72 year old woman tasered in Austin. Justified?? (Houston: attorney, best)

[cls88]

Originally Posted by artsyguy

First of all you are refusing to acknowledge the elderly lady is not a burglar/robber/thief and she did not get bitten by a dog.

She got a traffic ticket, and did not admit guilt to it. The officer acted abusively because he jumped the gun by tasering her instead of calling for back up or a supervisor like most cops will do in tricky situations.

This lady deserves due process which is her right. Siding with the cop denies the lady of her due process rights. Like another poster said "this is not Nazi Germany". It's Austin,Texas though.....blegghh.

I've never said anything about her being a burglar/robber/thief. What she has in commen with them is that she doesn't take any responsibilities and blame everything on the officer (she made herself sounded like a such an angel during the interview).

Many people get tickets each day. Maybe all of them should behave as she did, since none of them probably believe they are guilty.

It's Austin, Texas, and it's a civilized society. A 72 yo can't be civil, then, she should not be treated as such.

[CptnRn]

Has anyone seen a movie showing the second tasing? The print media says it happened while she was laying on the ground.

Isn't it interesting that the constables department left that part out of the movie they released.

If you watch the movie they did release you see that after his short aborted attempt to handcuff her, he throws his handcuffs to the ground. Later after tasing her, when he is yell at her to put her hands behind her back, he no longer has handcuffs available to secure her.

I expect his actions at this point are even more inexcusable then his previous incompetent attempts to control the situation.

Why, after she is already laying on the ground with her hands behind her back did he find it necessary to tase her a second time?

[statefan]

Originally Posted by cls88

I've never said anything about her being a burglar/robber/thief. What she has in commen with them is that she doesn't take any responsibilities and blame everything on the officer (she made herself sounded like a such an angel during the interview).

Many people get tickets each day. Maybe all of them should behave as she did, since none of them probably believe they are guilty.

It's Austin, Texas, and it's a civilized society. A 72 yo can't be civil, then, she should not be treated as such.

It is a helpless cause, much like she is. Some people just don't get it.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by AustinExPat

I've been trying to get myself to feel sorry for Granny Winkfein, but I'm sorry; I just can't. It seems to me the one thing you do not want a policeman to do is fail to enforce his orders when someone acts the way she did. And has anyone considered the possibility that tasing this particular 72-year-old was safer than wrestling her into his patrol car, and that with his training the constable could tell that it was?

Few other law enforcement officers are supporting his actions.

Here is what the Sheriff had to say about it.

statesman.com | Sheriff Hamilton "in awe" after seeing constable's taser video | The Blotter

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.

Respectfully, Sheriff Greg Hamilton

[artsyguy]

How is Austin a civilized city when it has a major drug problem. Pot seems to be cool with everyone there. The city also has other problems.

So what if the lady made herself seem like an angel. She had a speeding ticket, had an attitude at the moment she was getting the ticket, and that was it......get over it.

You are acting is if you enjoy getting speeding tickets. I don't know anybody that loves to get speeding tickets on their way to a day of shopping.

Originally Posted by cls88

I've never said anything about her being a burglar/robber/thief. What she has in commen with them is that she doesn't take any responsibilities and blame everything on the officer (she made herself sounded like a such an angel during the interview).

Many people get tickets each day. Maybe all of them should behave as she did, since none of them probably believe they are guilty.

It's Austin, Texas, and it's a civilized society. A 72 yo can't be civil, then, she should not be treated as such.

[artsyguy]

The fees the lady will get in damages will certainly be a lot more than the stupid traffic ticket and resisting arrest fine. LOL. Then she will be able to shop all she wants LOL

She'll probably drive to the River Walk instead.

Originally Posted by CptnRn

Why, after she is already laying on the ground with her hands behind her back did he find it necessary to tase her a second time?

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by artsyguy

How is Austin a civilized city when it has a major drug problem. Pot seems to be cool with everyone there.

And yet you repeatedly claim Austin is not really liberal... that sounds pretty liberal to me. Live and let live. Places like Portland or SF have much worse drug problems... why? Well, their liberal policies of not jailing every drug probably has something to do with it. Guess those cities aren't "civilized enough" because they don't lock up drug users and throw away the key.

So what if the lady made herself seem like an angel. She had a speeding ticket, had an attitude at the moment, and that was it......get over it.

It has to do with her credibility... basically, it proves she has none. She maybe didn't deserved to get tased, and the cop is clearly not trained well enough in dealing with belligerent or mentally ill people... but when she said go ahead and arrest me, she should have expected to get arrested. When she backed off being handcuffed, guess what? That's resisting. She acted stupid and something bad ended up happening.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by artsyguy

The fees the lady will get in damages will certainly be a lot more than the stupid traffic ticket and resisting arrest fine. LOL. Then she will be able to shop all she wants LOL

She'll probably drive to the River Walk instead.

She will probably drive down the River Walk! And then beat up the cop that tries to stop her.

[woodinvilleguy]

I doubt she will win. Everything she claimed at first was shown to be wrong with the video. That will make the case very difficult to win.

[austinaggie]

I am not sure if tasering her was the best way to handle her but I do know that just because she is 72 and small does not mean she is frail, helpless and weak. My grandmother is 93 and she routinely scratches, hits, slaps and kicks my mother, her caretaker. She is VERY strong and has even picked up her walker and thrown it at my Mom. She can be extremely violent and when she was hospitalized with food poisoning she physically abused the nurses at the hospital and she was so combative she had to be physically restrained. By the way, my grandmother is about 4'10" and weighs about 120 pounds. Again, she is 93. This woman was over 20 years younger than that and seemed to be in very good health. She had a bad attitude and I find it hard to feel sorry for her.