SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic - Don't Tase Me, Son! - 72-year old woman tasered by deputy

Posted: Jun 14 2009 07:11 pm

Well, I believe you people already saw this on your local news program, but I think it's also worth a little discussion. Was using the taser the wisest thing to do for speed limit exceeding? Especially considering the infractor was an old lady?

If this was already posted, feel free to delete it.

Posted: Jun 14 2009 09:39 pm

Whole thing could've been avoided if she just signed the ticket, and her age and/or gender really shouldn't make a difference.

UsaSatsui's Youtube Channel · Posted: Jun 14 2009 09:50 pm

Quote:

Was using the taser the wisest thing to do for speed limit exceeding?

She was not tased for speeding. She was tased for resisting arrest.

Signing the ticket is your assertion that you will show up in court to answer the charge against you. By refusing to sign, that means you are brought in to jail to guarantee that you show up to answer the charges. She should have just signed the thing.

When someone is resisting arrest, you use whatever means are at your disposal to effect it. Including a taser.

Quote:

Especially considering the infractor was an old lady?

I don't care who it is or who old they are. You listen to a damn police officer. Even if they're wrong. If they are, you take it up in court. Not on the side of the road.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that if you don't listen to a police officer, and you walk away from that encounter breathing, you got off easy. These people are out there risking their lives, they're constantly putting themselves in positions where they could get shot themselves, they sure as hell don't need to take shit from Granny.

2011 SNES Champ Joined: Dec 04 2006 Posts: 1929

That police officer probably had a bad day. Didn't seem too patient.

But he gave her ample warnings and she basically told him to fuck off, so she deserved it.
People who use their age/handicap/race/whatever to justify acting like complete assholes really piss me off.
Like how old people say young people are not polite, while studies have shown 60+ people tend to be the least polite.

Posted: Jun 14 2009 10:32 pm

I'm torn. I think tasering was probably overkill, but I also know that cops risk getting killed every time they pull someone over. Just because someone is old/female/whatever doesn't mean she's not necessarily a threat. If she was being belligerent and he felt threatened, I can understand why he did it. Really in that kind of a situation, you're pretty much fucked PR-wise.

Now, that said, there are absolutely asshole cops out there who abuse their power, trust and position. Whether this guy was one of those, or he was genuinely reacting in the way he felt he needed to, I dunno. I would assume the latter, since like I said this is a lose/lose situation for both him and the Force PR-wise. And come to think of it, when I worked at the Globe Theatre, I dealt with many, many old, rich entitled people who I would have gladly tasered if given the chance. (Seriously, one old woman once literally threatened my life because the call line she had been waiting in was so long. What the fuck?)

Posted: Jun 14 2009 10:58 pm

You need to use the force appropriate for the situation. We didn't have tasers when I was a cop, but that is overkill. I had old women mouth off at me all the time when I was a cop, and guess what, that was part of the job. Legally in Maryland you have to sign a ticket or you could be arrested. I had one old woman that refused to sign her ticket after explaining it was required in Maryland, and guess what, I let her go when she continued her argument. I simply drove to her house and handed her another ticket for refusing to sign the other one. On another situation I had a woman smack me in the face after telling her her son overdosed. I didn't do anything in that situation. Common sense is what it boils down to. Unless a senior citizen was a clear danger to society I wouldn't have done shit. I stand up for police when they deserve it, but that was overkill.

Posted: Jun 14 2009 11:36 pm

He could've handeld that situation witout a taser

she's 78 year old woman, What in the name of Zeus could she have done to him? Curse at him?

But if she wasn't a 78 year old, I doubt most people would care.

Posted: Jun 14 2009 11:44 pm

I hate it when people try to press their luck with people like the police and then complain about the consequences.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 11:11 am

If she started going into a fit of rage and accidentally slipped by him into on going traffic(which appeared very possible), he could be held responsible. So I think he did the right thing by temporarily putting her out of commission.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 12:54 pm

I think the old man in the Halocaust Museum demonstrated what people over the age of 60 are capable of doing.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 02:32 pm

I work in a gas station, so I say from personal experience that old people need to get fucking tazed every once in a while.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 02:33 pm

Equal punishment for all, as I always say.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 02:54 pm

jackfrost wrote:

Common sense is what it boils down to. Unless a senior citizen was a clear danger to society I wouldn't have done shit. I stand up for police when they deserve it, but that was overkill.

/thread

Also, someone old like that could've died simply by just being tasered. You guys are honestly crazy.

Vid was funny as hell to me though.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 05:37 pm

Mr. Bomberman wrote:

Also, someone old like that could've died simply by just being tasered. You guys are honestly crazy.

So either way, a dangerous speeding driver is removed from the roadways.

UsaSatsui's Youtube Channel · Posted: Jun 15 2009 05:53 pm

For people who think this was over the line...just what the hell was the cop supposed to do here?

You can't just let Granny drive off. You can't make exceptions for people in the law because they're old, female, and a pain in the ass. She's breaking the law, you gotta do what the law says. She won't sign the ticket, you arrest her.

She doesn't want to be arrested. What do you do? Do you wrestle Granny to the pavement and cuff her? Do you whack her with the baton? Not if you have another option. The Taser is an option that gets people to comply, has very little risk for the officer, and 99.99% of the time doesn't cause any permanent damage. It's no shock (ba-dum) that they reach for it.

It wasn't like she was just sitting in the driver's seat with her poodle and the dickhead cop tased her through the window or something.

Something that does bug me though. After it became clear she was in deep shit, she did say she would sign it. It may have been too late by that point, and I sure as hell don't want to do any favors for a pain in the ass old lady, but I might have let her sign it and leave there if I were the cop. Assuming that was an option.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 06:37 pm

I would've just let her signed it , gave her the warning, then leave.

But at least she didn't die, or burned etc.

But if it was CPD, she would've been fucked.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 08:13 pm

Like I said earlier I hate it when people press their luck in situations like this. She even dared the officer to taze her as well.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

I don't like the idea of what that officer did and I think he did the wrong thing.

He waited too long to tase her.

She was pulled over for causing a safety hazard. She may or may not have sped, but she had the choice to either go with the cop or sign the paper, neither was a violation of her rights. The time to argue the charge was another day in court.

While she argued with him and resisted arrest/signing she put both of their lives at risk as well as the people driving by. He should have forcibly put handcuffs on her ASAP while reading her rights clearly. If she fought him off, he should have tased her, about 2 full minutes earlier.

Joined: Apr 14 2006 Location: Lake Michigan Posts: 3332

Finally saw the video as it was blocked at work, and that bitch got what she deserved.

It's funny how in the previous interview she said the accusations of her being argumentative were a lie. I love it when people like that are caught in a blatant lie to the authorities.

And Icewarm is right, she actually dared the cop to taze her because of her age, and he wisely called her bluff for her own safety. Stupid woman was endangering both of them by not staying clear of the roadway.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 09:38 pm

So ok, I know I'm the only one from BC, but surely you guys heard about the 40-year-old, rather built, male Polish immigrant that died from a tazing at Vancouver International right? Tazing an old lady, though it proved to probably be the most effective thing to do, could've done way more harm than good.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Ross Rifle wrote:

So ok, I know I'm the only one from BC, but surely you guys heard about the 40-year-old, rather built, male Polish immigrant that died from a tazing at Vancouver International right? Tazing an old lady, though it proved to probably be the most effective thing to do, could've done way more harm than good.

Pushing a cop into traffic could cause an untimely death as well. He is obeying the law and she is breaking it. She is lucky that he has a taser and doesn't have to resort to shooting her.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 09:47 pm

Ross Rifle wrote:

So ok, I know I'm the only one from BC, but surely you guys heard about the 40-year-old, rather built, male Polish immigrant that died from a tazing at Vancouver International right? Tazing an old lady, though it proved to probably be the most effective thing to do, could've done way more harm than good.

There is a simple way to avoid that...listen to the police. If you don't want to listen to them then in my opinion they have no recourse on what happens due to the tazing. Don't want to get tazed? Just cooperate with the police.

Posted: Jun 15 2009 09:48 pm

Fair enough. In the Polish immigrant's case, there was a disgusting case of lack of communication, high emotions, and trigger-happy police. Poor guy Sad

Posted: Jun 15 2009 11:21 pm

Ross Rifle wrote:

Fair enough. In the Polish immigrant's case, there was a disgusting case of lack of communication, high emotions, and trigger-happy police. Poor guy Sad

If I were in a different country where I did not know the native language and was approached by law enforement and sensed some sort of tension rising I would stick my hands in the air and submit. You get nowhere fucking with the police, whether on purpose or not.

Posted: Jun 16 2009 12:24 am

The constable explains it well in this video at the 2:17 mark: