Video Released of 72-yr-old Great Grandmother being Tasered

[HamiltonHabs32]

Run time: 03:41 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQljBMJ2q8o   Posted on YouTube: June 09, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: June 09, 2009 By DU Member: HamiltonHabs32 Views on DU: 5548

 
more here - http://trueslant.com/jeffhoard/2009/06/09/texan-cops-taser-great-grandmother/

[Seldona]

1. He stands behind his officer?

Beyond decent words...

[bjobotts]

37. Who the hell do these cops think they are.That was some threat you fucking bully

[bjobotts]

38. "We demand compliance...Sieg Heil, Seig heil, Seig heil.."

[bjobotts]

39. Just give her the fucking ticket.He shoved her out of anger 1st time. Get outof the car

[bjobotts]

40. Get out of the car and take your medicine.Was it really so important that he had to act like that

[wroberts189]

55. It was important to his ego... and he loves his compliance torture toy. nt

[olegramps]

71. Why did he insist that she had to sign the ticket?

I don't know the law in Texas, but in our state it would make absolutely no difference if you signed or did not sign. It doesn't matter what the hell you do with the ticket; you could eat it or burn it or wipe your ass with it. You had better pay it or show up in court or face arrest. Most tickets are negotiated down to avoid clogging the court system. So it isn't very smart to appear to have been uncooperative.

This is a situation that appears to have gotten totally out of control between a cantankerous old lady and a obnoxious cop. I also note that she agreed to sign the ticket two times and he seems to have been pushed over the edge. Maybe his mom abuse him when he was a kid and this pushed him over the edge.

[zoff]

73. He has the name, address and license # ...

so is a siggy needed to further prove that a traffic stop took place?

[wroberts189]

79. according to another poster texas can arrest you if you refuse, but..

that's if your a flight risk.

[Dakota Flint]

2. Sigh....

I suppose it would be considered an act of war if we gave Texas back to Mexico.

[Tx4obama]

47. Hmmmm..

That wasn't very nice.

Do you know that all of our major cities went for Obama in the election?
Houston, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, etc.

In 2012 Texas will be a BLUE state!

[progdonkey]

3. correction to your headline...

"Video of 72-year-old argumentative, combative speeder who refuses to follow deputy's orders or accept speeding ticket and later lied about her conduct being tasered."

Yes, cops and other security/law enforcement agents can be too quick to draw their tasers (and guns), but it was absolutely warranted in this situation.

She was stopped for going 60 in a 45 and refused to take the ticket, by her own admission simply because she's 72! Like, "I'm old, I don't have to obey the law." And then she was combative and refused repeatedly to allow the deputy to handcuff her, nor did she cease being combative after multiple warnings that she would be tased. And then she topped it all of by lying about her attitude and demeanor in that interview. "I was not argumentative; I was not combative," says the lying old hag (unless, in addition to forgetting to obey traffic laws, she forgot what the words "argumentative" and "combative" mean).

Sorry, no sympathy. She doesn't belong on the road. She could kill someone with her disrespect for traffic laws and the law in general.

And on that blog post, the author keeps coming back to the idea that this officer could've subdued her without tasing her. Considering how belligerent she was being, he would've had to use a lot of force (or perhaps she would've injured herself by trying to jerk herself out of his restraint), and then you people would be bitching that this big cop was man-handling this poor old grandmother. She both created and escalated the situation.

[Narkos]

4. Agreed, she didn't cooperate with the officer

he gave her plenty of warnings

[wroberts189]

6. So electrocute her until she complies?

Is that the answer?

[guruoo]

12. At this age, tasering should be considered use of deadly force.

A properly trained cop could have negotiated his way out of it.

[wroberts189]

18. Deadly force and TORTURE.

There are several dozen different ways they have been trained to deal without tasers.

Some big old fat cop against a 72 year old woman? He cannot handle the situation with TORTURE? Anyone in a betting mood ?


Back before they had them they handled things and we did not hear all these taser death and abuse stories..

[jberryhill]

63. No, we let her speed and kill someone /nt

[wroberts189]

80. 15 over the limit? I got people tailgating me at 20!

[jberryhill]

90. 1. Traffic is not the same everywhere

2. She's 72

3. Take a look at how she seems to want to walk into traffic in the video.

Look at the view of the road in the news video - it was 45 because it was a CONSTRUCTION ZONE.

He is trying to get her to step back because she is practically standing in the road. Then, when he gets her back, she again walks right out onto the shoulder line.

[wroberts189]

107. 1- She was a licensed driver. 2. the cop shoved her.

3. EVERYBODY speeds ..EVERYWHERE .. even the cops. Most will not pull you over unless you are Racer X

[heliarc]

7. And she lied to the Reporter...

She was being stupid for sure... Not sure that I think tasering was necessary even if he warned her. He could have arrested her without pumping her with Electricity. That's what I think anyway. Officer is lucky she didn't have a heart condition.

[wroberts189]

9. She was an unarmed old lady that was electrocuted ..I could care less of her attitude.

Damn it people ..wake up... not everyone is going to play it cool or smart and that does not make them deserve this.

[heliarc]

36. You didn't read my post at all did you?

I said exactly what you did... and I was responding to someone to explain that the cop shouldn't have pumped her full of electricity. I was doing it nicely, but then you came along and had to take it to condescending land.

So lying to reporters is something that shouldn't factor in to all of this? Sure this lady was mistreated, tortured even, but she totally, absolutely, and with a straight face lied about what happened. That in no way justifies the force applied, but she should have been arrested for her actions in the car, and out of it; and it looked to me like some sort of force was going to be used and justified, taser or not. I would have approved of cuffing her and putting her in the back of that car given the foul-mouthed belligerence she was showing. Whether it meant getting pinned down or subdued some other way. It think tasers are a travesty, but this woman was not at all an innocent here and there are people on this thread trying to make her out to be some white knight fighting injustice. She's a liar, and a miscreant with a really overextended sense of entitlement, and after that she still shouldn't have been tasered nor should anyone --Tasers should be banned--... But she SHOULD have been arrested.

[wroberts189]

51. I did read your post and but I do not care if she was the Granny from hell.

Lying to reporters? So what if she did. Did it occur that she may have Alzheimers disease?

There were many ways of dealing with that situation. The cop took the brutal you will obey me no matter what route. The video says it all.


other then that we agree. :) So tone it down a notch dude we are basically on the same side.

[PatrynXX]

28. She's no angel, but this was rather excessive.

I see why the tape was released, but even then.. how weak is that officer? The only thing that I can come up with is maybe for a fleeting moment he figured a taser would be safer than breaking an arm trying to get the cuffs on her. He should consider himself lucky she didn't have a pacemaker.

but to back it up a ways.. Rodney King wasn't an angel back in the day when he was beaten up. He was resisting arrest, but even there, what the cops did was excessive force. So comparing the two, I'm not sure how much difference there is.

I've seen some females who must be over 70 on Cops misbehave. And they can be rather interesting tough cookies. 70 isn't what it used to be either. 80 is what 70's used to be.

[progdonkey]

66. okay, I can accept your viewpoint...

My response was a little excessive to the other side, just because everyone else was being so extreme in defending the old lady. Like, she's 72, therefore she's a 100% innocent victim of the evil fascist police state(!!!11!!!), with absolutely no credit given to the officer considering this "dear old lady" was screaming at him, crowding him towards the street, and jerking out of his hold. And then of course later lying to the reporter about the whole situation. This is clearly a person who just needs to have it her way--including not having to follow basic traffic laws. (Now, I speed quite often--though usually just to keep up with the traffic flow, to be honest--but when I get pulled over, I don't argue, because I was speeding and I simply got caught.)

Perhaps the tasering was excessive, but I still maintain she was given ample warning and could've very easily ended the situation by allowing herself to be handcuffed (or by just taking the ticket in the first place and continuing on her merry way!). And considering the video seems to line up with the police report, I give the cop that much more credit; I always give extra weight to whoever's being honest--even if I don't agree 100% with their actions, I'll side with them over someone who's lying.

I would've been much more sympathetic if she had said in the interview, "I admit I was very upset and argumentative, but I'm a 72-year-old woman who was wrongfully pulled over. Then the officer threatened to tase me and I couldn't believe it. I could've handled myself much better, yes, but did he really need to tase me?" But when she makes herself out to be this completely docile and accommodating little old lady who was assaulted by the big, bad policeman?

[wroberts189]

81. When your 72 years old... or have a relative that is..

you may have a different perspective.


Who was the real underdog here?

[progdonkey]

93. well, my 80+-year-old grandma...

who died a few years ago, always went the speed limit, being aware of her diminished reflexes (and having a generally cautious nature, anyway). Even if she accidentally started speeding and was pulled over, she would've accepted the ticket like an adult, instead of acting like a petulant child who doesn't want to follow the rules.

Again, this lady clearly has an attitude problem, manifesting itself in not only going over the speed limit by 33%, but refusing to accept responsibility for doing so, followed by arguing with the arresting officer and resisting arrest, and THEN lying about it all when asked about it later (topping it all off by refusing to give any more interviews after the video was released and showed her to be the liar she is).

[tblue37]

96. A lot of people assume that a little old lady is necessarily a

"sweet little old lady," but I assure you that nasty, bitchy people don't turn sweet and innocent just because they accumulate a few years.

I absolutely disapprove of the way Tasers are used for "pain compliance" (i.e., to torture citizens into obeying the Gestapo without question), but it seems to me that the little old lady in this video was even more at fault than the cop. I don't think he could have subdued her without hurting her, since little old lady bones are fragile, and that road was a dangerous place for her to be dashing toward the shoulder on.

On the other hand, a Taser is really, really dangerous when used on old people, who can have pacemakers, cardiac arrhythmias (as I do), or other heart problems.

I blame him for escalating the situation in the first place, but unless she is suffering from demetia, I blame her for being a wild-eyed old idiot. When she refused to sign the ticket, he should have just let her go and followed her to see if she would speed again--then arrested her if she did. (If she didn't, she could have simply been sent the notice for the ticket and then fined if she didn't show up.) My guess is that she probably wouldn't have tried speeding with him following her, though the belligerent old biddy might well have been cantankerous enough to speed just out of spite. But by demanding that she get out of the car, he got himself backed into a corner where he couldn't win.

BTW, I am a 58 (almost 59) year old woman, so it's not misogyny or agism. But I have often had to deal with some seriously bitchy little old ladies, and I know they aren't all sweetness and light.

One other thing to consider, at age 72, she could easily be in the early stages of dementia. Cops should also be aware of that possibility. Old people in the early stages of dementia can behave irrationally and suddenly become very combative. If she files a civil suit, one requirement should be that she have a medical work-up. It might well be that she needs to be taken off the road--for her own safety and everyone else's.

Of course, if her personality has been changing because of dementia, or if her behavior has become erratic or combative, her family should have noticed, and if they did notice yet still let her drive heehrself around, they are at fault, too.

[heliarc]

98. Please

Let me repeat, I don't think she should have been tasered, but she has manipulated this situation since the beginning. She lied to reporters, she dared the police officer to arrest her. She was belligerent.

Being old doesn't give you license to speed or disobey the law. If she had alzheimers she shouldn't have been on the road and should have been detained.

[wroberts189]

109. If you do not think she should have been ELECTROCUTED

.. then do not justify it.

[heliarc]

116. I"m not justifying it...

and she wasn't electrocuted... if she had be electrocuted she would be dead...

The police officer should not have tasered her full stop. He should have arrested her for resisting arrest.

[Tx4obama]

48. And she is so old that

when he told her that he would taser her .. she probably didn't even know what he was talking about!

[wroberts189]

5. Look ..for one thing she would have got the ticket anyway..

signing is just a formality. they got her plate on video.


Two... she is an old cranky lady yes .. I know dozens and they do not deserve to be TORTURED with electric shocks. Old ladies have a lot of wisdom and yes spunk. Thank god for them.


Was the officer in danger? WAS HE? Without a Taser would he draw his gun? Beat her up maybe? What did they do before they had tasers? I will tell you ..she would have got a letter with a court date.

This was all unnecessary.

15 over the limit and this? EVERYONE speeds 10-15 over is the rule ..a lesson I learned when I got my license and tried to drive 55 over 20 years ago.


Tasers should not be used as torture devices to modify behavior ..especially with the elderly ..she could have had heart problems for all they know.

When will people wake up .. this could be your grandmother.

Find some god damned sympathy or it may be you or someone you know next time.

[guruoo]

15. He had the option to have the warrant served on her later, at home or work.

[wroberts189]

19. Thank you .. exactly. nt

[heliarc]

99. And let her back on the road. No way.

She was speeding and then being belligerent. He should have cuffed her and taken her in... the tasering was a stupid and inexcusable offense, but she deserves no special treatment just because she's 72. She should have learned by now that you don't tempt fate. I'm Latino and I know that any false move with a police officer could mean the death of me. The sheer arrogance of this woman, really.

[wroberts189]

108. She was licensed and not going over 15 or an arrest-able offense.

until she refused to sign and the officer had to pull his "I am god here" theater.

[heliarc]

100. If this was my grandmother,

I'd be ashamed that she could lie about the whole event instead of representing it the way it happened. I have very little respect for the woman, and less respect for the cop.

[wroberts189]

14. Dude..everyday I find myself speeding over 15 just to be safe and go with the flow.

Kill someone? ..right I am sure that is what would have happened if this "fearless" cop did not stop her.

I see moving violations every single day morning and night. Do we all need the taser treatment?

[tomm2thumbs]

30. I agree - many warnings, trying to leave/evade arrest, she was given numerous chances

she chose not to follow the officer's directions. When you are under arrest, if you want to fight it later fine - but resisting arrest gave her the final thumbs down in my book. She was also pretty obnoxious in denying what happened in her interview when it was clear on the tape she lied. I predict the jury will side with the officer.

[wroberts189]

54. The officer shoved her when she asked to sign it. Watch it again.

Damn we are talking about a 72 year old versus a big fat cop that showed no restraint at all.

[truth2power]

76. Oh fer god's sake! Words fail. n/t

[Lerkfish]

88. one wonders what the scale of lethality of tasers is as the subject increases in age

and is more likely to suffer cardiac arrest.

the more important question is whether tasering was justified in proportion to the offense, or whether the police"man" felt so threatened for his life from the grandmother to justifiy his own cowardly use of the device.

so, yes, I completely disagree with your assessment of whether she should have been tased. Tasers should ONLY and I repeat ONLY used when no other method can prevent a danger to persons or property. Because the whole original idea was to use a taser when a bullet was justified, but to allow the same incapaciation of the subject without being lethal. So, to say its ok to taser this woman is the same as saying its ok to shoot and kill her with his gun and didn't have a taser handy.

think about that. Think hard.

Too often, as in this case, tasers are used as torturous PUNISHMENT for perceived crimes. PUNISHMENT. think about it.


oh, well, at least pretend to think about it.

[Cowpunk]

104. An Easy Guideline For the Morally Weak and/or Confused

"I had no other option except to use my gun."

If these words cannot honestly be applied to the Tasering situation in question, than a moral wrong has occured. With luck, a law has also been broken, and the misuser of the electroshock weapon should be held legally accountable for his crime.

Tasers are dangerous, very painful, sometimes lethal weapons. High voltage electroshock weapons should only be used against a nonconsenting person when deadly force is the only other option.

Period.

Abortion is a complex issue with many nuances. This, my friends, is not.

[wroberts189]

110. Simple, to the point summation . good post.

[Devil_Fish]

119. I agree, if a strugle had occured, one of them may have fallen into oncomming traffic.

in this case, the use of a tazer may well have saved her life. She was trying to push past the cop. If she did, in the angrey state she was in she would not have noticed oncomming trafic and could have been easily hit. her behavior put her, the cop, and passing motorist in danger. A strugle could have put one or the other into oncomming trafic. I belive in this instance, a tazer was the safest way to handle the situation for every one. Sucks to be her, but she should have thought of that before she decided that because she is 72 she has a god given right to do what ever she wants.

When she refused to sighn the ticket origionaly she excalated the situation past the point of a simple trafic stop and the procedure became an arrest. once that happens, there are no do overs. offering to obay the law after breaking it dose not excuse the initial crime. once the situation becomes an arrest, every thing she does other then comply with instructions is resisting arrest.

[MrModerate]

132. Sure she was cantankerous. But there was no public safety need to subdue her.

How about applying a little judgment to the situation and not fighting with an old lady unnecessarily? When you give these yahoos guns, tasers, and the authority to arrest people, it's not out of line to expect that they'll 1) be sufficiently well trained to handle situations without escalating them needlessly and 2) sufficiently in control of themselves to avoid becoming the problem rather than the solution.

This guy should never have become a cop. He needs to be fired immediately and his chief hounded out of office or otherwise disciplined.

[Butch350]

8. I would have tasered Grandma too.

Probably the most stimulation shes had in a while;0

[wroberts189]

11. What if it were your grandmother? nt

[bjobotts]

41. Yeah but you're a pervert.

[democracy1st]

50. you must admit she's a mean lady

[wroberts189]

57. Only mean person was the cop. nt

[guruoo]

10. K&R - Poorly trained cop was the problem here, IMO.

[FailureToCommunicate]

13. Little ol' lady from Pasadena MIGHT have had a heart pacemaker, in which case she

could have been a DEAD ol' lady on the side of the road. Good thing that big fat officer was able to fend off that scary granny! He should get two donuts and the afternoon off to recover from the encounter.

[wroberts189]

16. Looks like he was enjoying every minute of it. nt

[guruoo]

22. He went macho on granny because calling for backup would have just been too embarassing

[wroberts189]

24. He could have viewed it as dealing with an upset elderly woman ..backup would have been wise. nt

[FailureToCommunicate]

26. I dunno. Only 'back up' he should've called was an ambulance, to deal with heart

stoppage or a broken hip from her fall to the pavement.

[wroberts189]

56. If he called for backup we would not be hearing about this..it would have been most likely defused.

Listen to what your saying... a possible heart stoppage and broken hip for speeding?

[FailureToCommunicate]

69. We're on the same side on this -I can tell from your other comments - I meant

that the old lady might have had more serious injury as a result of the tasering, that could have needed an ambulance to be called...
The moment the shop shoves her hard, that's when things went bad. Making her get out of the car on a busy highway was stupid also.

[wroberts189]

77. Totally agree mate ..sorry if I misunderstood a post.

There are others here that see the nonsense as well but I am shocked at those that have no understanding or empathy for a 72 year old woman going 15 over the limit which is quite normal where I live ..and I do not care how rude or belligerent she was ..she deserves respect. Her age demands it. That could have been anyone's grandmother.


Some day tasers will be outlawed and cops will try and find real criminals.

[Devil_Fish]

120. Little ol' lady might have strugled her way into oncoming trafic, in which case

she would have been dead in the middle of the road and posibly caused more deaths then just her own. the tazer may have saved more lives then just hers in this case.

[justinaforjustice]

17. No Legal Duty to Sign Ticket -- So Unlawful Police Conduct.

The officer had no legal justification for removing her from her car for refusing to sign the ticket after she had obviously complied with his request for her driver's license and registration and he had written the ticket. The officer escalated the incident by trying to arrest her for not signing the ticket, therefore everything that transpired after her refusal was unlawful activity on the part of the officer. Sorry, but cranky or not, tasering went way beyond what a reasonable policeman would have done under the circumstances.

Tasers are dangerous weapons now used frequently to torture people. In some cases, they kill people. Police officers need more training in people-management skills, not more dangerous technology.

[wroberts189]

20. Another voice of reason. You a lawyer? Sound like one. nt

[Sailing]

27. Althought there is no law requiring

the signing of a ticket, here in Texas, the police are giving the authority to arrest someone for refusing to sign a ticket ( mostly for instances of flight risk ).

In the end, this is again, just two bull-headed right wingers needing to win a trivial and pointless issue, signing a ticket. It doesn't matter whether she is 19 or 90. They both are to blame for creating an out of control situation.

[democracy1st]

58. exactly they're both to blame,he shouldn't have tased her out of concern for

her health etc but she was calling him out by using the poor lil ol me 72 yo remarks

[ljm2002]

21. While it is true she was not cooperative...

...and yes, she was argumentative, and yes, she appears to have stretched the truth more than a little about the incident -- with all that said, I think the key moment is when she first gets out of the car, and doesn't do what he says, and he towers over her and screams in her face before shoving her. Tell you what, I would not have been cooperative after that, either. And there was no need. The man is at least twice her size by weight. What he should have been doing was gently laughing at her while he guided her away from the road. If needed, he could have easily enfolded her in his arms, then put her hands behind her back and cuffed her, without breaking a sweat.

That's how I see it.

[wroberts189]

23. Yep.. he could have easily cuffed her with no or little injury. nt

[scarface2004]

25. she had it comin'!!

lucky he didn t go rodney king on her shriveled butt!!!!

[bjobotts]

42. You can die from being trasered and at her age that chance increases./

[bjobotts]

43. If she died would you still say "she had it comin'?". No excuse for that.Should ban tasers from idio

[Devil_Fish]

121. you can die from stepping out into trafic at any age. NT

[angstlessk]

124. SCARFACE??? and she had it comming? damn...she was disagreable...but tazed?

hell, the city was lucky he didn't go rodney king...cause she would have sued their ass, just as he did!

[madfloridian]

29. So that makes a tasering okay? She was no danger to him.

What have we come to in this country.

[Tx4obama]

31. Hmm....

At 1:27 in the video she said "give it to me and I'll sign it"
that was before he shoved her. He had no right to shove her.
When you shove 72 year old women they have a right to be upset!

Tasers should be used on CRIMINALS not on an old woman that is being stopped for a speeding ticket!!!

Any time an officer tasers someone when it is not necessary then the victim should be given the opportunity to taser the officer 10 times in a row right there in the court room! That would make some of those officers think three times before using their tasers ;)

[guruoo]

32. The cop shoved her immediately after she twice asked to sign the ticket

[Celtic Merlin]

45. EXACTLY!! The cop could have defused the situation.

He could have given her the ticket when she asked to sign it. But not this storm trooper! He had a non-compliant person and he was gonna show her who was boss. These guys LOVE their little power trips over the average citizen.

So what if she doesn't sign the ticket? It isn't required. The ticket sticks whether she signs it or not.

Our law enforcement community needs some weeding out. If they can't start doing it themselves, then we'll have to do it for them.

Celtic Merlin
Carlinist

[jberryhill]

64. To move both of them away from the white line....

Look where they are standing before the shove.

Up to that point, I was wondering why they were standing so close to the traffic lane.

[guruoo]

97. If so, then you think he might have told her that he was moving them away from traffic, then

hand her the ticket, as she had twice requested.

[jberryhill]

102. Look just before the shove

He is pointing away from the traffic lane and telling her to move back.

The immediate concern is physical safety, and she would not move back.

[guruoo]

103. Then he should have said so.

[jberryhill]

105. He did - He screamed it right into her face and pointed...

She wouldn't move back onto the shoulder.

You really don't see him shouting and pointing for her to move back? Really?

He also said that if she did not move back onto the shoulder, he would use force.

[guruoo]

117. "As Sheriff of Travis County, I want to make two things perfectly clear....

First, the deputy constable does not work for my agency. The Constables Office is a separate office
with the Constable elected to office by an individual precinct. Second, I do not personally agree with
the actions of the deputy constable as they are shown in the video. When I look at the video I am in
awe of what happened." - Sheriff Greg Hamilton

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gLRCjnrqglyOEYNzrOehTeadAWeA

Report from KXAN, Austin:

Sheriff stunned
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7w_jCfDGBM

[wroberts189]

111. she was trying to sign the damn ticket ..he was the one out in the lane. nt

[jberryhill]

115. "he was the one out in the lane"

...which is why he wanted her to back up.

[GReedDiamond]

33. Torture...

...it's the "law" of the land, apparently.

Fuck this shit...

[winyanstaz]

34. So now they are electrocuting little old great grandmas ....

and heartless bastards are making excuses for it.
I worked in nursing homes for years with a lot bigger and meaner little old ladies and men and we never had to electrocute anyone. I am only 5'4" and if I could handle it why can't these big bullies?
Its bullshit and something we should be outraged about!
This can and will be YOU next if it is not stopped.
They are tazering the children and the elderly..this is insane..something the Gestapo would do.
Tazers kill.
They are tazering people for not zipping up their jackets, not stepping back, being too "mouthy", not moving fast enough and the list goes on.
Maybe that little old lady couldnt reach behind her back anymore..did the officer think of that or give a shit? If she had a heart condition she would be dead by now.
They have already killed way too many innocent people. Last I heard it was well over 500.
Will you get angry when it is over a thousand? Two thousand? How many have to die before we say NO! How many deaths are too many?

[bjobotts]

44. Yes and if he didn't have a taser then what would he have done.Been civil.

[wroberts189]

53. Yes ..he would have been civil and called for some preferably female officers.

What you got here is a man who finds it fun to bully an old woman.

[wroberts189]

52. ..and there are actually people here defending it "cause she had a bad attitude" nt

A couple of orderlies in hospitals deal with these situations everyday ..without a bruise on the patient.


There is was no justification. I don't care if she was speaking satanic versus.

[wroberts189]

62. EXACTLY ... thank you. nt

[truth2power]

75. You are correct. Please see my post below. n/t

[democracy1st]

35. she was being a complete bit...,however at her age I think the response should have been different

this will just be a adjustment in policy on how to handle these situations when dealing with seniors.

[Fedja]

46. You don't need policy

No policy is needed to know tasing a grandma is retarded. She was being an arse, sure. Since when is that illegal.

[democracy1st]

49. do you think she's the only 60 plus year old thats ever been tased ?

and if age is not to be considered a health risk then don't complain if a rude person disobeying the law gets tased.

[Raineyb]

128. I don't think speeding should be a tazering offense.

Do you?

If so you're one sick puppy.

[wroberts189]

59. What did these meek weak feeble cops do before tasers?

Thank god for these "enhanced" behavior modification tools they have. Before them all you had was dead cops and renegade grannies. /sarcasm off

[democracy1st]

60. well hopefully something good will come out of this situation,like separate training on how to deal

with seniors,he should have let her sign it after she got out and changed her tune.

[wroberts189]

61. That would be nice....

When these tasers were first introduced they were to be used as a method of subduing an armed assailant ..like a guy with a knife .

Now they are used whenever you say no to a cops orders. They are used not just to protect life but to control behavior by punishing people with electro-torture who are non-cooperative.

It is unconstitutional on its face .. its cruel and unusual punishment and its used on the presumed innocent.

Now I would always follow the orders ..like most people.

But anyone who has ever dealt with the elderly will tell you they are not always the most compliant bunch. This old lady ..as cranky or belligerent as she was is sending us all warning about where we are as a society.

My grandmother was a tough lady to deal with at times but we never had to "get physical" ..once we needed to bug bomb her house for a bad flea problem from a cat and she thought we were taking her to a nursing home.

Took me a half hour to get her out on her own but I did it. Afterword she remarked how different everything looked..she had not been out of the house in years. Total change in attitude after.

[Postman]

65. Instead of electrocuting her, why didn't he just call for back-up and manhandle her into the car?

tasering this woman was stupid and if I were her, I'd sue that entire municipality.

[wroberts189]

83. She was injuring his ego, activating his insecurities. Can't have that. nt

[zipplewrath]

67. Who was the professional here?

That's my primary question in these instances. Who was the professional here? Who was the one best equipped to diffuse the situation? What had all the authority? Who had all the tools? Both COULD have diffused it. Both COULD have handled it better. But who was PAID to handle it better?

Police procedures tend toward escalation to enable them to use more and more powers. This was a classic case of where a bit of time and patience, as well as focusing on the larger goal, could have completely diffused this situation. Sure she was cranky. She was probably also embarrassed. She may have been worried too, about losing a license or having a child or husband use this as an excuse to take her mobility away. Or she may just be a cranky old woman. Which means HE was in the better position emotionally speaking to diffuse the situation.

[wroberts189]

86. Clearly..The cop demonstrated a lack of training and professionalism.

As you observed..

I ..with no training believe I could have defused it... with just a simple empathy ..for a cranky old woman which i do not believe she is..

[zipplewrath]

89. I'll even be generous

I suspect his training to some extent biases him towards confronting her kind of behavior in this manner. My impression over the years is that the police are trained to become more confrontational as a method of trying to control a situation. We had the World Cup here a decade or so ago. They set the local police force to "charm school" to try to prevent them from starting large confrontation with the Europeans who would be here and celebrating wildly. It was telling that the command staff themselves were concerned that it would be the behavior of their officers in uniform that would instigate the hostile confrontations. I opined at the time that it was too bad that the "charm" couldn't be used for the locals as well.

[wroberts189]

106. interesting ..thx nt

[Ticonderoga]

68. This Jerk needs to go to jail

That is nothing less than attempted murder. If that were my mother he was torturing he'd need to grow himself some eyes in the back of his fucking head. Asshole.

[wroberts189]

87. I will accept his resignation... nt

[underpants]

70. Didn't she say TWICE that she would sign it?

reliving the high school football days there officer?

[wroberts189]

78. yes n/t

[bkkyosemite]

72. My thought taser that cop!

[wroberts189]

82. better yet fire him and set an example for one god damn time. nt

[truth2power]

74. That officer should lose his job, and I hope a jury awards her

a million dollars for her pain and suffering.

This taser thing has gotten completely out of hand. There's no need for police training anymore. Just haul someone in off the street, hand them a taser and say, "Go to it." No need for a police academy. Think of all the money that could be saved.

Mouthing off to a police officer is NOT a reason to taser someone, in my view. Individuals who desire a career in law enforcement should understand that they are going to encounter people who are angry and who express that anger verbally from time to time. Those who have such a thin skin that they can't handle that without resorting to tasering someone should FIND ANOTHER LINE OF WORK.

Furthermore, that officer got into a power struggle with that woman. And since he already had the power by virtue of his role as law enforcement, he didn't need to wave his dick (so to speak) to prove the point. On that account alone, he should be fired, or at the very least sent back for remedial training because his people skills suck. Is anyone here going to make the argument that he couldn't have controlled her in any other way? She didn't look like a Kung-fu artist or anything. Feh!

Maybe he can get a job with Blackwater or something. Testosterone poisoning doesn't seem to be an issue with them.



edit> typo

[wroberts189]

84. Excellent synopsis ... I grab the next beer in a toast to your post. nt

[wroberts189]

85. If my grandmother were not already dead.. I would worry.

She was head strong and did not take shit from anyone.

I cry at her loss.

[Quantess]

91. I'm sorry but, why does she deserve special treatment? Because she's 72?

She should not have been tasered. I understand that tasering was out of line, and could have killed her.

But, what makes this woman think that she doesn't have to follow a police officers instructions? The officer started out handling the situation appropriately. She was the one who was out of control.

If this happened to anyone else besides a 72 year old woman, after the way she acted, nobody would take any interest in this story.

[wroberts189]

112. Yes ..you said it yourself "She should not have been tasered" nt

[Raineyb]

129. Actually, I don't think anyone should be tazered for not wanting to sign some ticket.

But then I think that allowing cops to behave as bullies under the color of authority is wrong. :shrug:

[lumpy]

92. She should be retired from driving.

Being 72 years old doesn't give anyone the right to break speeding laws; apparently since she kept repeating her age one has to assume she thought that was an excuse.
Never the less tasering is not the answer since she was not much of a threat to the officer.

[wroberts189]

113. This is the problem with our transportation system.

If you cannot drive or do not have a car your screwed unless you live where there is public transport.

[Faryn Balyncd]

94. Interesting that the Fox "News" commentators seem to think the video justifies the police behavior.

[wroberts189]

114. Yes it is ..others here should take note. nt

[snot]

95. Ha ha ha!

I'd say she WAS argumentative and even combative; she even dared him to tase her. But early in the confrontation, she conceded she'd sign the thing if he'd give it to her again; and is there no way that guy couldn't have restrained her without tasing her -- or don't they teach officers how to overpower 72-year-olds without tasering them any more?

[omega minimo]

101. "She made a very simple interaction with the officer a very difficult task"

TOO DIFFICULT FOR HIM TO HANDLE WITHOUT PHYSCIALLY ASSAULTING HER? :puke:

[Tim01]

118. Woman picks fight with cop at traffic stop. Dares him to use taser.

Then is surprised when she is tasered, and then flat out lies about everything. Very tacky. Then shuts up and gets a lawyer after everybody sees the tape of her violating the law and being hostile to the cop.

I understand that of all his options the taser is least likely to hurt the uncooperative and hostile female. But if she had gotten hurt when he stuffed her in the back of his car, she would have been asking for it. And then she would sue the police dept of course. The taser gained compliance without a greater risk of actually injuring her.

Of course she could have just done like most humans in America and did what the police officer asked her to do. She would drive away with a traffic ticket she could fight in court if she wanted to.

Obviously she is one of those people who thinks she can do what ever the fuck she wants no matter if it is legal or not.

[Cowpunk]

122. I think you need to look up the word "hurt" in the dictionary.

Never mind, I'll do it for you.

hurt  /hɜrt/ Show Spelled Pronunciation Show IPA verb, hurt, hurt⋅ing, noun, adjective
–verb (used with object) 1. to cause bodily injury to; injure: He was badly hurt in the accident.
2. to cause bodily pain to or in: The wound still hurts him.
3. to damage or decrease the efficiency of (a material object) by striking, rough use, improper care, etc.: Moths can't hurt this suit because it's mothproof. Dirty oil can hurt a car's engine.
4. to affect adversely; harm: to hurt one's reputation; It wouldn't hurt the lawn if you watered it more often.
5. to cause mental pain to; offend or grieve: She hurt his feelings by not asking him to the party.

–verb (used without object) 6. to feel or suffer bodily or mental pain or distress: My back still hurts.
7. to cause bodily or mental pain or distress: The blow to his pride hurt most.
8. to cause injury, damage, or harm.
9. to suffer want or need.

–noun 10. a blow that inflicts a wound; bodily injury or the cause of such injury.
11. injury, damage, or harm.
12. the cause of mental pain or offense, as an insult.
13. Heraldry. a rounded azure.

–adjective 14. physically injured: The hurt child was taken to the hospital.
15. offended; unfavorably affected: hurt pride.
16. suggesting that one has been offended or is suffering in mind: Take that hurt look off your face!
17. damaged: hurt merchandise.

You've touched on the heart of this problem. Cops are apparently of the mindset that because Tasers rarely cause serious bodily injury, that they do not cause harm. This deranged attitude is the direct result of the efforts of the makers of Taser weapons. Go to the Taser website. There is no mention of the fact that Tasers cause severe pain. In fact, you'll find just the opposite(this from the Taser press packet):

TASER technology has revolutionized policing by providing a standoff tool. The advantage is that TASER
technology can truly immobilize a suspect who can overcome pain, might be on dangerous drugs like
cocaine or methamphetamine or even emotionally disturbed, whereas other use of force tools relay upon
pain compliance. The TASER system doesn't use pain compliance but immediately stops any
coordinated action by the subject only while the TASER system's current is flowing. Recovery is
instantaneous so the TASER system only provides a window of opportunity to temporarily stop
someone's dangerous actions.

(...)

While the TASER device produces 50,000 volts to create a spark that
will transmit electricity through 2 inches of clothing, only short pulses
of 400 volts actually enter the body. The average voltage during a
five-second application is less than one volt. When compared to a
static shock from a doorknob (35,000 to 100,000 volts) or a Van de
Graff Generator (1,000,000 to 20,000,000 volts), a common display in
science museums which makes your hair stand on end, 400 volts with
extremely low current is equally as harmless.

(...)

The success of TASER programs has been in reducing injuries to officers and suspects compared to
traditional pain compliance tools such as fists, tackles, baton strikes, and impact weapons.

It seems likely that if Tasers are being marketed as a safe, harmless, painless alternative to all other methods of forced compliance, that is what police officers are being taught by the company in their training classes.

This almost explains why an officer might use such a weapon on someone who poses little or no threat but who is not following orders.

It just leaves me with one question:

Are they taught to ignore the screams?

[Tim01]

123. He is a cop. Not a counselor on the Oprah show.

His job is to enforce the law. His department has trained him on the on the escalation of force, which he followed.

It is not a realistic response to beg for forgiveness every time a woman screams because she gets the tasering she dared him to give her.

Tasers are unpleasant. So what? She refuses to do as the officer asks. His possible options are not pleasant.

She made the decision to get into a fight with a cop. She should act like a grown up instead of mouthy teenager.


I love how people are all bad ass to cops because they know the cops can't legally use force on them without a threat."What are you going to do shoot me?" "No, I'm going to taser you."
And then there is they whining and hand wringing, "BUT I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG. YOU ELECTROCUTED ME FOR NO REASON AT ALL!"
Just sign the ticket or get in the car like someone who ISN'T a whining smart ass.

[Cowpunk]

126. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I see. Now I get it.

He was trained to escalate the confrontation by screaming at and pushing the old lady, and he was just following his training. Makes perfect sense now. Thanks.

[Raineyb]

127. Gee I knew it was only a matter of time until the apologists started up.

Is there anything that the police can do that you wouldn't make excuses for?

[ElusiveSigh]

125. Yick

This made me SICK. I don't care if he did warn her. Unless he was prepared to KILL her for her actions, he should not have used that god forsaken taser.

Someone PLEASE tell me why police are allowed to have these and use them like they would a cough drop?

[SunDrop23]

130. Punk with a badge. (nfm)

[MrModerate]

131. Clearly some guy too stupid and incompetent to be allowed to have a gun . . .

Or a badge, or any object sharper than a butter knife.

Sure the lady was being "argumentative and combative" but anyone not dumber than dirt -- especially in a position of authority -- would have handled it better. Starting with, if he needed to get her out of traffic, telling her that instead of just shoving her without explanation (which any reasonable person would interpret as an agressive act). Not to mention, when faced with a bully (as this lady clearly was) one strategy lots of people will recommend is to stand up to that bully, lest he see you as weak and do even worse.

This guy needs to be fired instantaneously and his chief hounded out of office.

P.S.: I was born in Texas. I've lived in Texas. Fuck Texas.