The new video evidence in the case where a 72-year-old great-grandmother was shoved and tasered by an officer on the side of the road.
She was pulled over for speeding, and after refusing to sign the ticket, the officer asks her to step out of the car, shoves her, and eventually pulls his taser on her. To be sure, she talked back, (after she was shoved), but if that is precedent for using a severely painful weapon on an old woman, well, you can make your own conclusion about the state of the American police force.
The officer’s superior says that after watching the footage, he concludes that the cop was following policy. The officer in question said he felt “threatened” by the old woman.
You watch the video. You be the judge. I for one, am outraged.
9 responses so far ↓
PJ // June 10, 2009 at 8:56 am |
Well, as everybody knows, Grandmothers are a danger to society, and especially hazardous to police officers, specifically big overweight Texas cops.
Teri // June 10, 2009 at 12:37 pm |
I don’t care what your age is, you are never too old to obey the law. Granny got what anyone at any age in her position deserved.
When an officer of the law addresses you, it is right to give him respect and courtesy.
Is that so hard?
Matthew Hennessey // June 11, 2009 at 9:30 am |
I think the officer was being pretty reasonable. You cannot get ignore a policeman’s command, get in his face, and dare him to Tase you. If you do, I think you should be ready to feel the sizzle.
This could easily have been avoided had Granny simply used her noodle.
PJ // June 11, 2009 at 11:24 am |
Oh c’mon people…what kind of a threat is this lady to this Texas cop?
I agree cops have a tough job, but a part of that job is knowing when a bad guy is a bad guy, and a grandmother is a grandmother.
He should be given a desk job for a while to cool his Texas sized ego.
Chris // June 12, 2009 at 12:12 pm |
I’m more outraged by Keri Bellacosa’s terrible grammar: “…attorney with whom Fox 7 requested an interview with.” Atrocious.
Jonathan Swigart // June 13, 2009 at 10:50 am |
I believe that in some states, you can decline to sign the ticket and challenge it in open court. Not sure if Texas is one of those states, but just because he is a police officer, doesn’t mean he should never be questioned. I have friends who have not been given tickets for speeding because they were pulled over and it turned out the cop had not calibrated his radar gun properly. You can ask to see his log and tell him no if it is not verified.
And if that man felt threatened by an unarmed, 72-year-old woman to the point where he felt he needed to taze her, I’m not so sure he’s in the best profession. A 72-year-old with a knife or a gun or something that could cause damage, then yes.
Andrew // June 16, 2009 at 8:01 am |
Police are armed with guns and tasers so they can incapacitate a person who might cause danger to the police officer, the public or themselves. Police in Canada and the United States are zap happy with their new toys and this video is a fine example. It looked as if the officer was going to do the right thing by calling in backup but then he got irritated and used a weapon on the woman.
The deployment of tasars has become a hot subject in Canada after several people were tased under questionable circumstances, including the death of a man. RCMP have recently recalled all of their tasers after a study showed that the weapon is unpredictable in terms of voltage consistency.
Something Shocking « Glaring Health Code Violations // June 16, 2009 at 9:55 am |
[...] A few days ago, I was discussing the tasering of a Texas grandmother with a few of my friends when somehow, the idea of police having to shout “Taser! [...]
Fabiano P S // June 24, 2009 at 12:01 am |
Come on.. the question here is: was she obligated to sign the damn ticket?! What if she does not agree?!
Sure she may be annoying, but causing physical pain to an old lady for SPEEDING isn´t exactly noble for a public law server
If somebody’s dog shit on my garden can I kill the dog and the person for invasion?!