72 Year Old Great-grandmother Tasered by Deputy

I saw this on the news last night and was incredulous. Then I saw the deputy's commanding officer and thought he was Mahoney's nemesis in Police Academy...

Cool. He nuked grandma. She was beligerent, thought that being old granted her special privaledges, and veering into traffic that could not only have injured her, but anyone that happened to be the one that hit her. That'll be the new cry of the people desperately wanting the cops to be bad so they have someone to rail against. "Don't tase me, young man!"

*Admittedly, i have only read the article, not seen the video.

Well, I think he was justified for the first shock, but did not need to do the second one. That just seems like he did it for spite.

As per rickshaw1 I have not seen the video and base my comment purely on the article.

She asked for it, she got it, she survived it.

Non-story but should make for a decent SNL skit.

Meanwhile, in Connecticut, a chimpanzee in a police uniform tased a child worker at the central nutmeg processing plant...

How did we ever mange to keep 4 foot eleven angry old women out of traffic before tasers? This goes beyond poor judgment. It's a shocking example cruelty. It illustrates the point that police are too often using tasers too casually. Tasers have an appropriate place in law enforcement as alternative to deadly force. They can, however, be just as deadly as a gun in some situations - particularly with children, people with certain medical conditions, and the elderly.

I've seen the video, but I don't think it sheds much light on the incident.

It's interesting that press coverage highlights the fact that she's 72 years old and a great-grandmother, as if these facts automatically make her a victim and the police officer, by contrast, the bad guy. Most of us have an image of a "sweet little old lady" in our minds when hear such terms, but this image obscures the fact that anyone can belligerent or dangerous.

I'm inclined to agree with Quis that the first tasing may have been necessary but not the second. I also agree with BB that this should not be a major news story.

Jerry, have you ever seen a 4 foot 11 inch crack grandma? I see them all the time where I'm from. Redneck grannies that think nothing of hitting, stabbing, punching, kicking while out of their minds on hooch or dope. Sorry, I don't automatically assume that granny was some sweet little blue haired grandma with a basket of cookies on her way to tea with the local pta.

And with hepatitus, hiv, and about every other disease out there, I would have done the same if she was weaving into traffic. It wasn't just to protect her, but to protect other drivers that were innocent of any wrongdoing on their part. How would you like to be the guy that killed granny with your car, even though it wasn't your fault?

And you can dang well bet that if he had layed a hand on her to subdue her, it would have been police brutality in the media.

Sorry, I don't automatically assume the cops are great guys one and all, but I don't assume they are dirty either. And since I am not a cop, I don't know what rules they are operating under.

Anyway, thats just my point of view. Don't take it as an attack. Believe me, after spending four months trying to correct an erroneous ticket, with my wife arrested, handcuffed, mugs taken, and a night in the county lockup (when the cause was an employee that embezzled the cash money she paid her ticket with), I have no love lost for the system. But I don't automatically follow anything the media says anymore without throwing an entire box of salt on it, let alone a grain.

My objection is to the casual use of tazers. Of course not all elderly people are sweet. We had the perfect example of that this week with the old guy who entered the Holocaust Museum with a rifle. The security officers used deadly force against him and it was absolutely appropriate in that situation.

Do a quick google on taser deaths. There are countless news stories of people who have died after being tased. Their use should be reserved for situations where something close to deadly force is justified, because that is frequently the outcome. This woman may have been intoxicated or, more likely, is mentally ill. Yes, I think grabbing her or tackling her would have been more appropriate.

I work with addicts and people with diagnosed mental illnesses. Usually both. I've had to rely on police officers to help me out of sticky situations more than I like to think about. God bless them. I had an incident a few months ago where an addict got out of control with me and a coworker called the police. The guy ran when he saw them . He darted out into six lanes of rush hour traffic. He came close to getting hit. The police were armed. They did not pull their guns and try to shoot the guy to stop him from running into the traffic. I don't think that would have been a justified use of deadly force. I don't think tasing a short angry elderly woman in the situation described is justified either.

Jerry, sounds like you do good work. But, and I stress that I am not attacking you, the real world frequently operates under wierd constraints.

Its easy enough to stand back from a distance and say what should or should not be done in certain circumstances. Any and all methods used to subdue people can lead to serious injury or death. Grab a guys arm and it might be the one guy that has a blockage that breaks loose and gives him a heart attack or stroke. The choke hold was used successfully far far more than it killed, but the reported incidents of death made it illegal in most police forces.

I might not have tased her the second time, but if she refused to follow directions, was weaving into traffic and putting herself and others at risk, and attacking, yup, I'dda shocked the crap outta her and got her away from the situation.

Well, at least the lady wasn't a vicious dachsund .

Dear Lord, save me from the lunging Daschund...!

He should have tasered the dog... the worst outcome woulda been a weinie roast...

I also think "how to use tazors" is a work in progress. As a teacher I know that sometimes I go to quickly to the Dean referral and get the kid out of my hair instead of trying to reason it out. This can be a problem with a quick remedy, it's not always the best remedy.

DEATH TO SCHNAUZZERS...DAMN ANKLEBITERS!