72 year old woman tasered in Austin. Justified?? (Post: live, law)

[mimimomx3]

Originally Posted by statefan

I don't care how old you are. If it were a 16 year old kid, this wouldn't even be an issue!

No, it wouldn't. If you were a 16 year old kid, especially if you were black, you would be dead. Only grannies seem to get tazed.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by artsyguy

lol so if you dare somebody <in the sarcastic manner that she did> it is suddenly a perfectly good reason to use a taser on somebody? The old lady was being sarcastic and then she said that she was a 72 year old woman to the cop.....

The lady could be disabled or other things going on for all we know

The "I dare you" part merely reinforces how stupid and belligerent she was. It by itself doesn't justify tasering.

Resisting arrest however, after repeated warnings does. The video clearly showed she was not disabled. She moved well and practically bounced off the PO without any clumsiness.

[love roses]

Maybe so, but that's part of the reasons the cops hands are tied in many cases. I think that having every single thing scrutinized, and ALWAYS in a negative fashion, because face it, every time there is a shooting or a tazing, it's ALWAYS bad cop; not ignorant criminal doing something dumb like running away or pulling a gun.

[love roses]

Originally Posted by mimimomx3

What arrest? He was giving her a ticket and she refused to sign it, as is her right against self incrimination. For heaven's sake, he had her DL number and her plates number. It would have made a lot more sense to just issue her a warrant and serve her, with the back up this officer apparently needed , like SWAT.

I think the next person on this forum that gets pulled over should bring this up to the cop and see what happens.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by love roses

Are the cops trained in how to restrain with basket holds? I'd imagine, but I'm on the cops side a bit here. He could physically take her down and hurt her, maybe break some bones or taser her. I know some Austin cops and they tell me that of any department in the State, they are one of the few that are so PC that there is almost nothing they can do to anyone without getting sued. I wouldn't be surprised if one day they just gave up and let people get away with everything. I do not feel sorry for that old woman at all. Even if it was my own grandma acting like a fool. Age shouldn't be a free ride for acting like an idiot. I just cannot stand people who whine and cry because they got caught. Just let her go 60 through a construction zone? What if she killed one of the construction workers? Do you really think the family of the victim would feel sorry for that woman?

I've had clients who were ER nurses who told me that you would be very surprised at how strong old people, even small frail looking ones, can be when they get extremely billegerent, or scared, or whatever. One nurse in particular had had her nose broken, along with an arm once.

This was not an Austin cop, it was a Travis County Constable Deputy.

[Nor Cal Wahine]

Originally Posted by mimimomx3

No, it wouldn't. If you were a 16 year old kid, especially if you were black, you would be dead.

You forgot the "if you are asleep in the back seat of a car suspected of illegal activity at 5:30 in the morning with a gun in your hand" part.

[love roses]

Originally Posted by txgolfer130

And no one see's the problem w/ this rationale either? The constable was clearly the instigating party, procedure requires that he calls for back-up and or a supervisor. It appears that he might, be attempting to do so before the confrontation turns. Whichever is the case, it is clear the officer did not follow procedure and was the instigating factor of this altercation.

I would like to hear about his record, and whether in fact he is a "full-time" deputy or a volunteer. His temperament and actions do not jibe, an d I would not be surprised to find he is a volunteer w/ TCSO.

From the video, it appears that he is in constant contact the whole time. Were you aware that currently all Austin cops are required to travel in 4's right now, so it makes it harder to have more available to respond to calls and that smaller departments like where this cop is from are usually understaffed? Might account for why there was no backup.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by mimimomx3

No, it wouldn't. If you were a 16 year old kid, especially if you were black, you would be dead. Only grannies seem to get tazed.

Actually he was 18 years old, and a known criminal with a record.

If granny had pulled a gun on him the way the 18 year old criminal, the deputy would have been justified in defending himself. This grandma was unarmed and had not attacked him in anyway.

[mimimomx3]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

Actually he was 18 years old, and a known criminal with a record.

If granny had pulled a gun on him the way the 18 year old criminal, the deputy would have been justified in defending himself. This grandma was unarmed and had not attacked him in anyway.

I wasn't talking about Nathaniel Sanders. I was commenting on the previous post, that said : Originally Posted by statefan
I don't care how old you are. If it were a 16 year old kid, this wouldn't even be an issue!


But for the record, it has not yet been proven that Nathaniel Sanders had a gun, or that the people in that car were doing anything illegal. It's still legal to sleep in your car. We don't really know what happened, actually, because the officer "forgot" to turn on his camera. Ooops!

[love roses]

I've heard that one of the cops present did have a camera on, but it hasn't been released. The media isn't being much help with this either, calling her Grandma" instead of any other adjective, like stubborn old lady.