40 %...

Scratching my head... WOW


Jen

 

[Henry]

A quick count makes 18 different individuals in this post.

7 of these apparently approves of a policeman tasering an elderly woman!!!

That`s almost 40 %...

Scratching my head... WOW


Jen

lessee 2 sides to every story
thats about right
:mixedsmi::mixedsmi:
H

 

[Roger]

They'll be tasering Bambi next??

 

[3/7charlie]

They'll be tasering Bambi next??

YOU leave BAMBI out of this. I'ma card carrying member of PETA! What?
People Eating Tasty Animals! AAAAARRRRGGG! I joined the wrong PETA!
OK. TASER Bambi. Just eat all of him!
3/7charlie

 

[tigisfat]

lessee 2 sides to every story
thats about right
:mixedsmi::mixedsmi:
H

Man, that 'other' half is crazy for not agreeing with me.

 

[Barvan40]

Man, that 'other' half is crazy for not agreeing with me.

It is interesting how people who watch the same event have such diverse opinions about what they just saw.

The Tazer was originally intended to be used as an alternative to deadly force. Over time that has changed and it is now used even when there is no direct threat of violence. Police agencies need to take another look at when and how to use this device.

Maybe this incident will make them re-evaluate their use of the Tazer.

From a legal standpoint the constable may have been following the rules, but he should have used some common sense and a little more patience with this obsternate old person, then maybe he would have found a different way to handle this, without looking like a chump.

 

[Jen]

The Tazer was originally intended to be used as an alternative to deadly force. Over time that has changed and it is now used even when there is no direct threat of violence. Police agencies need to take another look at when and how to use this device.

Maybe this incident will make them re-evaluate their use of the Tazer.

.

It really looks like Taser International have managed to convince the American public, ( A small contribution to sellected congressmen and doctor`s perhaps ?? ), that Taser`s are not dangerous, and are safe to use.

Nothing could be further from the thruth.
Hundreds of American and Canadians have been killed or invalidated by the use of Taser`s. Either directly, or as a result of the use.

The rhytm of your hart is controlled by small electronic impulses, and if anyone thinks that a 50.000 volt elektroshock is doing anything healthy to that system, I can assure you that it is NOT

I have a part time job as a medic, and if any of us have been exposed to electrical shocks, even minor, it`s a sure EKG test of your hart rhytm.

Lots of people have hart problems of more or less dangerous nature, and use of a Taser could very well have the exact same result, as if they had just shot them.

It is definately NOT something you would use on an elderly woman, not even if she had kicked him in the Ball`s. NO WAY

Jen

 

[Naismith]

Just in the last week, the RCMP and other Canuck forces have withdrawn a load of tasers as they were faulty. The person above is correct that Tasers were intorduced as a weapon of last resort rather than a handgun but seem now to have become the defacto method of restraint.
I like pepper spray much better 'cept that is no good against rabid animals (no tear ducts).
There is no perfect solution.

 

[Silver Fox]

This thread is an excellent demonstration of the power of language. Had this thread been about the tasering of a confrontational, combative suspect... with no mention of age or sex, who would be outraged? We also tend to forget that had 'Granny's' next lunge carried her into traffic, the officer is liable in both criminal and civil courts. He is REQUIRED to respond in the prescribed manner.

I keep checking my use of force wheel... Damned if I can find a single mention of age, sex or extended family status. I wonder how many cops have died thinking 'It's only a ...'?